Cigar City Emperor Shennong’s Wolfberry Ale

Brewed by Cigar City Brewing
Style: American Strong Ale
Tampa, Florida USA

What the hell is that smell? Cedar? Rosemary? It was barrel aged but whatever else was in the barrel I haven’t a clue.

On draft at Oldsmar Tap House launch party. Brownish red, thin white head, thick lacing. Dark fruit nose, some cocoa, licorice, caramel. Very sweet. Dark fruits in the flavor, caramel, some dry, slick tobacco, licorice and spicy figs. Sweet, somewhat refreshing, full-bodied and very drinkable.

Draft @ OTH, CCB launch party. Pours a dark brown, small tan head. Grapefruit on the nose first, then caramel malts, fruits, tons of citrus hops and a little sweetness. Grapefruit again leads off the flavor, almost tart, quite malty, brown sugar, plums dries out with a strong bitterness in the finish.

On draft at Oldsmar Tap House (Tampa, FL) Cigar City Launch Party. Pours a creamy dark fudge brown with thin off-white head. Aroma is sweet and floral with notes of floral hops, fresh berries, hints of carmel, honey, pine, citrus and fresh flowers. Flavor is sweet and malty with similar notes of fresh flowers, ripe berries, caramel, malt, floral hops, hints of toffee and some slight spice. Generally light to medium body with a muted hoppy finish.

On draft at OTH for the CCB launch party. Pours a dark copper color with a small, foamy tan head that slowly settles to a thin film. Nice rings of lacing are left behind on the glass. The aroma is very juicy with orange and grapefruit hops to go with a big dose of red berries. Toffee and caramel come through as well to form the malt base. The flavor follows with the orange and grapefruit hops adding their signature juicyness and bitterness, but are balanced nicely by the sweet caramel and toffee malts. The berries add a real fruity element that is slightly tart and blends perfectly with the other elements. Medium-full bodied and really smooth and easy to drink. It seems like a nice blend between a barleywine and ipa. Really well crafted and great tasting beer.

On tap at the OTH launch party pouring deep copper with rusty edges and tan head. If I think about it the aroma is split between the syrup sticky sweetness and thick application of pine and grassy hops from the barleywine and the fresh hop crispness of the IPA to go along with a faint fruity berryness in the background. The taste is similar with thick sweet malts that have caged up copious amounts of late addition pine and grassy hops from the barleywine to start to go along with a cedar twang. By midway it lightens up with a cornucopia of hop additions, with tangelo, pine and a bit of resin notes just leading the way and smooth modestly sweet malts from the IPA in tow. As the finish approaches the infusion from the berries begins to be noticed with a mild berry sensation, earthiness and a sense of tobacco mixing with lingering caramel, molasses and pine hops. Interesting stuff. It may benefit with a little more age that may allow it to blend a bit more. Maybe a couple of months. I like it now though.

Draft... Cigar City Brewing "Launch Party"... Dark and murky – burnt orange when held up to the sun – with a small, creamy, off-white head. Fruity, chocolaty, tobacco nose with a side note of caramel. Full-bodied and a touch syrupy with laid back carbonation. Very sweet; too sweet for me. Goji berries, cocoa nibs and molasses-infused pouch tobacco. Lengthy finish – sweet, then surprisingly bitter and dry.

On tap. Cloudy brown color, slight reddish cast, broken off-white head. Darker dense fruit aroma like a reduced plum or dark fruit sauce or jelly. Not as sweet on the taste, but the fruitiness isn’t really distinct and is kind of muddled. Even though the taste wasn’t crazy sweet, the overall impression was too much fruity sweetness. Not off-putting, but not my thing.