Life Is Like... | Cigar City Brewing
Brewed by:
Cigar City Brewing
Florida, United States
cigarcitybrewing.com
Style: Milk / Sweet Stout
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 15.00%
Availability: Rotating
Notes / Commercial Description:
Imperial sweet stout brewed with cherries & cacao nibs & aged in bourbon barrels.
Added by MatthewPlus on 08-15-2013
This beer is retired; no longer brewed.
HISTOGRAM
View: Beers | Place Reviews
Ratings: 742 | Reviews: 70
Reviews by starshockey9:
More User Reviews:
4.43/5 rDev -2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Opened at a share a few weeks back. One of the highlights of the night. Still smooth and rich. Hints of sweetness and cherries. Bottle was stored in a beer fridge since being purchased.
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look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Opened at a share a few weeks back. One of the highlights of the night. Still smooth and rich. Hints of sweetness and cherries. Bottle was stored in a beer fridge since being purchased.
185 characters
5/5 rDev +10.6%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Stunning. As good as it gets.
Amazing complexity and structure. Perfect balance between cherry, chocolate, and bourbon as it moves across your mouth. No artificial sweetness and not syrupy at all. Finish is dry baker's chocolate.
Easily the best milk / sweet stout that I have ever had.
296 characters
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Stunning. As good as it gets.
Amazing complexity and structure. Perfect balance between cherry, chocolate, and bourbon as it moves across your mouth. No artificial sweetness and not syrupy at all. Finish is dry baker's chocolate.
Easily the best milk / sweet stout that I have ever had.
296 characters
4/5 rDev -11.5%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
750ml poured into a Wakefield snifter.
Pours a deep, opaque black with hints of plum highlights. Even with an aggressive pour it's difficult to get much of a head; the one that is produced forms a rocky, garnet/khaki thin slice and dissipates quickly.
Nose is pretty impressive on this one... Black cherry, dark chocolate, a light alcoholic sweetness, bourbon, oak, and a hint of licorice.
Wow. The bottle says that the beer is an attempt to replicate biting into a cherry cordial, and i think they hit that pretty well! Follows the nose, with dark chocolate and candy cherries up front, supported by a slightly roasted malt base. Intermingled is a mild booziness with a light alcohol burn. The bottle doesn't state the ABV, but I'm guessing somewhere in the 9-11% range. Make no mistake, this is definitely a sweet stout, sweeter than what i typically prefer, but well done with well-integrated flavors. This is also being reviewed on the first day of release, which could be contributing to the heat on the palate.
Mouthfeel is pretty spot-on for the style, with very little carbonation leading to a rich, velvety texture. Not the chewiest stout I've ever had, but it certainly comes with a coating effect. Medium-long, sweet cherry aftertaste. But legit cherry, not a medicinal cherry flavor like i've found in some other cherry stouts.
Overall- I think it is a really well-produced beer, that accomplished exactly what the brewers set out to do. It is too sweet for my personal taste, and i likely wont seek this one out again, but for fans of the style, or if you're looking for a great dessert beer, you'll find it in this one.
1,640 characters
look: 4.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
750ml poured into a Wakefield snifter.
Pours a deep, opaque black with hints of plum highlights. Even with an aggressive pour it's difficult to get much of a head; the one that is produced forms a rocky, garnet/khaki thin slice and dissipates quickly.
Nose is pretty impressive on this one... Black cherry, dark chocolate, a light alcoholic sweetness, bourbon, oak, and a hint of licorice.
Wow. The bottle says that the beer is an attempt to replicate biting into a cherry cordial, and i think they hit that pretty well! Follows the nose, with dark chocolate and candy cherries up front, supported by a slightly roasted malt base. Intermingled is a mild booziness with a light alcohol burn. The bottle doesn't state the ABV, but I'm guessing somewhere in the 9-11% range. Make no mistake, this is definitely a sweet stout, sweeter than what i typically prefer, but well done with well-integrated flavors. This is also being reviewed on the first day of release, which could be contributing to the heat on the palate.
Mouthfeel is pretty spot-on for the style, with very little carbonation leading to a rich, velvety texture. Not the chewiest stout I've ever had, but it certainly comes with a coating effect. Medium-long, sweet cherry aftertaste. But legit cherry, not a medicinal cherry flavor like i've found in some other cherry stouts.
Overall- I think it is a really well-produced beer, that accomplished exactly what the brewers set out to do. It is too sweet for my personal taste, and i likely wont seek this one out again, but for fans of the style, or if you're looking for a great dessert beer, you'll find it in this one.
1,640 characters
4.38/5 rDev -3.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
4.99/5 rDev +10.4%
look: 4.75 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Bottle from Proof. Poured into a snifter. Pitch black and opaque. Deep brown head with same collar. Decent legs, and head was thick and yummy. Aroma is of sweet/dark cherries, dark chocolate, vanilla, a smooth/woody bourbon. Taste is wonderful. Exact same as smell. Mouthfeel is viscous, fully coats my mouth, and is exactly what I want. Super fantastic beer. Dessert in a glass!
379 characters
look: 4.75 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Bottle from Proof. Poured into a snifter. Pitch black and opaque. Deep brown head with same collar. Decent legs, and head was thick and yummy. Aroma is of sweet/dark cherries, dark chocolate, vanilla, a smooth/woody bourbon. Taste is wonderful. Exact same as smell. Mouthfeel is viscous, fully coats my mouth, and is exactly what I want. Super fantastic beer. Dessert in a glass!
379 characters
4.82/5 rDev +6.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
Poured from bottle into small tasting glass. I am sharing with two other buddies. Date of review is 7/12/14.
Appearance- Almost jet black, but not quite. Dark brow head that disappears right away.
Smell- Cherry and vanilla blast off straight away. Just a hint of sweet chocolate is present too. Bourbon is detectable, but taking a backseat to the cherries.
Taste- Literally perfect in every way. Just like in the nose, cherries and vanilla take you away. Chocolate and bourbon are there, but not dominant.
Mouthfeel- Thick and luxurious to say the least. It's really quite hard to put into words how amazing this beer is. It's like I bit into a chocolate covered cherry.
Overall- Top three best beers I have ever had. I had it at DLD for the first time and have looked forward to this moment ever since.
813 characters
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
Poured from bottle into small tasting glass. I am sharing with two other buddies. Date of review is 7/12/14.
Appearance- Almost jet black, but not quite. Dark brow head that disappears right away.
Smell- Cherry and vanilla blast off straight away. Just a hint of sweet chocolate is present too. Bourbon is detectable, but taking a backseat to the cherries.
Taste- Literally perfect in every way. Just like in the nose, cherries and vanilla take you away. Chocolate and bourbon are there, but not dominant.
Mouthfeel- Thick and luxurious to say the least. It's really quite hard to put into words how amazing this beer is. It's like I bit into a chocolate covered cherry.
Overall- Top three best beers I have ever had. I had it at DLD for the first time and have looked forward to this moment ever since.
813 characters
4.66/5 rDev +3.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Well balanced; medium mouthfeel with cherries blooming on backside
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look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Well balanced; medium mouthfeel with cherries blooming on backside
66 characters
4.56/5 rDev +0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.72/5 rDev +4.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
look: 5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
4.25/5 rDev -6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Life Is Like... from Cigar City Brewing
Beer rating:
4.52 out of
5 with
742 ratings
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