Cigar City Good Gourd

Well it is amazing how things change in just one year.

You have watched my palate change from hating stouts to loving them, from looking for the hop-iest beer I can find to appreciating the subtle flavors in beer, what's next?!?

Well Pumpkin Beers are back out, and seem to be doing quite well in the South Florida Market.

One beer particular that is hitting shelves this week is Good Gourd.

Now due to my current position with Cigar City, I don't think it would be fair to review this beer. So I will say this...snag a bottle and try it for yourself.

The label description reads; ”This high-gravity gob of gourd-y goodness incorporates pumpkin in the mashing process and then gets wicked with the spices including Ceylon cinnamon, Jamaican all spice, Zanzibar cloves and nutmeg.”

Sounds tasty right?!? Well look for it in limited draft and 750ml bottles at your favorite retailer and/or watering hole.

Dogfish Head - Festina Peche

Dogfish Head Festina Peche
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
Milton, DE
4.50% ABV

C: Clear with a hint of cloudiness
H: Golden yellow with a slight hue of orange
N: Sour with a hint of citrus

Cerveza Chica: I have to start by saying that I get very upset because so many of the beers that I am in love with are seasonal and this is undoubtedly one of them. I was excited when a friend gave us some older bottles of this that he had laying around. I found that it was a little bit more bitter and tart than it was originally when I tasted it. I feel like I can’t go wrong by drinking this beer. It is light enough, but the tartness will get to you after a while and your palette will just be so over stimulated that it will be tough to drink other beers after this one. This I feel is a must try when it comes out in spring time. It only comes in 4 packs though which is kind of annoying. They should sell them in 6 packs. This could be a good introduction to someone for sour beers in my opinion. I am already missing this beer and can’t wait for it to come out again next year. I really wish they distributed it year round.
Score: 4.27

La Cocinera: Well, I absolutely love sour beers so this one makes me happy. I had it for the first time almost a year ago at a Dogfish Head beer dinner. The first course was a salad with peaches, goat cheese, and a raspberry vinaigrette. It was paired with Festina Peche and to this day I still think that was one of my favorite pairings ever. So since that was the last time I had it, I was excited to be tasting it again. Well the first thing you get from the smell is sourness, which is a good thing. The taste is very similar to the smell. It's sour, citrusy, peachy, and a little bready. I think it's very pleasant and easy to drink. I'm curious to try pairing it with some different cheeses, and I'd definitely recommend a salad or maybe a fish dish with it.
Score: 4.344

Overall: 4.307

Samuel Adams - Cranberry Lambic

**PLEASE USE Http://Dosbeerigos.com Instead of This Page**

Samuel Adams - Cranberry Lambic

The Boston Beer Company

Boston, Ma.

5.90% ABV

C. Cloudy

H. Redish – Almost like the red tide

N. Cranberry…yep that’s about it

Este Amigo; Fruit flavored beers have never been award winners in my book and this cranberry ale deserves to be on the last page. It slightly reminds me of the flavor that come from mixing sour apple juice and warm cranberries, and I usually enjoy a nice glass of cran in the morning. The best part about this beer is that the bitter after taste doesn’t last long enough to remember….. Like I said before, I think fruit beers aren’t very good and this one flat out BLOWS!!

Score: .954

Ferm; Alright well Este Amigo said this color reminds him of the red tide…yep and growing up on the Gulf Coast, Red Tide is never a good thing. THIS IS THE SAME. THANK YOU BABY JESUS THIS IS A SEASONAL OFFERING! The attack is strong cranberry then it almost taste like a smoothie with other spoiled berries, and it isn’t very appealing. Leave this one on the shelf even if you find it on sale (like I did). NO THANK YOU!

Score:1.025

Overall: 0.9895

Old Horizontal 2009

Old Horizontal
Victory Brewing Company
Dowingtown, PA
11.00 ABV

**Seasonal Release**

C. Pretty Clear

H. Red-ish Copper

N. Very Pleasant; Sweet fruit scents; apple, pears, peach, etc.


Cerveza Chica; I seriously LOVED the smell of this beer and wouldn’t mind smelling it all day long. Weird I know. It smelled like fruity candy to me so I was very excited to try it. What a let down! This beer was like drinking wine because you can definitely taste the 11% alcohol content in it. It tasted nothing like how it smelled. If you want a beer that isn’t overly heavy and will get you drunk quicker than most this one will work. This is definitely not one of the better barleywines out there. Worth a try, but doesn’t compete with some of the other ones out there for instance Smuttynose is really good in my opinion.
Score:3.67


Ferm; Well I tell yah what, if Victory doesn’t make it the beer business they could sell this beer to Yankee Candle company for a new candle scent “Sweet Barley Wine”. THIS BEER SMELLS AMAZING! It also had some sexy head to it too! As for the taste well it is pretty big and bold. The expiration date on this is over 4 years in the future. It would be a great beer to cellar for a year or so, and then re-visit it after the beer calms down just a tad. For right now it is very strong on the alcohol side but does show promise with some very nice malt notes at the end. Though it is seasonal if you can find it on the shelf I say buy two. Drink one now and then enjoy the second next year.
Score: 4.045

Overall: 3.8575

Magic Hat; Howl

Magic Hat Brewing Company

South Burlington, VT
4.60 ABV
**Winter Seasonal**

C. Clear, for a very dark beer

H. Black

N. Strong Coffee, light smoke, and hints of chocolate

Cerveza Chica; I wanted to end our tasting session with this beer because I had a pretty good feeling that I would not like it, and therefore I didn’t want it to ruin the other reviews for me. In doing this I was most definitely right. I do not like coffee normally, and I especially don’t like beer that tastes like it. So that is where this beer lost me. I also am not a big fan of dark beers, and you can’t get any darker than this one because it is literally black in color. I found no redeeming qualities to this beer. It also left a smoky taste in my mouth and made me feel like I was drinking coffee with lots of caffeine in it instead of beer with alcohol. I would be fine never drinking this beer again.

Score; 1.07

Ferm; Well this is the second, Black Lager that I have reviewed for the site. The first was the Dixie Voodoo Black. So ill compare the two. If you read that review the Dixie it was clean, crisp, and water-like. Howl, has a TON more flavor. It is smokey as expected from a deep black beer, but has a great settling almost sweetness to it. If I could compare it to a person; remember that gothic chick that was in high-school. Well she seemed dark and probably smoked ciggs cause she thought it was “cool”. Well then when you got to know her and passed all the black clothes and make-up, she was sorta sweet, but yet still dark. Yep that’s this beer. So if your into all that dark stuff I would recommend this beer. It has grown on me throughout the month since I was shipped 12 of these bad boys from the “beer fairy” up north (they may make a special appearance some time soon…stay tuned!). Well you cant go grab this one, but if your nice I may share my final three with you! Check it out next winter season, for sure!

Score;3.685

Overall: 2.3775

Abita Christmas Ale 2009

Brewed by; Abita Brewing Company

Out of; Abita Springs, LA (USA)

6.0 ABV

C(clarity). Very clear, due to spring water

H(hue). Brownish amber

N(nose). Crisp, clean, smells like a watered down version of Christmas

Dirty Dos: Now we all know that Abita is known for their amazing spring water, but this beer should properly be called Abita Christmas Water. Not really anything super. Abita has some pretty decent beers, but this isn’t one of them. Smells very clean and nice, but the taste is very plain and tastes like you’re drinking water with a hint of Christmas…..sort of. Oh, and the alcohol percentage…6.0? Doubt it. Score = 2.41

Fermentation: If Santa Claus came to Bland-Ville USA, this might be what he drinks. A very easy drinking beer, with very little taste, and not complex at all. A great entry beer for Christmas/Seasonal beers. Score = 2.55

Overall = 2.48

Organic Gingerbread Ale

Brewed By; Bison Brewing

Out of; Ukiah, CA (USA)

6.0 ABV

C(clarity). Clear, although dark hue

H(hue). Very dark brown

N(nose). Like gingerbread cookies, Christmassy, Hints of cinnamon

Dirty Dos: Hmmm, alright. So the smell of this beer, yummy. When the beer first hits your tongue, fantastic. But the aftertaste, yuck. When I think of gingerbread ale, I think sweeeeet! But no. If you are going to drink this beer, you might want to get some Gushers or some Fruit Rollups to satisfy the nothing you just drank. Score = 2.8

Fermentation: This beer reminded me of that girl in high school that looked good, smelled good, but when you finally went out on a date with her, just couldn’t finish the job. This beer did exactly that. The smell of the beer was amazing and complex. The initial taste of the beer was like a gingerbread man was dancing on your tongue, but the finish just disappeared into thin air. Score = 3.45

Overall = 3.13