The Stout
Arbor Brewing Michael Faricy’s Stout
Arbor Brewing Company
Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti, Michigan, USA
5% abv
42 IBU
Style: Dry Irish Stout
Source: Arborbrewing.com
$9.99 a six pack
Serve this around 50 to 55 degrees
Served right out of the fridge the aromas and flavors will
be muted.
Appearance: a fairly aggressive pour to get almost a one
finger tan head that sits atop the black colored body of this Irish Stout. Some lacing is left behind on the first
couple of sips; after that minimal lacing.
Aroma: roasted grains, mocha coffee, nice touch of smoke
Flavors: smoky roasted grains, grainy coffee from a dive
diner, spicy – like it was brewed with rye, so it reminds me of rye bread with
a hint of caraway seed, lightly bitter style that makes me think of 85% dark
chocolate on the back of the palate,
Mouthfeel: medium body for a stout (it is an Irish Stout), a
light / very fine fizzy carbonation feel, I would not call it creamy – the
spice style plus the 85% dark chocolate bitterness are just not creamy, nice
spicy feel, light bitterness on the mid and finish, slight smoky burnt campfire
aftertaste, dry-roasted aftertaste
To the Point: a nice Irish Stout, I found it easy to enjoy
The Cigar
La Gloria Cubana Artesanos de Tabaqueros
4.5 x 50? Rothchild
I have not found this size on the net
It’s not even on the La Gloria site
I’ll have to go back to Smoky’s and get the size
Two Wrappers: Connecticut Shade on the first inch and a half
and the dark wrapper is an Ecuadorian Sumatra
Binder: a secret
Fillers: 5 year old Honduran, Nicaraguan and Dominican
Source:
lagloriacubana.com
$5.50 at Smoky’s of Northville
I smoked one the other day at Smoky’s of Northville and
thought it was a good full-medium bodied smoke with some strong roasted
notes. Let’s see how it reviews today.
Off the Light: full dose of dark roasted coffee beans,
slightly burnt grains, coming across like campfire wood. The cigar mellows a bit with the slightly
burnt notes after the first half inch. As the burn approaches the end of the
Connecticut wrapper (1-1/2 inch point) the mouthfeel is smooth and almost
creamy like. Nice coffee flavor with a
tasty earthy style and on a few puffs I thought I pick up a roasted walnut or
black walnut note. I’ll give it a 6.5 on
my strength scale overall for this third.
The Pairing: a nice exchange with this medium bodied
stout. The stout has that smoky roasted
grain note that just says to me, ‘smoke a toasty cigar with me.’ The cigar plays well with the spicy note of
the stout.
The jet black Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper section: as the
burn moves into this section the campfire note starts to reappear with the dark
roasted coffee. The campfire note becomes
stronger as the burn moves to the final two inches. Strong campfire and burnt coffee becomes the
main profile as I finish the cigar. I’ll
give a 7.5 on my strength scale.
The Pairing: the spicy notes of the stout seem to be transferring
to the cigar for with each puff there seems to be a little spice present during
the exchange. The strong coffee note of
the cigar seems to bring out the coffee note in the stout. This medium body stout also seems to control
the bold campfire note of the cigar.
When I smoked this stick the other day at Smoky’s I thought the cigar
got a little full to bitter. I didn’t
have a beverage with it then.
This was the right drink to have with this cigar. The notes complemented each other and the
medium body of the stout managed the bold mouthfeel of the cigar.
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