Cigar City Cubano-Style Espresso Brown Ale

Cigar City Brewing is one of my all time favorite breweries. I enjoy many of their offerings, including Red Tocobaga which is my all time favorite red ale. Each time I visited their brewery in Tampa, I seemed to be there during the month that White Oak Jai Alai was available in cans but never their Cubano-style Espresso Brown Ale. That was by no means a bad thing, but I really wanted to try the Maduro variant. When I did get to try it, it was in a flight and was unfortunately lost in the shuffle. That particular day was the first time I drank Hunahphu Imperial and I was drinking two different years of it. Everything in my flight paled in comparison to that beer geek moment.

For years, I have been hoping for a second chance to try Cubano-style Espresso. Well, that day has finally arrived. Ever since I first read that that Cubano-style Espresso was getting a large release I found myself counting the seconds the seconds for it to arrive. I finally had the chance to not only drink it but also give it the full attention it deserved. Much like many other Cigar City beers, it did not disappoint.

Coffee, creamy vanilla and chocolate stand out the most in the aroma. The aroma is also nutty with hints of caramel, toffee and toasted bread. The first sip matched the nose for the most part. Coffee is front and center along with milk chocolate. Caramel, nuts & toffee are just underneath those bold flavors before a creamy vanilla finish. The finish also contained a subtle hint of earthy hops as well. There is a lot to like here. The coffee treatment is fantastic. It is a touch sweeter than I want it to be but keep in mind that I am a black coffee drinker, so I prefer my coffee on the bitter side. The vanilla flavor is awesome and adds a nice amount of creaminess to the mouthfeel. In a perfect world, I would have dialed back the carbonation here ever so slightly to enhance that creaminess. That, however, is a small complaint. Cigar City has brewed a winner here. It took almost two and a half years for me to get a chance to try Cubano-style Espresso again and it was well worth the wait.

Overall rating: 4.25/5


Rating Scale:
1. Repugnant and undrinkable
2. Acceptable but forgettable
3. Good, worth a purchase
4. Excellent, a step above the norm
5. Truly Exceptional. Drop everything, BUY IT NOW!

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For more beer reviews check out: http://www.acraftylook.com

Thanks for reading. Sláinte!

Harpoon Dunkin' Coffee Porter

After living in an apartment with a Dunkin' Donuts(now just Dunkin) down the street, I can say I have drank quite a fair share of their coffee. I still do for that matter. So, you can imagine I was excited to see Dunkin' Coffee being used in a beer. I am not saying I think Dunkin' Coffee is by any means amazing or my favorite coffee, it is just a coffee I am used to drinking out of convenience more than anything else, but I am excited to try it in beer form. This also marks the first time I have purchased a beer from Harpoon outside of Boston in years.

Harpoon's Dunkin' Coffee Porter is a medium-bodied porter with an aroma that is very roasty, with rich espresso dark chocolate, smoke with a touch of caramelized sugar. The first sip matches the nose. It is a robust combination of roasted malt and espresso. What I liked here was that the coffee is showcased nicely. It is very much unmistakably a Dunkin' Coffee beer. Unfortunately, that is also what I did not like about this beer. Having drank my fair share of Dunkin' Coffee I can safely say this tastes like old, burnt Dunkin' Coffee with a touch of caramelized sugar sweetness & a dry finish. It is not completely terrible but it is not that good either. This is a gimmick beer that unfortunately, like most Harpoon beers, is just good enough not to offend the palate but not good enough to merit a second purchase.

Overall rating: 2.25/5


Rating Scale:
1. Repugnant and undrinkable
2. Acceptable but forgettable
3. Good, worth a purchase
4. Excellent, a step above the norm
5. Truly Exceptional. Drop everything, BUY IT NOW!

To discuss this blog or all things beer like my Facebook page

Look for me on Instagram & Untappd and Twitter @ACraftyLook

For more beer reviews check out: http://www.acraftylook.com

Thanks for reading. Sláinte!