5 Vegas Gold Double Nickel and North Bridge Extreme: Pairing

The Ale

North Bridge Extreme

Norrebro Bryghus

Imperial India Pale Ale

Copenhagen, Denmark

9.5% abv

1pt 4.3oz bottle

$15.00 a bottle

On sale $10.00

Appearance: dirty brown with a fine beige head.  Solid lacing and a thin layer of head sticks around. 

Aroma: earthy hops, funky roasted caramel, barnyard.  Not the best bouquet around. Is this old?  No expiration date on the bottle. 

Flavors: earthy dusty hops, toasted caramel, good touch of toffee flavored coffee, grains, herbal

Mouthfeel: a touch of bitterness balanced with a solid dose of sweetness for an IPA, there seems to be a thick feel that comes across as ‘almost’ creamy.  Toasted caramel, grassy, grainy lingering notes. 

To the Point: This is a strange Imperial IPA.  It is sweeter than I would expect.  Too many identifiable malty notes and the hops seem muted or dusty.  It should be the other way around.  Well, it is interesting.  Interesting as in I cannot decide if I like it yet or not. 

My Strength Rating: 6 – medium-full rating because of it complex flavor profile and lingering notes. 

Oh, I put on my reading glasses and just started to read the bottle – here is an interesting tasting note on the back of the bottle: “…unusual for a true imperial IPA – created by an intense malty body that softens the extreme hoppiness.”

Wish I looked at the bottle first.   I did but, I just could not read it (the small writing), because I did not have my reading glasses on! 

The Cigar

5 Vegas Gold Double Nickel

Wrapper: Connecticut Shade

Filler: Honduran, Dominican

Size: 5 x 5.5

My Strength Rating: 2.5

These 5 Vegas Golds are very smooth and tasty mild cigars.  I usually get a nice mellow oaky flavor and a mild almond like nutty note.  This is not a complex cigar.  I like this cigar for pairing with milder dishes, white fish or shell fish.  They also pair well with pilsners, lagers, other lighter beers and white wine.

I selected this cigar to see if the mellow oaky notes of this cigar would collide with the strong citrusy notes of an IPA.  Well, this is not a strong citrusy IPA.  The malty notes play a big role in this beer. 

The Pairing

These two work well together.  There are enough earthy tones in this Imperial IPA to play off the oaky flavor of this cigar.  My hypothesis was that the oaky note would not work well with the hoppy citrusy notes of an IPA.  The tasty toasty caramel and grainy malts mingle well with the almond like nuttiness of the cigar.  I believe these malty notes impart a sweet earthy tone on this cigar. 

I am still up in the air if I like this ale or not but, I do know that I really like this cigar with this ale.  I would buy this beer again just to have it with this cigar.