Minaret Extra Special Bitter
Cigar City Brewing

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From:
Cigar City Brewing
 
Florida, United States
Style:
Extra Special / Strong Bitter (ESB)
ABV:
6%
Score:
85
Avg:
3.76 | pDev: 13.03%
Reviews:
37
Ratings:
186
Status:
Active
Rated:
Nov 11, 2018
Added:
May 29, 2011
Wants:
  4
Gots:
  16
Opened in 1891 across the Hillsborough River from downtown Tampa, the Tampa Bay Hotel, with its resplendent Moorish Revival design and crescent moon-topped minarets, quickly became one of the most recognizable and iconic features of Tampa's nascent skyline. Henry Plant's grandiose hotel boasted Florida's first elevator and is now the home to the University of Tampa and the Henry B. Plant Museum.

Cigar City Brewing celebrates Henry Plant and his historic hotel with Minaret English-style Pub Ale, a malt-forward yet easy-drinking ale that brings to mind the nuanced and quaffable beers of the UK. Brewed with Maris Otter malt and traditional English hops, Minaret English-style Pub Ale boasts complex malt flavors, woody hop notes and a perfect balance between these two qualities. Nitro dispense rounds out the beer and emulates traditional cask conditioning, making it a beer to revisit again and again while contemplating the man and the hotel that made Tampa famous.

40 IBU
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 3.88 by robotic_being from Illinois

Nov 11, 2018
 
Rated: 4.5 by tfsimpkins from Florida

May 21, 2018
 
Rated: 3.75 by Mantooth from North Carolina

Apr 28, 2018
Photo of StonedTrippin
Reviewed by StonedTrippin from Colorado

3.71/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
it has been awhile since i have had a cigar city beer that wasnt something extreme. i love a good pub ale type, and thats exactly what this is, straightforward and well made, served on nitro, which i think is always a great format for an esb type. this one is radiant amber in color with a frothing shaving cream thick head, off white and leaving thick rings demarcating each sip. it doesnt smell like a whole lot, but i think thats more a product of the nitro than of the beer, i often think that on nitro beers for whatever reason. the flavor fortunately is more robust, a nice english malt profile, maris otter and a richer crystal type, clean though and fermented down to near dry. apple slices and toffee and bran and raisin all come to mind, but this isnt overly complex or anything. a mild hop bitterness is there at the end, and there is a lot of body, but this is just a beer for drinking, an old worldy style but made to be somewhat modern here. its nice to have more classic stuff like this from these guys, who i tend to associate more with the absurd than the drinkable. this was tasty and serviceable.
Apr 22, 2018
Photo of cjgiant
Reviewed by cjgiant from District of Columbia

3.89/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Nitro:
Pours a clear acorn brown including the red-orange shading. Head is a frothy almost doughy top of very tightly packed mini-nitro bubbles.

Nose has a light mineral aspect to toasted grain. A little bit of dried pine or grass seems like it play be the bitter side, but it’s a more malty nose overall.

The taste has the toast and minerally aspect of the nose, and they hit first. They step aside to let a little chocolate come in, but not to overpower. This fades as the bitterness comes on as fall leaves, then maybe a tad grassy, but finally a bite piney. The mineral aspect holds up, but the toasted malts I think really influence how the bitterness is kept at bay.

A balanced beer that is decently bold on both malt and bitter sides, probably bandy leaning malty in taste, but with a toasted crumb and piney bitter lingering aspect. Smooth as expected on nitro.
Apr 20, 2018
 
Rated: 3.81 by Hockey_Fan from Maryland

Apr 11, 2018
 
Rated: 3.28 by JamieDuncan from Maryland

Mar 07, 2018
 
Rated: 3.5 by Cuervo_PCB from Florida

Aug 27, 2016
 
Rated: 3.53 by CBrodbeck from Florida

Jun 04, 2016
 
Rated: 3.75 by BEER88 from North Carolina

Nov 11, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by jrob21 from North Carolina

Oct 29, 2015
 
Rated: 3.74 by KensWorld from Florida

Oct 05, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by CPAles from Illinois

Sep 12, 2015
 
Rated: 3.65 by Shawner from Minnesota

Sep 04, 2015
 
Rated: 3.68 by skaboom420 from Pennsylvania

Sep 03, 2015
 
Rated: 3 by ejimhof from Pennsylvania

Aug 22, 2015
 
Rated: 3.25 by waddellc2 from Pennsylvania

Aug 18, 2015
 
Rated: 3.85 by wafers from New York

Aug 04, 2015
 
Rated: 4.04 by vette2006c5r from Minnesota

Aug 02, 2015
 
Rated: 3.84 by Jason_cs from Florida

Aug 01, 2015
Minaret Extra Special Bitter from Cigar City Brewing
Beer rating: 85 out of 100 with 186 ratings