Cigar City Brewing Co. - "Cubano-Style Espresso" brown ale

Today's beer is part of a bunch of beers kindly provided to me by old friend Matthew LeVarge, now living in sunny Tampa, FL. I think the only Tampa beer I ever had was in last year's Sierra Nevada Beer Camp box; it was a tropical maibock by Cigar City Brewing Co. Needless to say, I've got a bunch of Florida beers now, so huge shout-out to Matt for hooking a brother up.

Tampa, Florida

Today's beer is, in fact, also from Cigar City Brewing Co. It's their "Cubano-Style Espresso," a 5.5% ABV English brown ale with a twist: it's made with coffee beans roasted especially for this beer by Saint Petersburg, FL gastronomic institution, Mazzaro's Italian Market and Deli:

Let's dive right in to this beer. It pours nicely, a little fast, and puffs up with nice foam, which leaves some lacing in the glass after subsiding.

Immediately I'm struck by a very nice aroma - strong and clear coffee bean notes. It has a pleasant taste, as well - very smooth and approachable, like a nice caffe mocha, with no oily texture. This beer's got very long-lasting roasted coffee flavors in the aftertaste, which is cool.

Also, I really like how light this beer tastes. It's very flavorful but also refreshing and light, which is a marked turn from the usual heavy, oily coffee stouts. I think I may prefer coffee beers in ale format now; ditching the high alcohol content and oily espresso flavors for something lighter and milkier. I'm glad I tried this and would gladly have it again, and I'm even compelled to look for lighter coffee beers in the future. Speaking of Cigar City, and cigars, this would pair nicely with a Drew Estate Tabak Negra, perhaps in the Cafecita format, as a dessert beer / smoke. I'd do it!