Before getting to this pairing I am going to give you my call for the Detroit Loins game today. (I live in the Detroit area) I am not a homer. I dog this team most of the time but, look at their record they have been easy to complain about. Here is my call: Loins 35 - Rams 21 and since this is the first game of the season this is their season record: 9 -7.
The Ale
Brux
Domesticated Wild Ale
Brewed and bottled by: Sierra Nevada Brewing
In collaboration with Russian River Brewing
1pt 9.4oz bottle
8.3% abv
One problem with these big bottles is getting the sediment
off the bottom. Rolling the bottle
before opening my work on some Germen low carbonated beer but, roll a bottle of
Belgian or Belgian style ale and you will have a never ending flow of foam.
Pouring your first glass and trying to swirl the bottle
during this pour usually does not get much of the sediment up.
So, what I usually do is pour the first glass and then put a
stopper in the bottle and then give the bottle a good swirl to get the sediment
stirred up. The second glass will give
you the correct appearance, aroma’s, and flavors. Leave a comment on what you recommend.
Appearance: slightly misty amber body (I could call it burnt
orange as well) with a nice big foamy head that disappeared before I started to
think about the color. Little to no
lacing.
Aroma: The overall bouquet seemed nice when I first opened
the bottle but when it was time to check the aroma out well it was fairly
light, some spice, light lemon meat,
Flavors: earthy yeast, sour dough bread, summer white fruit
– pear, nectarine, and a dirty caramel note. The flavors all seem to become muddled
together after about a half a glass.
Mouthfeel: sparkling water texture to the carbonation and
watery edge that swirls through the palate but just like sparkling water the
effervesce is short lived; it is like I can feel the alcohol evaporate on my
tongue and this of course gives me a dry feel on the finish.
To the Point: it just seems to funky to me, the flavors just
seem to muted; you have heard of a Dirty Martine well I’ll have to call this
the Dirty Belgian Ale – why you ask – because the yeast and the caramel notes
just seem dirty – but that is just me.
On BeerAdvocate they are giving this ale as 88 with 63 reviews.
Personally, I could skip this one all day long but, guess
what - I have another bottle of this. I
guess I’ll just have to pair that one with a cigar. I hate to waste a cigar on the ale
though. But, I am going to do this with
my new favorite stick – La Sirena King Poseidon.
The Cigar
La Sirena King Poseidon
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro
Binder: two Cuban seed Nicaraguan tobacco
Fillers: Nicaraguan Criollo 98 and Corojo 96
Size: 6x 60
I’m going to make this a Series with this cigar. I have done
two reviews already with this stick; one with a tawny port and the other an
English Ale. What should I name this
series? 1) Around the World with King
Poseidon or 2) The Adventures of King Poseidon.
I am going to go with … Around the World with King Poseidon. I will select different beers, wines, and
spirits from ‘Around the World’. This is
a no brainer.
Flavor Profile: on the first inch the dark roasted coffee
like notes dominate and then slowing some woody tones and spice start to
develop. By mid-point the earthy coffee
style is full bodied with some good peppercorn spice and oak woody notes.
The cigar burns well.
No corrections needed and it holds a tight salt and pepper gray
ash. Of course now that I mention that
no corrections are needed this stick needed a couple of correction to the
burn.
I did have to do a little running
around to find my Hound Dog Annie and that is when the cigar had some burning
issues.
The Pairing: first off, I have to admit that I did not want
to waste a cigar on this ale but, then I thought a Ship has to pull into a Port
that is not the most exciting Port around – just because it has too. Well, let’s pull up dock side together with
these two and just see what happens.
With the second bottle ready to go the first thing I notice
is the carbonation is lively. Even
though I used a stopper in the first bottle the effervesce just dwindles with
each glass poured. But, this effervesce
is refreshing to the palate while smoking this full bodied smoke.
The flavors of the ale still seem muted and hard to
distinguish but, while smoking this cigar the ale seems a little tastier to
me. I think it is the earthiness of the
yeast is mixing well with the earthy coffee profile of the cigar.
What I learned from this matching, of the Brux and the La
Sirena King Poseidon, is that this ale needs a good cigar to go with it to make
it enjoyable. I also learned that who
cares what the flavor profile is of the ale is long as
you enjoy it with what you are consuming at the moment. And, I am enjoying this ale with this cigar
which I did not really care for this ale by itself.
Around the World with King Poseidon Series
Click here to read about this cigar paired with:
The Cigar
