Cigar City - Dos Costas Oeste (2011)

Dos Costas Oeste is the result of a collaborative brewing effort between Cigar City Brewing of Florida’s Gulf (West) Coast and The Bruery of Placentia, CA.  Like the breweries involved with its creation, this ale cheerfully meanders off the beaten path.

This Saison is a high gravity ale with coriander, ginger and sweet orange peel aged on grapefruit wood spirals.    This is Variation #2 – aged on grapefruit wood spirals.   Variation #1 was aged on cedar spirals.

Bottled by Cigar City.


The ABV is 9.0 and the IBU rating is ??
Style - Saison / Farmhouse Ale
Glass to use - Pint Glass, Becker, Tumbler or Oversized Wine Glass
Delivery - 750ml Bottle

Can be cellared for long periods, under the proper conditions.

The Pour - Pours a cloudy orange color with a big white head that vanishes. Some lacing.
Aroma - Citrus fruit, spices - I get coriander and the ginger is very strong, hops
Taste - Same as the nose, strong ginger and orange.
Mouth Feel - High carbonation and medium body.
Drinkable - I opened the bottle and the brew rushed out of the top (gusher!), I had to scramble to the sink. Lucky that only a half a glass ended up on the floor instead of my belly.  From what I've read online this is a normal occurrence for this brew.  I would call this a Winter warmer for the summer time.  Very refreshing, should have opened on a hot day.

This beer pair well with cheese, salads and white meats.

This beer gets a Duper rating of B
BeerAdvocate Rating = 86
Ratebeer Rating = 92

The Bruery - 3 French Hens

Three French Hens is the third in the 12 Days/Years of Christmas Series. The Bruery again drew some inspiration from the name and decided that at least a portion of this beer had to be aged in French oak barrels. What they came out with is a bold and spicy Belgian Dark Strong Ale. This beer is designed to take the journey through time until 12 Drummers Drumming, but is a delightful holiday treat right off the shelf.

Release: Winter 2010/2011 (This beer has been retired)

75% Belgian-Style Dark Ale,25% Ale Aged in French Oak Barrels

The ABV is 10.0 and the IBU rating is 22.5
Style -Belgian Strong Dark Ale
Glass to use- Snifter, Tulip, Goblet, Oversized Wine Glass
Delivery 750ml Bottle

Can be cellared for long periods, under the proper conditions.

The Pour - Pours a dark brown color, and a tan head. Good lacing.
Aroma - Sweet and spicy, strong hint of apples. 
Taste -  Malty, sweet and malty. Some molasses, spices like clove maybe some nutmeg.
Mouth Feel - Medium carbonation and body.
Drinkable - Very unusually, I like the blend of Belgian and oak aging.  Very well balanced.  Just a bit too sweet for me. 

This beer pair well with strong cheese and beef. Try it with BBQ.

This beer gets a Duper rating of B+
BeerAdvocate Rating =86
Ratebeer Rating =96

The Bruery - Autumn Maple

Brewed with 17 lbs. of yams per barrel (in other words, a lot of yams!), this autumn seasonal is a different take on the “pumpkin” beer style. Brewed with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, vanilla, molasses, and maple syrup, and fermented with traditional Belgian yeast strain, this bold and spicy beer is perfect on a cold autumn evening.

The ABV is 10.0 and the IBU rating is 25
Style -Belgian Brown Ale
Glass to use- Snifter, Tulip, Goblet, Oversized Wine Glass
Delivery 750ml Bottle

Can be cellared for long periods, under the proper conditions.

The Pour - Pours a beautiful ruby color, and a bit cloudy due to the unfiltered brew.  Has a big cream head about 3" in my tulip glass which vanished after a few minutes.
Aroma - Sweet malty, hint of banana and a bit of orange.  Has the same aroma as the Unibroue brews, in particular the Maudite.  And the spices are in there as well.
Taste -  Malty and spicy and sweet.. For the maple, molasses, yams that are advertised, I did not get them but that's just me.  Others have noticed.
Mouth Feel - Well carbonation and kinda syrupy.  Goes down easy. Very smooth.
Drinkable - This is an excellent brew!  It's pretty close to a Barleywine IMHO.  The 10% alcohol does not show it self so be careful.  I will have to get a other bottle to age for a year or two.

This beer pair well with cheese and meats. I had it with cheese risotto.

This beer gets a Duper rating of A+.
BeerAdvocate Rating =B+
Ratebeer Rating =93

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