Cigar City Hunahpu’s Imperial Stout

Brewed by Cigar City Brewing
Style: Imperial Stout
Tampa, Florida USA

on tap at Mr. Dunderbak’s. Smell is pure cocoa. Nice dark chocolatey taste. This beer is thick and oily. Heat hits you right in the back of the throat after each sip. I found my self drinking it faster than I’d like, just to stop the heat. I didn’t detect any cinamon or vanilla. Will revisit again. A very unique beer to say the least.

DaSilky1 tasting (thanks for hosting, Todd!). December 13th 2009. 22oz Biercraft handbottle from who else: Daknole! Thanks Dakine! Thats from Wetherel to me from Dak. Pours big ole black with a thin light brown head. Nose is sweet and chocolaty with a touch of those peppers. Taste is great chocolate with a nice pepperiness and a touch of smoke. Really nice, big rich malts, exceptional and different.

Tap at Mike (Eyedrinkale’s) place: Thanks! Opaque black pour with a thick strong brown head. Nice looking stuff. Rich tarry malts in the aroma- licorice, espresso, dark chocolate liqueur, and a spicy complexity of mainly cinnamon. Slick big body with a rich and spicy flavor. Tarry black malts with a smooth roast presence under a spicy peppery character. As it warms the cinnamon comes through nicely. Complex layers of spiciness with a mild spicy burn (not alcohol, but actual peppery spiciness) as it warms. Unique and awesome stuff.

wetherel "growler", just some other bomber filled up i believe? odd growler laws in FL. score seems low as this was near 5.0 to start, the ancho peppers add a cool smokey flavor to start, they end up adding quite a bit of heat that i personally don’t enjoy, where others might give this ++ points for. still, super complex nose, add the "stuff" they threw in this beer all made for a super complex, delicious and unique beer. dasilky tasting, could of been best of the nite but the hot from the peppers knocked this down. give me a scoop of vanilla ice cream and my score might change. again a rate treat and thanks for byo.

DaSilky1 tasting (thanks for hosting, Todd!). December 13th 2009. 22oz Biercraft handbottle from who else: Daknole! Thanks Dakine! Two years of driving, traveling, trading, waiting in lines, and finally! I’ve tried all top 50 beers. I never thought it was possible, but thanks to the new rating system, and the insanely awesome rare-beer producing brewers of San Diego, and WeeHeavySD’s beer prowess, I’ve been able to try all top 50 beers. (3 more to all top 100). Now it’s time to take a rest. Anywho, on to the beer: Smells great. What is this about the beer that smells great. Some weird adjunct. I’m not sure. Tons of chocolate. Kind of reminds me of a malted milk ball. The taste has some throat burn that lingers. Originally, I thought it was alcohol burn, but now I think it’s more likely from the peppers. Very, very good. Very easy to drink. One of my favorites of the night. Excellent.

Pours a dark brown with a wispy yet thin brown head. Nose is subtle with cocoa, raisin, and subtly smokey from the chilis. The cocoa and the chilis combine in a very mole sort of way...but the super aggressive hopping keeps them from really coming together as the bitterness distracts a bit. The cocoa flavors are pretty vivid though... the capsicum heat is a bit of a creeper as it at first is just a subtle scratchiness but after a while you can feel the heat throughout your mouth and throat. The vanilla notes are nicely complimenting....and I’m really digging the influence of the chilis, the chocolate, and the vanilla...almost a kin to a nice mole. Other than the out of place bitterness here, this is a pretty nice beer.

Big thanks to Will for this! Aroma is intensely chocolate. Vanilla and alcohol also make their presence known, leading to an extract essence. Taste has a ton of ancho making it very astringent- distractingly so. Cocoa, bitter roasted malt, and hoppy pine round out the flavors. Finish is bitter cocoa, ancho chalkiness, and slightly cloying. Good, and different, but not a huge success for me.

Rating #1300!!! Bottle, thanks to JW77 and Daknole. Pours black, with a brown head. Aroma is coffee, chocolate, caramel, cinnamon, vanilla, and chili’s. Flavor is chocolate, coffee, chili peppers, caramel, cinnamon, and licorice. Heavy body. The heat (a nice amount, not overpowering), hits after swallowing at the back of the tongue and in the throat. Amazing flavors going on here. The only thing I can think of to improve it would be to make it a little sweeter.