The Ale
HELLHOUND
Robert Johnson’s Hellhound on my ale
Ale brewed with lemons
10% abv
100 IBU
1pt 9.4oz bottle
$14.00
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Inc.
Milton, Delaware, USA
Appearance: burnt orange with plenty of head to go around and solid lacing on the glass.
Aroma: ample citrus on the nose and sweet bread
Flavors: pink grapefruit on the deliver; lemon rind, of course, hitting mid-palate; a little sweet floral swirling around;
Mouthfeel: firm citrus bit on the back of the palate, a warm and peppery finish that lingers on the aftertaste, long lasting tingling on the cheek and gums, and I just had a pineapple burp. This would be nice on a cool spring or fall day. The alcohol warmth is too much for a warm summer day.
My Strength Rating: 9 – firm tasty citrus notes and a long lasting aftertaste.
To the Point: a good hoppy ale. It seems to be lacking something or it is just that I am not a big lemon rind fan. (which is true, I don’t care for lemon flavor in my beer)
The Cigar and Pairing
Padilla Habano Burberry Perfecto
Wrapper: Three different wrappers to make an argyle pattern
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: 5.7 x 54
Off the Light: fairly light and airy, a rather dull start, it could be that this strong citrusy ale is having a negative effect on this cigar. Nothing much on the first third.
Mid-point: I truly believe this ale is having a BIG impact on this cigar. The Strong citrusy and peppery style of the ale is overruling any flavors from this cigar. This is too bad, for the last time I had this cigar was back on May 19th of last year and I was saving this one (since last year) for a good pairing.
There is some cedar notes coming thru on the cigar with a touch of spice starting to pick up. But, if I drink the ale first and then take a few puffs of the cigar well … the cigar is just plain smoke. I really have to rest the palate and then take a puff of the cigar to get a vague idea of cigar flavor and then take a sip of the ale which just destroys the smoking experience. This is one reason why I do not like pairing strong IPA’s with a cigar.
Down the Stretch: I should have paired this cigar with a quality white wine. Now, don’t get me wrong, this cigar is not super special it just looks that way. But, I think a good quality white wine would bring out some good qualities of this cigar.
The cigar continues to be rather dull while paired with this IPA. It is just hard to notice any qualities of the cigar during this pairing.
My Strength Rating: 4 during this pairing I really could not get a real feel for it.
