Vuja De
Cigar City Brewing

imonhiatus from New Jersey

3.35/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 2.25 | smell: 2.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.75

I have had this bottle since the release, well I guess it is now or never. ripping through a bunch of questionable bottles tonight. popped and filled a b2 tb oversized snifter. brew pours a deep crimson that settles almost black. massive frothy dark off white head that hung firever. nose is real sharp. nail polish remover ..not pleasant. taste is actually in a great spot right now. super tart cherry black currant. while a bit sharp and acetone, it has subsided into the background giving it an almost Framboos plasticiness. interesting but probably as good as it has been since it was first bottled. not bad. drink em if you got em.

Aug 10, 2015

Greywulfken from New York

4.18/5  rDev +18.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

A: dark brown, opaque body with a fat, frisky, frothy tan head; some lace arms draped behind

S: bright fruits and flowers, sweet dark chewy caramel and sharp tart yeastiness

T: dark, sharply tart fruit highlighted with flowery, bright and citric components; dark and earthy characteristics underscore lighter, brighter, acidic and woody flavors

M: light and drying with touches of acidity; smooth and soothing despite the mild puckering effect

O: I'm trying not to sound too wild in my review here, because I'm something of a novice regarding American wild ale, but for my tastes, this beer is a lot better than a lot of the reviews suggest. Think, dark, light-bodied, and tart. If that's your thing, you'll enjoy this.

Also, disclaimer: this is a "store-aged" bottle from 2011, and has apparently benefitted considerably from aging, as I detected none of the acetone flavor/aroma that many reported.

Dec 12, 2013

Alieniloquium from Florida

2.3/5  rDev -34.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

750 mL bottle poured into a pint glass.

Appearance - Overcarbonated. Huge creamy head. Sticks to the inside. Murky reddish brown body.

Smell - Vinegar. Red wine. Cherry. Acetone. Some must.

Taste - Ouch. Really sour. Vinegary and solvent. Nail polish remover flavor. More distinct red wine flavor. Some cherry and malt sweetness.

Mouthfeel - Kinda heavy. Doesn't taste overcarbonated. Very sour. The off flavors are rough.

Overall - Couldn't finish this. Drainpour.

Nov 23, 2013

Florida9 from Illinois

2.38/5  rDev -32.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Oh god, what have I done to offend thee?

This beer pours a brown, sort of (but not really) grape juice or red wine colored liquid. Slight translucent, but mostly opaque. Forms a thin, bubbly, off-white colored head. No lacing. Aroma is...different: Unripe fruit, tart unripe berries, grapes?, sort of like grape soda grape flavoring, but then there is a ctirus-floral-chalky aroma that I have a hard time grasping is an actual smell that I am smelling. The taste is more of same, yet different in all together other unpleasant ways. Taste starts with a rather sweet, floral-spiked vinegar flavor, before turning even more floral, with notes of berry, like fermented blueberry or maybe strawberry, but some sort of vinegary berry that has seen far far better days. Vinegar on the back end. Maybe a touch of malt. Maybe a touch of black tea. Complex, but with a an onslaught of competing flavors that just don't mesh. Medium bodied. Extremely sour, but not brutally so, though I can feel this liquid burning a hole in my stomach. No bitterness. Sweet-sour mess.
In the end, undrinkable. I was incapable of finishing a single glass.

Jul 21, 2013

Knapp85 from Pennsylvania

3.14/5  rDev -10.8%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured out as a deep reddish brown color with a quick fading tan colored head on top. The retention is minimal and there is no real lacing. The smell of the beer is definitely sour, with some vinegar-like notes to it. The taste is a little fruity with some very subtle malt but the sourness of it all overpowers everything else. The mouthfeel is lighter bodied with a very acidic puckering sensation left in the finish. Overall I wasn't that impressed with it, I was happy to have tried it but it's nothing worth seeking out.

May 27, 2013

billab914 from Virginia

3.72/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Another bottle shared by Rhettroactive. Poured from a 750ml bottle into a tasting glass. It poured a murky dark brown color with a thick foamy head to it.

The aroma is slightly funky with a lot of fruitiness coming through. A little bit of a malty, slightly caramel like flavor is there. I liked the light funk to it. Not bad overall, but not great either.

The taste shows a little more funk and sourness to it but the tart fruits show through as well. Pretty big malty base to it as well. Pretty decent flavors to it.

The mouthfeel is medium bodied with high carbonation. Overall I thought it was pretty good. It had a nice mix of funky, tart fruits and some decent supporting malt flavors. It was pretty drinkable as well.

Mar 28, 2012

Rhettroactive from Pennsylvania

3.69/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

From 750mL bottle to Portsmouth glass on 3/24/12
*From notes

A: Shit brown. This beer ain't taking anyone to prom. A hearty pour yields a one finger white head and a decent collar.

S: Traditional funk. Not much more to it.

T: A lot more malt then I was expecting. It's rich and robust, like there's a bigger beer underneath the wild yeast that covers this from top to bottom. Fairly well balanced and reasonably complex. Not nearly the "paint thinner" I'd been warned of.

M: Extremely thick for a Wild Ale. Plenty of bite. Creamy and robust.

O: A surprisingly above average beer. I'd heard horror stories of this one. It's lingered in the back of my cellar for well over a year, and I'd no idea of when I was gonna open it. Yet after all of my worries, I'm glad I finally shared this with friends. Everyone generally enjoyed CCB & St. Somewhere's Vuja De. Not the best of the Wild Ale style, yet it certainly passed my taste test.

Mar 25, 2012

Phyl21ca from Canada (QC)

3.95/5  rDev +12.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Bottle: Poured a deep amber brown color ale with a nice thick foamy head with good retention and some very good lacing. Aroma consists of hibiscus and tart notes with light funky ester. Taste is a complex mix of tart notes with fruity flavour courtesy of the berries and hibiscus. Sour level is bit more pronounced then I would have expected but not overly so. Body is quite full with good carbonation. Alcohol is not apparent though not sure it is required to have such ABV for this beer. Good, would love to try this one again.

Mar 06, 2012

Overlord from California

1.62/5  rDev -54%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 1 | feel: 3 | overall: 1

Whoa ... this is one epic misfire.

Pours an almost grape-y purplish red with a large off-white head. The smell gives warning that something is terribly, horribly amiss. There are some vague spicy notes, a bit of unidentifiable sweet fruit-i-ness, and an overpowering miasma of cleaning solvent/nail polish remover. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?

It was all I could do to get through four or five oz. I like flavor bombs. I seek them out. I crave them. This beer has too much flavor. Needs to have the spices and nail polish dialed down by a factor of 90%. The sad part is the vinegar/tannin/leather notes are almost pleasant, and the fruit-y/sugar-y/lemon-y spiciness might have been good ... if not for that horrible god awful paint removal flavor that throttles everything it touches.

A truly epically awful beer.

Nov 27, 2011

indesertum from New York

3.9/5  rDev +10.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

dark caramel brown. fabulous head. retention is nice. lacing is nice.

smells like fruit. currants, black raspberries, lemon. it's like a dark fruit stew in here.

sweet comes forth immediately on the nose. tart. quite floral in taste. there's something odd on the finish. lemon peel. bitter leaves. not exactly a hoppy bitterness. also reminds me of those fruit jerky stuff.

mouthfeel is fabulous. velvety. just like big sound. only the tartness is more lifting and makes things lighter. way boozy at first but at warmer temperatures everything else kinda masks the booze

again, not my favorite but quite a good brew. everything is just way too much. i was hoping for something lighter. it reminds me of brute, just with a bunch of other things added to it

Nov 22, 2011

claspada from New Jersey

2.53/5  rDev -28.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Pours a garnet color that is almost bordering on purple with a good tan head and a bit of lacing as it goes down.

Aromas begin with quite a bit of an acetic presence right from the start. The nose also carries a bit of chocolate, raspberry and cherry.

The tastes begin much, much worse, as vinegar is about all I'm able to grab out of this one, with a distinct metallic twang that is quite off-putting. The acidic flavors are simply too overpowering.

The mouthfeel is too vinegary and acetic. Just can't get past it. It lingers on the palate and if qay too dry and unpleasant throughout the finish.

Overall a disaster from a normally reputable brewer. Not sure if this is just past it's prime or was just rubbish from the start, regardless avoid going forward.

Nov 14, 2011

alpinebryant from Connecticut

4.12/5  rDev +17%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Deep dark pour with a massive thick tan head.

S: Acetic vinegar with a deep tart smell of Oregon canned tart cherries and funk. Barrel aroma clear and present.

T: Taste is very acetic. Vinegar flavors clearly there, but this is so rich and thick that there are multiple layers of complexity. There is more of a Flanders Oud Brune flavor with tons of oak than I have had out of most American Wild Ales but I would say the yeast in here is very similar to a Roselare yeast strain maybe with some other bugs added later. Tart lemony and mouth puckering / teeth resin reducing. Your teeth will feel similar to how teeth feel after eating a persimmon... Chalky and grainy! Oaky and tart through the finish with a hint of sour cream.

M: Thick body for the style clearly with a lot of carbonation. The bugs are still eating...

O: I had seen some bad reviews when this came out and have let it sit for the last 8 months or so I think. In any case I think it tastes pretty good at this point. Maybe the earlier reviews needed to let the bottles sit longer.

Oct 29, 2011

chickenflea from Florida

3.76/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Aroma: Malt vinegar with booze and bing cherries and flowers. Slight milk chocolate.

Appearance: Pours a clouded, dark brown body with a moderate-sized, whitish head.

Taste: Briefly sweet and them immediately tart and sour. The berries are clearly there now. This beer is clearly better at room temperature. The first few sips were harsh and boozy. Lemony sourness.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light body. Medium-high carbonation.

Overall: A very different ant refreshing beer. Again, let this beer warm up to thoroughly enjoy it's unique blend of flavors.

Oct 16, 2011

twiggamortis420 from Texas

4.39/5  rDev +24.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

750 mL bottle courtesy of fthomasl, thanks bud. Pours a cloudy brown color with an ample tan head. Retention and lacing are average at best.

Nose is great! Lots of berry aromas and acetic vinegar. Smells like an aged Rodenbach mixed with a nice lambic. Me likey.

Pithy, lemon zest flavors play nicely with the acetic sourness. Damn, this is a tasty beverage! The sourness is plenty there for extreme sourheads and also displays some ancillary flavors of hops and berry fruitiness. Wine-like at times with a grape-esque tannin aspect. I think this is a well balanced sour that hits some high notes at times but has some pithy bitterness that I could see turning some folk off. I really like it though, and would be more than happy to have a few more of these. Very enjoyable.

Sep 30, 2011

ChainGangGuy from Georgia

4.15/5  rDev +17.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: Pours a clouded, dark brown body with a moderate-sized, whitish head.

Smell: A nearby opened bottle of malt vinegar with notes of macerated fruits, skins and all, a bit of stale chocolate, and some curious florals one would find well at home in a cup of herbal tea.

Taste: A brief introduction of a brown ale malt base and then, bang, a burst of sharp tartness, no time for sweetness, Dr. Jones. Homemade jams of black cherries and a blackberries stirred up with a generous pour of acetic vinegar and dusted with a small pinch of cocoa powder and lemon seeds. One tiny drop of acetone. Notably acidic and still unforgivingly tart on the finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light body. Medium-high carbonation.

Overall: Though it seemed quite a few did not, I certainly enjoyed this one. A fun, interesting ride.

Sep 22, 2011

TheFightfan1 from Pennsylvania

3.92/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Now this is the epidemy of a love it or hate beer. I for one did liked it. Served in a tulip. An extremely hazy amberish color with a nice off white heading that sticks around for a little while. Heavy tart aroma and taste. Cherry mostly with a slighter brown sugar like taste in the finsih. Extremely slick in the mouth and medium bodied tetering towards full with nice a carbonation feel. I was very hesitant on getting this one but aah what the hell.

Sep 17, 2011

birchstick from Colorado

3.64/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A - pours dark without much of a head

S - smells very floral with the elderberry and hibiscus; the lemon leaves also give off strong citrus notes.

T - Very floral and soapy was my first overall impression. Digging deeper, this starts with flowers and some honey upfront. It ends with a nice sweetness / sour combo. Really nice complexity going on, however the floral/potpurri flavors were a bit too dialed up for my liking. Very good, though.

M - nice soft carbonation with a medium body

D - solid American Wild Ale. I didn't even Cigar City made sours and was pleasantly surprised by this one. Also, let let this warm up a bit...the more it warmed, the more it opened up. Good stuff!

Sep 09, 2011

ehammond1

4.17/5  rDev +18.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle

Acquired via trade
Thanks sendsilk!

Hazy and murky auburn brown with a rapidly growing khaki colored head. Dots and specks of lace down the glass.

Bright aromas of cherries, currants, and lemon, along with some mild tang and sourness, and a bit of wood.

Bright, popping flavors: currants and cherries, a little bit of lemon, tart sourness and some underlying funk--a really lovely combination. I had no idea what to expect from this beer, though I really enjoyed it.

Light to medium mouthfeel with plenty of carbonation. A joy to drink.

A great surprise, as I didn't have any idea what to expect from this beer.

Sep 05, 2011

devilben02 from North Carolina

4.15/5  rDev +17.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a deep, opaque burgundy brown color, with a thick, creamy beige head. The aroma is wonderfully fragrant and fruity, with a combination of red wine grapes, berries, and a vinegary acidity. The flavor is much tarter, more floral, and dryly fruity, with the fresh grape and berry fruitiness being complemented by some herbal earthiness and a bit of brown sugar sweetness. The fine yet present carbonation is noticeable without distracting from the complex flavor profile. Overall, this is an intriguing, smooth, easy drinking beer that I wish was available in my area.

Aug 31, 2011

cjacobsen from Illinois

3.92/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Thanks to Bay01 for bringing this one by.

(A) Pours brown, almost a dark cloudy maroon/really burnt orange. It's pretty cloudy as well.

(S) Prune, raisin, funk, herbs, and vinegar.

(T) The sour and tart is there. It's pretty acidic. The currants and the lemon are highly noticeable. Tart green apples, some vinegar, cherries.

(M) It's not very carbonated but it's lacking enough to feel flat. It's got that sour kick to it though, the one that gets you in the back parts of your mouth behind your ears.

(O) This was an interesting brew. The reviews are all over the place and I can see why. I think this beer seemed to be on a bottle-to-bottle basis. I think that unless kept right, I could see this changing into an abomination and be close to undrinkable.

Aug 30, 2011

FosterJM from California

4.03/5  rDev +14.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

770th Review on BA
Bottle to Goblet
750 ML

@Woodshop Classix
Thanks to Eric and Sam for sharing!

App- Interesting mix of brown/ambers and reds. A huge puffy two finger head with a good amount of cling to it. A nice wild ale.

Smell- Brighter medium dark fruits with a little yeast behind it. Very bubbly and bright on the nose. No trace of the infection some are smelling on her. Get a little bit of the lemon but not much hidden behind the other fruit.

Taste- Taste really follows the nose although with a little twist. Had a little bit of sour to it but not all that much and more of the lemony notes come in with currants to give it a twang on the taste.

Mouth- Medium bodied and medium carbonated. A little bit of bubbly fruits remain and smooths out on the finish.

Drink- This was a nice beer. I have been pretty happy with all the CCB beers I have had and this was nice as well with some unique flavors melding seeminly well.

Aug 30, 2011

sweemzander from Illinois

4/5  rDev +13.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750mL bottle poured into a tasting glass. Thanks Matt for sharing!

(A)- Pours a deep and cloudy mahogany color. Some tan/transparent lace.

(S)- A big sour acidity. Can definitely see the black currants and lemon leaves.

(T)- High acidity, but rather floral too. Bits of spice and lemon with an overall good sour character throughout.

(M)- A good carbonation level and balance. Again, high acidity, but it has a good backbone of rich fruit and citrus. Subtle chalky finish to it.

(D)- Uniquely acidic with a fun profile of rich fruits and citrus while being a tad dry and chalky. Enjoyable. Based upon some of the reviews I see, there must be off bottles out there or extreme bottle variation going on.

Aug 27, 2011

jsanford from Georgia

3.6/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

750ml bottle poured into a CCb Snifter.

A - Dark mahogany with a thick, red-tinged khaki-colored head that sticks around for some time, leaving some streaky lacing as it (eventually) recedes.
S - Very tart flavors of red wine vinegar, currants, lemons. Reminds me a bit of an Flanders Oud Bruin.
T - Lots of vinegar is present, just like in the nose. Getting some dark, chocolatey malt in there, as well as a bit of currant, lemon, and a good portion of oak. Reminds me a bit of Sea Bass.
M - Smooth and creamy, with a medium-full mouthfeel, lowish carbonation, and a very dry, tannic finish. Low carb hurts it a bit for me, I like my sours to have a bit "crisper" feel.
O - Very unique, I'll give em that. Definitely shares some of the flavor components with Sea Bass, but this is kinda the "sour" take on that beer. Would have been nice to try them side-by-side, but oh well.

Aug 14, 2011

Chizoad from California

4.22/5  rDev +19.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Porter-like appearance with a thin brownish head. Not overly impressive.

Sour and funk in the nose, and they mesh well. Some herbal scents too, probably from all the random things they tossed into this beer.

I want to give this a 4.25 on the taste, but I'll round up. It's initially quite sour, dominated by vinegar, but with plenty of backbone to fix it up. Not as clean as most other sours, but everything is harmonious.

Lacks the refreshing mouthfeel that is common to many sour beers, and I think that it suffers a little bit for it. A little heavy and eventually overly sour. But after 3 bottles in a row who can really complain.

Too bad this is probably the last we'll ever see of the Vuja De. Cigar City isn't brewing with Brett currently, and probably won't start back up for a while, according to one of the employees there. Enjoy it while you can still find it.

Aug 05, 2011

AgentZero from Illinois

1.49/5  rDev -57.7%
look: 3 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 1.5

A - Not a particularly attractive beer, somewhat reddish brown, with a thin off-white head that didn't leave much stick on the sides. At the ABV it has, I guess that is acceptable.

S - What in God's name is this? Nail-polish remover? A massive amount of acetone hits the nose. Wow, that is just gross. There's also some smell of vinegar, and some sort of sickly fruit sweetness. I think all the hair in my nostrils just disintigrated along with my desire to put this beer in my mouth.

T - This is an abomination, the bastard child of nail-polish remover and bad apple cider. Somehow it actually manages to taste worse than it smells. Solvent heavy, bad vinegar, who knows what else at this point because I don't care enough to figure out anything more with this beer as there can't possibly be any qualities redeeming enough to keep this from going down the drain.

M - Somewhat thin, softer carbonation.

O - Shame on Cigar City for putting this in bottles.

Jul 25, 2011