Three on a Match
Cigar City Brewing

 

500 ml. poured into a snifter glass. Pour is murky and flat, deep brown in color, unexciting. Aroma opens up with warming to offer some subdued barrel notes and some muddled dark malts and a brandy character. Touch of dark cherry at times. Not bright, too muddled, occasional wafts of ethanol seem fitting. Taste is a touch thin, flat, muddled and pleasantly malty, hint of barrel, so so. Full feel for an old ale, touch of carob spice on the finish. Overall another beer that could have been better with some carbonation and filtration from C.C.

 

Sampling a cellar temp 500 ml bottle poured into a snifter. the beer pours a rich chestnut color with a dense yet fluffy beige head of 2 cm.
The beer is fairly dark and not much light passes through the glass, only on the edges do I see the dark chestnut and coffee colors.
Aroma is toffee, molasses and some red grapes and plum notes. Definitely a bit of fusol booze and general "strong" beer scents. Maybe a bit of oxidation in there too, but no hop character. Definitely smells like a sipping beer.
First sip reveals a lighter body than expected and very smooth mouthfeel and gentle spacious carbonation. beer drinks dangerously easy for a bigger boozey beer. Leaves a little sticky residue on my lips but not a ton. There isnt really any warming booze but there is a bit of a black peppery bite on the finish. The overall flavor is molasses and red grapes with some port character and a bit of plum again.
No hop character that I can pick up.
This beer is tasty and malty, but not overly sweet malt, in fact almost tart with the fruitiness.
Im really glad to have tried this one and would drink it again. Definitely a little bit of a dangerous sipping beer.

 

As I wend my way through the latest El Cat catalog of beers a thought intrudes: does Cigar City have a kidney insurance plan? 500ML bottle with stubborn, thick, irritating red wax.

Once finally freed from its demonic container the beer is dark sunburnt brown with little to no head & a nose strong white grape juice. No beer detected. Yet.

Three On A Match spits on the herd mentality of bourbon barrel stouts. Lots of fruit here; minus the port &, well, lots of other stuff this could be a NE IPA. Plums, raisins, cranberries waltz against a background of white grape (the port, I presume), booze, sharp oak, & long slide of caramel.

Interesting is the byword here, but it falls short of the epic journey I was hoping for. Still a good beer.