Curivari Reserva Limitada 4000 and Frankenmuth Brewery Red Sky: Pairing

The Ale

Frankenmuth Brewery Red Sky

Red Sky Irish Style Ale

Frankenmuth Brewing Co.

Frankenmuth, Michigan, USA

Frankenmuthbrewery.com

5.25% abv

23 IBU

This is the craziest beer I have ever experienced.  It is just too inconsistent.   

I drink it from a bottle and I really like it – it had a nice malt and spice style;

I pour it from the bottle to the glass and it is okay – I don’t notice the spice as much;

I have had this on tap at the brewery and it was a malt bomb that I could not finish. 

Poured into a pint glass:

Appearance: it’s a clear red with an amber tint, the off white head was bubbly and with an aggressive pour I barely got a one finger head.

Aroma: lager like, some sweet malts,

Flavors: lightly toasted grains and malts, light caramel, very light grassy hops, light spice

Mouthfeel: clean, too clean, no aftertaste, watery edge, low to moderate carbonation.

My Strength Rating: 2 – for this review

From the Bottle

The carbonation comes across stronger than from the glass (moderate).  The grassy and spicy hops are a little more noticeable but nothing that stands out.  The malts are still the same.    

The only thing I can think of with this Ale is that it depends on what batch you get for the ones I had last summer (in the bottle) had a better spicy style.  But, I then went next door to the brewery and had it on tap and it was a malt bomb. 

This should be a good Red Ale to pair with most cigars.  The light sweet style should be a nice balance to a cigar. 

The Cigar

Curivari Reserva Limitada 4000
Size: 6.25 x 54 Torpedo

Nicaragua Puro that sports a Colorado wrapper

Curivari.com

This cigar has a nice medium roast coffee, green and white peppercorn spice, toasted grains and a semi-dry mouthfeel. 

The Pairing:

This cigar pairs well with this light bodied Red Ale.  The sweet malty style is needed to go with the cigars spice and dry mouthfeel.  Going to the hoppy side makes for a tight and dry mouthfeel.

I paired this cigar with an ale a few weeks ago that had a dry mouthfeel to it and it was a bad match for this cigar.  The cigar was not all that enjoyable that day.  I wish I remembered what Ale I had that day.