Kulich
Cigar City Brewing

Mom picked this one up in Florida a few years back. Cheers!

From a 75cl bottle into a snifter
IBU: 55
Brandy BA stout with raisins, orange peel, pineapple, cardamom, nutmeg, Cinnamon and Lactose

APPEARANCE: Thick, pitch black pour yields a three finger, thicker, creamy, dark tan head with excellent retention. Jet black body with no real carbonation evident. Head slowly recedes to a thick, fuller cap.

SMELL: Plenty of brady barrel on the nose, with lots of milk chocolate, vanilla cream and lactose, light notes of cinnamon and nutmeg, a solid roasted character with some bitter coffee as well. Plenty of spices, brandy and boozy notes.

TASTE: Roasted flavors up front, with spicy cardamom, nutmeg, milk chocolaty sweetness and brandy barrel up front. Some boozy and spicy flavors into the swallow, then a bold finish of roasted malts, vanilla cream and lactose sweetness, bitter dark chocolate and coffee flavors, some solid brandy barrel, and sticky chocolate brownies linger on the palate. This is a bitter-sweet, brownie battered, brandy barreled beauty.

PALATE: Thick, heavy body with lower levels of carbonation. Creamy, syrupy and slick on the palate, goes down silky with a bit of a burn and finishes very sticky on the palate. A bit of heat lingers. Lovely.

OVERALL: This is what it’s all about. If I lived in Tampa, I’d probably be broke and out of a job because of this place. I can imagine it now. There’s me camped outside CCB both begging for work, all the while holding a sign saying something totally inappropriate. It would be great! I would blame western civilization for my lot, of course. Well, maybe one day, but for now, this is a hell of a beer by the reigning champion in my book. Big flavors, big feel, incredibly smooth, and unbelievably decadent. Everything anyone could possibly ask for, and more, even though that’s a completely illogical statement. But hey, it’s 2023, and logic is apparently oppressive anyways. Thanks again ma!

 

 

 

At home with Lisa in April 2020. This is pretty good despite all the bullshit adjuncts. You can pick up some of the adjuncts in the nose but not the taste. Big CCB thick mouthfeel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoyed this way more than I expected from the description. A whole lot going on with the flavor profile.

 

El Cat! It’s like a siren call, luring be back to the black depths over & over. The day they put out a BA IPA I’ll be verklempt. 750ML bottle split with my wife.

Black darkness gives off a wild myriad of smells: mostly brandy, with a subsonic mélange of cinnamon, cardamom, & all sorts of crap I can’t identify. I like crap.

Kulich is like a brandy-soaked Wham! album. The list of ingredients doesn’t begin to do it justice. Brandy is up front & strong, but not overpowering. Underneath there’s a riot of stuff that I can’t begin to catalog: cinnamon, allspice, mild heat, booze, raisins. Other stuff, too. Thick & full, & something that’s easy to put into my body. But what isn’t? I’d put anything in my mouth that tastes good. My girls make fun of me eating unidentified stuff out of the toaster oven & off the counters.

Some breweries throw eighteen ingredients in their beer in hopes of hitting a ground rule double. Cigar City & the Russian Troll Farm did it with purpose. Excellent beer that evokes all sorts of tastes that I can’t define.

Stark black with a tall, dense mocha foam that looks like a pile of dark chocolate whipped cream, slowly settling to a thin blanket.

Smell delivers most of the unique elements in this beer, coming across like chocolate covered orange chews, partly it seems from the cardamom, combined with Raisinets.

Taste is not all that different from Criminal Commission, but is far more balanced. Strongly roasty malt is accented by cinnamon that is thankfully less potent here, as substantial barrel heat warms up a deep and rich chocolateyness. I'm glad the cardamom doesn't come through like I've experienced in other beers, but is merely a faint and measured contributor, creating unique new flavors instead of dominating as its own one note. The smoothly frothy medium body exudes a smoky, ashy tobacco exhale after the semi-dry, lightly tingly finish that comes with a touch of heat and light stickiness. As it warms, a hint of candied pineapple only teases the palate, while fudgy nougat arises further.