Beer & Cigar Pairings

Not sure I have a single favorite combo, but here is a top one:

 

Can't beat a good Backwoods with a Bud Light.

 

Pilsner. To refresh my pallet while choosing which Scotch or Cognac go best with the cigar I'm smoking.

 

Over the holiday my brother introduced me to the world of cigars while I introduced him into the world of craft beer, and never have I had 2 things mate so perfectly as a drew estate's natural english and duclaws funk blueberry citrus wheat. They were the perfect combination. Are there any great cigars that go with say a yeti or an ellies brown?

 

don't waste really good beer with cigars. a nice dry stout like guiness will fill the bill

 

This made me think of a song Frank Zappa made....titties and beer....i think a better combination!

 

Most just recommend the style to be malt forward, and high ABV/booziness and bourbon/spirit barrel aging are big pluses. So I bet you'd enjoy a cigar with either of those much more than with the fruit wheat beer. Personally, I like Nat Sherman cigars (and cigarettes), but (IMO) there won't be much of a difference.

 

ten fiddy is great with cigars

 

I honestly feel like cigars go with a good cognac, scotch, or bourbon better than they do with beer.

But, if I was gonna do it, it would be a "darker is better" situation. Imperial Stouts would go nicely.

 

Can't go wrong with Imperial stouts and anything from Tatuaje

 

Cigars and beer? Sure, if you want to kill your tastebuds and sense of smell.

 

The trick with cigars and beer is actually to choose a more subdued, nuanced beer. If you like cigars, and really want to ponder the flavors imparted by smoke, a high abv or intensely hoppy beer will (in many cases) overwhelm your palate and you might as well be smoking a cigarette. This is just my opinion but I've done about 11 years of field testing. I also differ from most people who like cognac and scotch with their cigars. I feel like this is just because they are viewed as high class things and pair more in perception than in actual experience. Good red wine and craft beer pair so much better in my view. Oak aged, smoked, malt forward, balanced, clean, ales or lagers are great with a cigar. Brown ales, marzens, small stouts and porters, rauchbirers, Dubbels, you get the idea.
For the person who said cigars kill your taste buds and sense of smell, while this might be true for someone who smokes every day or more and while it may not be ideal for a perfect beer experience(i.e. for a review or other tasting excercise), I see no ill effects to my palate having a cigar around once a week.
Favorite cigar beers: (in no particular order)
Element Oak Aged ESB
Jacks Abby smoke & dagger
DFH Indian Brown Ale
Cigar City Maduro (obvious, but really perfect)

 

I'll second this, but I'm going to add rum, tequila and (especially) mezcal to the list.

 

skip the cigar and just drink this

 

agreed.

to expand upon this, as someone who is deeply immersed in both cigars and craft beer, i would say that your tastebuds don't get killed... but you need to have a good palate for both if you expect to drink and smoke at the same time and still be able to identify subtle flavors. it took me years to develop the ability to detect most of the flavors in a cigar, and similarly so for beer. if you're new to either one of them, i'd suggest you stick with a basic beer profile that won't add any confusion to your palate.

cigar city maduro works VERY well for this.

to this day, i won't smoke something new while drinking something new. keep em separate.

 

title is reversed but here's a convo on the same subject matter, basically:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/beer-and-cigars.66116/

 

Three more threads for @xk6m6m5x to check out... :
http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/cigars-beer.46193/
http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/cigars-and-beer.31051/
http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/hops-and-cigars.77473/

 

They don't really mix. I mean, you can pick a malty beer that goes well with a cigar, but you're going to miss out on most of the flavor of the beer. And if you are drinking the beer cold, you will also be numbing your tastebuds to the nuances of the smoke.

Grab an uncomplicated scotch like a Johnny Walker Black or a Lagavulin 16 and pair it neat with your smoke of choice. It will keep your palate alive for the cigar, and you won't be missing out on too much in the booze.

 

I don't necessarily agree with those that say beer doesn't pair well with cigars...just my opinion, but my favorite combo has been BCBS and an Alec Bradley Prensado.