Maduro & Espresso Brown Ales

As the colors of autumn begin to fade into the memories of this past summer and fall, we pack up our lawn chairs and canoes, put away our golf clubs and tennis rackets, get out the heavy sweaters and prepare for the onset of winter.
It is also a new season when we look forward to friends and family gathering for weekend events with food and drink to celebrate life. It’s at this season we also discover that trying new beverages that match well with the food we love becomes of interest. The light beers of summer fun now have segued towards amber and brown ales with fuller flavor and complexity. So, it is with this thought in mind that we examine two great beers from Cigar City.
Cigar City Brewing of Tampa Bay, Florida, has a rich background of flavor. It was 2007 when Joey Redner decided to take his home brewing brilliance public and began what became Cigar City. In 2009, production began in what is now a 60,000 barrel a year brew house. Their aggressive style of marketing and an eye for growth brought them to the bargaining table in March of 2016 to be be bought by Oskar Blues Brewery so that nation-wide distribution could be made possible. Because the two breweries had similar mindsets to brewing, the deal was perfect. Today, we in New Hampshire can enjoy the fruits of their labors and make a growing fan-base for an important entry into flavorful craft beer. Find out more on their website, cigarcitybrewing.com.
Maduro Brown Ale is loosely based on an English-style brown ale. The word Maduro in the cigar world stands for dark richness. Cigar City’s Maduro Brown Ale has notes of toffee and chocolate macaroons, possesses a tan creamy head, moderate body and tastes of brown sugar, almonds and more chocolate. Coffee persists through a dry finish as well. Enjoy this beer year round.
Cubano-Style Espresso Brown Ale takes the Maduro idea a few steps further. It is a seasonally released brown ale brewed with lots of Cuban-style espresso beans from their local favorite source, Tampa’s Buddy Brew Coffee retailers. Add in lactose and cacao nibs for mouthfeel and flavor and you have the Espresso Brown Ale. Obviously, tasting notes are chocolate and fresh ground coffee which are immediately noticeable. Late on the tongue is a touch of sugary milk. This rich and luscious beer will be among your favorites.
BeerAdvocate.com has officially rated Cubano-Style Espresso as ‘Outstanding’ and awards a 92 out of 100 while Maduro achieved an 88 and a ‘Very Good’ badge. Both are rated at 5.5% ABV and deep brown in hue.
Find your Maduro 12 oz six pack and Espresso 12 oz four pack at Case-n-Keg, Meredith as well as other fine beer providers. Since they have a huge following, I’m sure you will find Cigar City Brewing on your beer shopping list very soon. Cheers!