Cuvée - Just Coffee
Cycle Brewing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pitch black viscous body with brown surface islands. Smell and taste are the same, high intensity but not a lot of nuance: huge dark roast coffee and dark chocolate fudge, medium barrel influence, with a touch of molasses and brown sugar. Feel is classic cycle: heavy, thick, viscous, dark, and boozy without any sign of burn. If you want a humungous coffee stout look no further

 

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10/23/20: Cocoa, Coconut, Maple
11/12/20: Vanilla, Coffee, Cinnamon
Sampled all 6 Cycle Cuvee beers over two sittings with DC.

All were similar in that they started off as the same base, but some flavors were incorporated better than others.
LOOK: Super thick and dark black, zero visible carbontation, motor oil with a small brown head.
FEEL: Full body, very thick, flat, syrupy.

#1: Cocoa(4.19)
strong cocoa/chocolate aromas and flavors, very tasty. Excellent base to start mixing in other flavors.


#2 Coconut(4.19)
Aroma is not as strong as the coca, but the coconut flavor is there and sweet noneleless.
Mouthfeel is a touch lighter, but still no carbonation.
Coconut actually has some coconut flakes floating.

#3 Cinnamon(4.09)
Cinnamon is well intgrated in taste and aroma. very pleasant. This one surprised me the most in a good way.

#4 Maple(4.04)
Maple is somewhat subtle, but nice. A little sticky on the mouth feel, but not overly so.


#5 Coffee (3.98)
Coffee flavor is a littel bitter, but well balanced with the base.


#6 Vanilla (3.89)
Vanilla aroma is nice, but tasting seems a little overly sharp; even a touch fake.

Did some mixing but not enough time or tolerance to really test a bunch of fun mixes.
My best blend would be: Cocoa 40%, Coconut: 20%, Cinnamon, 20%, Maple 15%, Coffee 5%. Leaving out the Vanilla.


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Bought from Tavour. I have to give Cycle high marks on novelty and creativity. The novelty is brewers in the Tampa Bay area get paid mostly by visitors wanting refreshment from the heat as they escape northern winters. Yet Cycle specializes in the AIS, a winter stout that warms those still trying to endure the northern cold. The creativity comes in with Cycle putting different flavors into separate barrels. I got coffee and that is preferred to at least three of the other additives. So, I'm happy so far.

Cuvee Coffee Looks good to start with a generous foam, but the weight of alcohol suppresses the foam and Cuvee becomes like the other AISs. Smells? Now you are talking, my second most favorite substance... coffee ! (Some chocolate in there also.) Tastes are rich and full, but the coffee probably is too strong in the after-taste creating a bitterness that, at least, slows down my drinking. This Cuvee has a cultivated "stale", somewhat reminiscent of a blended Old Ale. In the mouth, very viscous. In terms of its price, this is way out of my comfort range. But if Pinellas County delivers for Biden tonight, the price won't hurt as much.

As for the brewer review... Cycle has not given me much to read on their website. Six years old, they are still scampering like all brewers to make it through Covid. They don't indicate what makes them different... except maybe some novelty and creativity.

 

Pours inky black with a small brown head. Does not leave much lacing. Aroma of wood, coffee, roasted malt, and cocoa. First sip and I can taste all 11% of this beer. Surprising how hot this beer is. Oddly fruity which I assume comes from the coffee. Strong oak flavor with a little whisky kick. Big body with an oily, slick texture. A sipper. My impression is this beer needs some age but it is a coffee beer so the consumer cannot do that, or be wise to do that. I think this is per ounce one of the most expensive beers I have ever purchased. So very disappointing on that front.

 

 

This 22 oz. bottle landed on my doorstep about five hours ago & it’ll hit the city wastewater treatment plant in about 90 minutes. In the meantime, I am the go-between. Split with my wife.

The pour is dark & the nose is the least surprising ever – cold coffee & barrel.

Cycle Just Coffee leans hard into the fruitiness of the bean. There are four components from strongest to meekest: bourbon, cherry with echoes of Nyquil (not an insult – I like Nyquil), traditional coffee & a strange hit of Jet-Puffed Marshmallow on the finish. Boozy & thick & awfully easy to sip for a (checks notes) beer of assumedly low ABV.

Cycle choosing the coffee beer path less chosen. I happen to prefer the well trodden path, but a very good beer nonetheless.

poured from a 22oz bomber into a stemmed bulb glass. pours jet black with a dark brown foam ring around the glass. aroma is an amazing mixture of bourbon, oak, coffee, chocolate. taste is a little more bitter coffee but it’s got a nice bourbon boozy chocolate flavor to it. full-bodied and silky smooth, this drinks way to easy for a BA stout. it’s fairly simple but well executed.