Xbalanque
Cigar City Brewing

XbalanqueXbalanque
Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
Cigar City Brewing
 
Florida, United States
Style:
American Imperial Stout
ABV:
11.5%
Score:
95
Avg:
4.4 | pDev: 6.36%
Reviews:
8
Ratings:
30
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jun 26, 2023
Added:
Mar 04, 2019
Wants:
  3
Gots:
  3
Cinnamon, vanilla, cacao nibs, and ancho, P\pasilla and guajillo chile peppers rested on amburana wood
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 4.37 by westcoastbeerlvr from California

Jun 26, 2023
 
Rated: 4.49 by The_Kriek_Freak from Pennsylvania

Jun 18, 2023
Photo of clayrock81
Reviewed by clayrock81 from Florida

4.08/5  rDev -7.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Poured a black body with minimal khaki head and lace. The aroma is basically cinnamon and chili peppers so it burns the nose ever so slightly (like a really good hot sauce). Medium to heavy body, sticky, vanilla bean sweetness and cinnamon spice. Moderate chili heat and a touch of boozy heat as well on finish. Beer has good balance and a slow sipper but still easy to drink with a good smoothness to boot.
Dec 15, 2020
 
Rated: 4.49 by Scottsbeer from Florida

Nov 08, 2020
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Reviewed by WickedBeer from Alabama

4.09/5  rDev -7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Cinnamon & chocolate on the nose; chili pepper as it opens up. Rich, clean flavors, w/ a good bit of baking spices, oak, & vanilla. The roasty coffee on the tail finishes a tad bitter & boozy; overall there’s a great balance here.
Sep 26, 2020
 
Rated: 4.78 by MJSFS from Florida

Sep 12, 2020
Photo of mschrei
Reviewed by mschrei from Illinois

4.6/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Received from @doctorzombies. Very grateful because it’s excellent. Standard stout appearance. Minimal head and lacing. Purple edging. Smell is wood barrel over roasty stout. Taste is sweet, boozy, syrupy. Feel is lighter for a 11.5 abv than expected, but it’s goddamn boozy. Excellent beer.
Sep 06, 2020
 
Rated: 4.29 by BeerBeast from Florida

Aug 02, 2020
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Reviewed by Alieniloquium from Florida

3.6/5  rDev -18.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
750 mL bottle. Inky black. Smells woody, sweet, almost maple-y, dark fruits, light spice and cinnamon. Tastes sweet and woody, cinnamon, fruity, a little spicy. Sweet and heavy. Fascinating wood flavor, but very sweet and boozy.
Mar 30, 2020
 
Rated: 5 by Kbrady10 from Maryland

Jan 05, 2020
 
Rated: 4.3 by sd123 from Georgia

Jan 01, 2020
 
Rated: 4.46 by GarrettBoots from Georgia

Oct 06, 2019
 
Rated: 4.33 by lemmy187 from Missouri

Oct 05, 2019
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Reviewed by maximum12 from Minnesota

4.7/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Thanks to Sabtos for feeding my unending & slightly warped need for all things Cigar City. If I ever become a serial killer, it will be for this brewery. 750ML bottle split with the wife.

Pours blackish. No head. The nose brings all the classic Huna poses plus plenty of raw, unprocessed wood. It adds.

Xbalanque tastes like getting down on all fours & licking that freshly hewn palm tree right on the forest floor. Holy wood, Asa. The taste is utterly unique: like a barrel, only with vague spicing that’s almost rye-like, searingly dry, like an exotic birdhouse bathed in cinnamon & allspice & fresh love. The chile peppers are subdued compared to the base Huna, which is smoothed out by the vanilla. Cocoa nibs are MIA. The finish, like the forebears, is pure wood. Smooth & spicy, this is a stout that should be sipped in front of a roaring bonfire while singing Freedy Johnston choruses.

As a Journalism Major (long, long, long ago) I am not used to being at a loss for words, but I’m struggling to find the right ones for this unique, beautiful beer, so I’ll go Germanic: einzigartig und wunderbar.
Sep 29, 2019
 
Rated: 4.31 by Gambyt20 from Illinois

Sep 02, 2019
 
Rated: 4.69 by KensWorld from Florida

Aug 11, 2019
 
Rated: 4.42 by HopBelT from Belgium

Aug 07, 2019
Photo of cjgator3
Reviewed by cjgator3 from Florida

4.71/5  rDev +7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
750ml bottle into an El Catador Club snifter. 2019 vintage.

This is Hunahpu’s aged on Amburana Wood. As a result, you get a lot of the great flavors of the classic Hunahpu’s with a nice added character from the wood aging.
Jul 17, 2019
 
Rated: 3.78 by hopkrid from Florida

Jul 07, 2019
 
Rated: 4.09 by Stevedore from Oregon

Jun 21, 2019
Xbalanque from Cigar City Brewing
Beer rating: 95 out of 100 with 30 ratings