Bolita Brown - Cedar-Aged
Cigar City Brewing

 

 

 

 

 

 

poured into a tulip glass, dark amber with a nice silky off white head. scent of roasted nuts and chocolate, we are in for a treat. taste is wonderfully complex with nut, chocolate, toffee, and light coffee. mouth is silky smooth. WOW. I can't tell if I am siping on a brown in Newcastle, enjoying expresso in Milan, or walking the streets of havana. what a home run.

Very nice brown color, wonderful thick head that coats the glass with such ease. Nose of chocolate and malts. The taste reflects the chocolate aroma with some roasted malts and hops! Such a nice beer from Cigar City. This would be awesome with a Drew Estate Java cigar!

Ahhh a nice find while traveling through florida about to get onto the cruise ship.. stowed away like a christmas presant to open while in the middle of the atlantic.

a: real nice thick dark brown mine had a large head when poured (could be because of the waves for a day)

S: malty carmel with a nice boose smell

T: rich tones carmel , burnt cedar, lots of malt

M: The tounge tingled with excitement of the flavors...

O: 9% on a brown ale is going to do a lot for the palate. this one is special to me - enjoyed in the middle of the ocean as an oasis in a destitude wasteland of craft beer known as the cruise ship.

sidebar: this beer is in the humidor series- imo this would be a great cigar beer... the flavor of the brown gave hints of a stogie - perfect for a cuban

This beer really suprised me and in a good way. Generally I am not a fan of brown ales, but this beer made me want to revisit that style. Super clean beer with some nice malt notes and great aroma. I really enjoyed this beer and hope to get some more although that may be difficult with the distro limited to Florida.

A: Pours a nice dark nutty brown with a small foamy brown head. Okay retention with some nice lace.

S: Standard bolita aroma up front. Nice roast with bold nuttiness. Strong notes of coffee and chocolate. The cedar is there though in a fairly big way. It comes off mildly earthy and a touch spicey.

T: Solid as well. Roasty and tasty up front with the flavors mentioned above coming out in taste. The cedar is there for sure. Woody and spicey.

M: Medium in body, great mouthfeel.

D: Good I like what cedar does to the CCB brews.

poured from a 4 day old 32 oz growler.

pours a dark brown with a bright amber bottom.

smell is a roasty woody delight.

taste is a roasty earthy then the woody cedar. this is nice.

mouthfeel is right and the wood imparts a dryness that makes this very drinkable. no alcohol noticable. a really good beer even for ccb.

Pours a nice dark brown with a yellow-ish brown head. Very nice looking beer.

Lots of cedar in the nose with some chocolate, vanilla, and cream.

In the mouth it is the same as the nose. Lots of cedar up front with the nice malts dancing around in the middle. Ends with a sweet cedary finish. Think IPA with cedar instead of hops and a bolder malt.

The beer has a nice creamy, full-bodied feel with just enough carbonation to wake up the tastebuds to the greatness that surrounds.

Great sipping or session beer. Very interesting taste goes great with a good conversation.

Again big thanks goes out to greg for making sure I get all the yummy CCB treats. I opened this one as I watched the yankee game last night. Served in a 20oz pint glass, it was consumed on 10/16/2009.

Very nice pour here, dark brown in color with a small light tan head that just barely poked up on the surface before settling down and getting very mellow. Aroma was loaded with notes of chocolate, tons of tobacco notes and a light woody quality. Warming brought out hints of light vanilla, and a touch of coffee. As I reach in for a sip the tobacco and cedar flavor just consumed me. Rich luscious chocolate notes then come in like a tidal wave. A very powerful and rich flavor here I have to say. Each sip seems to bring something new to the table here as delicate touches of vanilla and coffee now make their presence known as a long, and drawn out flavor of tobacco leaves the tongue looking for just one more sip.

Overall this was a very, very solid beer. One of the most intresting treatments they have done for sure. I was just floored by how much of the tobacco notes were picked up and blended with the cocoa from the bolita, just a tremendously good beer.

Swingtop growler opens with a hiss. Nice. Dark brown and slightly hazy beer that glows ruby when held up to the light. A finger of tan head has little staying power, but leaves some decent lace.

Cedar and big chocolate malt on the nose. Some roastiness and a nutty flavor.

This is one smooth beer. The cedar gives it some tang, but blends wonderfully with the Bolita itself -- big chocolatey, nutty and slightly roasty flavors here. Some tang and bite as it is swallowed, with a bit of hop bitterness on the back of the palate a dry finish, and a sweet chocolate malt aftertaste. Not boozy at all.

Mouthfeel is smooth, almost creamy, and luxurious. But this is not a heavy beer -- definitely a medium weight. I would like a bit more carbonation, but I'll blame my growler and the days that have transpired since it was filled for that, as the sample I had on tap was not lacking in that department.

Drinkable to the point of being dangerous. I may have to snag another bottle of regular Bolita just to sit on it for a while; I think the humidor treatment is interesting with this beer but I'm not sure it's actually an improvement. I suspect a lot of the smoothness I am enjoying in this is a function of the aging as much as the wood.

Wow, first review! Lucky enough to snag some of this gem. Growler, poured into my Cigar City tulip.

A: Deep, dark brown, with caramel highlights. The pour produced a nickel size of off white head, that receeds almost imediately and leaves very little lace.

A: Like most CCB brews, the malts really shine. Chocolate and roastiness are prominent. But as the beer warms the cedar really comes through. So unique and inviting. Almost like the beer has no hops, very hard to detect in the nose.

T: In the regular Bolita, the chocolate and roasty malts are great. It is no different in this beer, but the cedar adds a completly different dimension. This beer is so complex. The hops finally make an apperance, as the beer finishes dry, with no hint of alcohol.

M: I would've liked a little more carbonation, I think it is a bit oily. But for a full bodied beer it's not that bad at all.

D and overall impression: Drinkability is limited somewhat due to the complexity and the cedar aging. Overall, just another fantastic brew from CCB. Humidor Jai Alai won a Gold at the GABF, for a reason. Cedar is now a go to wood for aging beer. Skal.