Hunahpu's Imperial Stout | Cigar City Brewing
Brewed by:
Cigar City Brewing
Florida, United States
cigarcitybrewing.com
Style: American Double / Imperial Stout
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 11.00%
Availability: Spring
Notes / Commercial Description:
In Mayan myth, Hunahpu gave cocoa to the Mayans. An Imperial Stout Aged On Cacao Nibs, Madagascar Vanilla Beans, Ancho Chilis, Pasilla Chilis and Cinnamon.
80 IBU
Added by tpd975 on 01-03-2009
View: Beers | Place Reviews | Events
Ratings: 4,141 | Reviews: 803
4.64/5 rDev +2.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75
Drank from a snifter at a bottle share.
Oily black and crowned with a ring reddish brown micro-bubbles, it leaves thin sheets of glistening lacing and viscous brown residue sliding down the glass with every tilt.
The moderate strength nose hits me with cinnamon first on every sniff before opening up a bit to sweet syrupy and rotated malt along with coffee and dark fruit at the end. All of these notes are present in the taste with additions of cocoa and a hint of vanilla. The cinnamon comes across a little less in the flavor than the nose. The bitter and sweet are well balanced as it moves toward a long but not cloying finish that leaves a sweet tangy aftertaste. The soft full body is absolutely amazing, the oily suspension like fluid surrounds my tongue like an eldritch healing elixir.
This is one of the best beers I have had and certainly has the best mouth feel I have ever experienced.
Unfortunately due to the social aspect of the bottle share I didn't get more in depth notes but the conversation about this one while sipping it was a fun and rewarding experience.
Jump at the chance if you get it!
1,120 characters
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75
Drank from a snifter at a bottle share.
Oily black and crowned with a ring reddish brown micro-bubbles, it leaves thin sheets of glistening lacing and viscous brown residue sliding down the glass with every tilt.
The moderate strength nose hits me with cinnamon first on every sniff before opening up a bit to sweet syrupy and rotated malt along with coffee and dark fruit at the end. All of these notes are present in the taste with additions of cocoa and a hint of vanilla. The cinnamon comes across a little less in the flavor than the nose. The bitter and sweet are well balanced as it moves toward a long but not cloying finish that leaves a sweet tangy aftertaste. The soft full body is absolutely amazing, the oily suspension like fluid surrounds my tongue like an eldritch healing elixir.
This is one of the best beers I have had and certainly has the best mouth feel I have ever experienced.
Unfortunately due to the social aspect of the bottle share I didn't get more in depth notes but the conversation about this one while sipping it was a fun and rewarding experience.
Jump at the chance if you get it!
1,120 characters
4.54/5 rDev +0.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
My god what a beer. Expectations are already set due to the score/massive sample size...but this beer still delivered. It's fucking outrageously good. There's a plethora of great reviews in here already (including the bros) so I'll keep it brief:
-Motor oil-black with a thin brown film that swirls and pocks and looks like a concentrated dusting of cinnamon
-Aroma, which I thought was going to be all over the place, was more dark fruit and charred grains that anything too sweet or cloying
-Taste is roasted grains, French roast coffee, fig, raisin, chocolate, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla. The peppers make themselves known in the feel...
-Mouthfeel is like beer-lotion. Smooth, thick, creamy, soft. Unreal. Kiss of heat on the back-end warms the mouth and mingles with the cinnamon and vanilla.
A ton of flavors but it all comes together in a cohesive and, ultimately, unbelievably excellent beer.
904 characters
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
My god what a beer. Expectations are already set due to the score/massive sample size...but this beer still delivered. It's fucking outrageously good. There's a plethora of great reviews in here already (including the bros) so I'll keep it brief:
-Motor oil-black with a thin brown film that swirls and pocks and looks like a concentrated dusting of cinnamon
-Aroma, which I thought was going to be all over the place, was more dark fruit and charred grains that anything too sweet or cloying
-Taste is roasted grains, French roast coffee, fig, raisin, chocolate, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla. The peppers make themselves known in the feel...
-Mouthfeel is like beer-lotion. Smooth, thick, creamy, soft. Unreal. Kiss of heat on the back-end warms the mouth and mingles with the cinnamon and vanilla.
A ton of flavors but it all comes together in a cohesive and, ultimately, unbelievably excellent beer.
904 characters
4.54/5 rDev +0.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.75/5 rDev +5.3%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
A dark chaotic concoction of dark chocolate, cinnamon, black licorice, dried chili, spicy vanilla, coffee are the initial elements which intoxicate the aromatic senses. I try to avoid using the word “complex” whenever I describe beer as I consider it to be the cop-out of all cop-out adjectives, but there are so many elements in play here that I can't pick them all out individually with 100% accuracy. I'm really fascinated with the way the bitter aromas from the cacao meld so harmoniously with the spices from the chili and the vanilla, while not taking away from the woody wintry notes from the cinnamon; in one word, this brew is pure chaos on the nose.
Similar sensations ensue on the taste buds: the bitterness from the tag team of cacao and coffee lay the foundation for some of the more ornate and flashy flavors ranging from spicy, woody, pungent, and even a little bit of sweet at the end to run amok on the senses. Some of my fellow tasters commented that the range of flavors contained within the brew is comparable to a witch's cauldron or even holistic oriental medicine, but likewise with the nose, the individual factors are very expressive yet careful not to completely engulf one another. Black magic.
Medium, teetering towards medium-light bodied. Gentle, simmering carbonation. The rich, thick creamy initial mouthfeel stays without you throughout the drinking experience, while leaving all the heat from the alcohol behind; this is definitely one to be shared and savored among friends and good company.
1,532 characters
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
A dark chaotic concoction of dark chocolate, cinnamon, black licorice, dried chili, spicy vanilla, coffee are the initial elements which intoxicate the aromatic senses. I try to avoid using the word “complex” whenever I describe beer as I consider it to be the cop-out of all cop-out adjectives, but there are so many elements in play here that I can't pick them all out individually with 100% accuracy. I'm really fascinated with the way the bitter aromas from the cacao meld so harmoniously with the spices from the chili and the vanilla, while not taking away from the woody wintry notes from the cinnamon; in one word, this brew is pure chaos on the nose.
Similar sensations ensue on the taste buds: the bitterness from the tag team of cacao and coffee lay the foundation for some of the more ornate and flashy flavors ranging from spicy, woody, pungent, and even a little bit of sweet at the end to run amok on the senses. Some of my fellow tasters commented that the range of flavors contained within the brew is comparable to a witch's cauldron or even holistic oriental medicine, but likewise with the nose, the individual factors are very expressive yet careful not to completely engulf one another. Black magic.
Medium, teetering towards medium-light bodied. Gentle, simmering carbonation. The rich, thick creamy initial mouthfeel stays without you throughout the drinking experience, while leaving all the heat from the alcohol behind; this is definitely one to be shared and savored among friends and good company.
1,532 characters
4.21/5 rDev -6.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
5/5 rDev +10.9%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Delicious
9 characters
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Delicious
9 characters
4.5/5 rDev -0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.28/5 rDev -5.1%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.85/5 rDev +7.5%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75
Outstanding beer with a huge array of flavor (vanilla, cinnamon and bittersweet chocolate), with a little mild heat on the back end from the chilies and booze. Excellent sipping beer. Thanks Dave from Union Beer Store in Miami for sharing this one with us!
256 characters
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75
Outstanding beer with a huge array of flavor (vanilla, cinnamon and bittersweet chocolate), with a little mild heat on the back end from the chilies and booze. Excellent sipping beer. Thanks Dave from Union Beer Store in Miami for sharing this one with us!
256 characters
5/5 rDev +10.9%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
2016 bottle, bottled on 12/30/15. Released March 12, 2016. 1 Pint, 9.4oz, 11.5% ABV. Incredible fucking beer. Chocolate, coconut, vanilla, so perfect.
Look: Pours jet black, dark tan head of foam. Amazing thick syrupy body when poured into the glass.
Smell: Admittedly a little soy sauce on the nose, bud it is followed by rich chocolate and coffee, with subtle coconut undertones.
Taste: Absolutely amazing. Met right away with bitter coffee , subtle yet rich chocolate and undeniable notes of coconut. The finishing notes bring out strong vanilla and more bitterness from a good black coffee.
Feel: Incredibly smooth from start to finish. Slight but necessary carbonation. Sticky, and with a distinct spicy finish down the back of the throat.
What else is there to say? For me, this lived up to the hype and more. So many different components, all perfectly unified into this incredible beer. Even the peppers can be felt in the finish, and I'm just so amazed by this. Again a huge shoutout to my trade partner in Tampa for making this happen.
1,047 characters
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
2016 bottle, bottled on 12/30/15. Released March 12, 2016. 1 Pint, 9.4oz, 11.5% ABV. Incredible fucking beer. Chocolate, coconut, vanilla, so perfect.
Look: Pours jet black, dark tan head of foam. Amazing thick syrupy body when poured into the glass.
Smell: Admittedly a little soy sauce on the nose, bud it is followed by rich chocolate and coffee, with subtle coconut undertones.
Taste: Absolutely amazing. Met right away with bitter coffee , subtle yet rich chocolate and undeniable notes of coconut. The finishing notes bring out strong vanilla and more bitterness from a good black coffee.
Feel: Incredibly smooth from start to finish. Slight but necessary carbonation. Sticky, and with a distinct spicy finish down the back of the throat.
What else is there to say? For me, this lived up to the hype and more. So many different components, all perfectly unified into this incredible beer. Even the peppers can be felt in the finish, and I'm just so amazed by this. Again a huge shoutout to my trade partner in Tampa for making this happen.
1,047 characters
4.09/5 rDev -9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
4.63/5 rDev +2.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
The pour, the nose, the taste all are better than the "mystique" of Hunahpu when I finally tasted one. Limited, to say the least, to a once a year release and well worth the trip for thousands of your closest friends who feel the same way evidently by the thousands lining up to get into the even. Plus you get close to 150 breweries to sample when you pick up your supply of Hunahpu for Hunahpu Day.
403 characters
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
The pour, the nose, the taste all are better than the "mystique" of Hunahpu when I finally tasted one. Limited, to say the least, to a once a year release and well worth the trip for thousands of your closest friends who feel the same way evidently by the thousands lining up to get into the even. Plus you get close to 150 breweries to sample when you pick up your supply of Hunahpu for Hunahpu Day.
403 characters
4.25/5 rDev -5.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Too much like soy sauce.
24 characters
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Too much like soy sauce.
24 characters
4.54/5 rDev +0.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
4.53/5 rDev +0.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
750 ml bottle into snifter, bottled on 2/11/2017. Pours very dense pitch black color with a 2 finger dense dark brown head with insane retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings around the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Insane appearance. One of the thickest, darkest beers I have ever seen. Aromas of huge dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, vanilla, fudge, molasses, caramel, toffee, cinnamon, chili pepper, nuttiness, and toasted dark bread; with light notes of tobacco, leather, raisin, plum, fig, smoke, charcoal, wood, and herbal/roasted earthiness. Incredible aromas with fantastic complexity and balance of dark/roast/bready malt, cocoa, coffee, and spice notes; with big strength. Taste of huge dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, vanilla, fudge, molasses, caramel, toffee, cinnamon, chili pepper, nuttiness, and toasted dark bread; with light notes of tobacco, leather, raisin, plum, fig, smoke, charcoal, wood, and herbal/roasted earthiness. Light roast/char/woody bitterness and pepper/cinnamon spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, vanilla, fudge, molasses, caramel, toffee, cinnamon, chili pepper, nuttiness, toasted dark bread, smoke, char, wood, light dark fruit, and herbal/roasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt, cocoa, coffee, and spice flavors; with an awesome roasted bitter/sweet and pepper/cinnamon spice balance; with no acrid/astringent flavors after the finish. Slight dryness from roast/char bitterness and pepper/cinnamon spiciness, lightly increasing through the glass. Very minimal building pepper heat through the glass. Light-medium carbonation and very full bodied; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/rich, and slightly slick/sticky/chalky balanced mouthfeel that is awesome. Alcohol is very well hidden; a very mild increasing warmth of 11.5% through the glass. Overall this is an insane spiced imperial stout! All around incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt, cocoa, coffee, and spice flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the big ABV. Damn near perfect balance of spice flavors, with insane levels of rich stout complexity. Great pepper presence with minimal added heat. A highly amazing offering. As a side note: the last tiny pour of the bottle was all yeast. There was an obscene level of dregs in the bottom, but the rest of the bottle was spot on.
2,526 characters
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
750 ml bottle into snifter, bottled on 2/11/2017. Pours very dense pitch black color with a 2 finger dense dark brown head with insane retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings around the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Insane appearance. One of the thickest, darkest beers I have ever seen. Aromas of huge dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, vanilla, fudge, molasses, caramel, toffee, cinnamon, chili pepper, nuttiness, and toasted dark bread; with light notes of tobacco, leather, raisin, plum, fig, smoke, charcoal, wood, and herbal/roasted earthiness. Incredible aromas with fantastic complexity and balance of dark/roast/bready malt, cocoa, coffee, and spice notes; with big strength. Taste of huge dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, vanilla, fudge, molasses, caramel, toffee, cinnamon, chili pepper, nuttiness, and toasted dark bread; with light notes of tobacco, leather, raisin, plum, fig, smoke, charcoal, wood, and herbal/roasted earthiness. Light roast/char/woody bitterness and pepper/cinnamon spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, vanilla, fudge, molasses, caramel, toffee, cinnamon, chili pepper, nuttiness, toasted dark bread, smoke, char, wood, light dark fruit, and herbal/roasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt, cocoa, coffee, and spice flavors; with an awesome roasted bitter/sweet and pepper/cinnamon spice balance; with no acrid/astringent flavors after the finish. Slight dryness from roast/char bitterness and pepper/cinnamon spiciness, lightly increasing through the glass. Very minimal building pepper heat through the glass. Light-medium carbonation and very full bodied; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/rich, and slightly slick/sticky/chalky balanced mouthfeel that is awesome. Alcohol is very well hidden; a very mild increasing warmth of 11.5% through the glass. Overall this is an insane spiced imperial stout! All around incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready malt, cocoa, coffee, and spice flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the big ABV. Damn near perfect balance of spice flavors, with insane levels of rich stout complexity. Great pepper presence with minimal added heat. A highly amazing offering. As a side note: the last tiny pour of the bottle was all yeast. There was an obscene level of dregs in the bottom, but the rest of the bottle was spot on.
2,526 characters
4.94/5 rDev +9.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
At Sierra Nevada Beer Camp -Raleigh. Black with brown, quickly disappearing head. Sweet smell; almost syrupy mouth feel with little carbonation. Tones of roasted coffee, cinnamon and brown sugar, but not too sweet to taste. Finishes very smooth with hints of dark chocolate, but no bitterness. Stouts are not usually my go to, especially in hot weather, but this one is so nice! So balanced and easy to drink!
414 characters
look: 5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
At Sierra Nevada Beer Camp -Raleigh. Black with brown, quickly disappearing head. Sweet smell; almost syrupy mouth feel with little carbonation. Tones of roasted coffee, cinnamon and brown sugar, but not too sweet to taste. Finishes very smooth with hints of dark chocolate, but no bitterness. Stouts are not usually my go to, especially in hot weather, but this one is so nice! So balanced and easy to drink!
414 characters
4.44/5 rDev -1.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
4.74/5 rDev +5.1%
look: 5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
look: 5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
4.75/5 rDev +5.3%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
3.74/5 rDev -17.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
4.4/5 rDev -2.4%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.15/5 rDev -8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
4.59/5 rDev +1.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
Looks ultra black with a decent head.
Smell has some cinnamon. Slight hint from the peppers. Dark rich chocolate.
Taste is explosive. Heat from the chilies. Smooth vanilla on the back and bitter chocolate throughout.
Smooth feel with only a slight remaining burn from the peppers.
Overall it's awesome. Very few complaints.
331 characters
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
Looks ultra black with a decent head.
Smell has some cinnamon. Slight hint from the peppers. Dark rich chocolate.
Taste is explosive. Heat from the chilies. Smooth vanilla on the back and bitter chocolate throughout.
Smooth feel with only a slight remaining burn from the peppers.
Overall it's awesome. Very few complaints.
331 characters
Hunahpu's Imperial Stout from Cigar City Brewing
4.51
out of 5
based on 4,141 ratings.
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75