Beer and a Cigar anyone?

For you cigar smokers do you ahve any favorite combinations? Any beers that just don't go well with a cigar?

For me i would say my favorites are...

Joya De Nicaragua and an IIPA
Cain Maduro and Imperial Stout
La Gloria Serie R and an IPA or a Stout

In fact as I type I am enjoying a Cain and a Clone of Old Rasputen Russian Imperial Stout.

cubans and ipas are nice (poor americans no cubans for you)

Cigars ruin the taste of beer

babalu87 said:

Cigars ruin the taste of beer

Click to expand...

Would you say that about Scotch too?

I have many favorites.

Maduro Chisel with oak/bourbon ales
Habanos RASS, PSD4, PL's with IPAs (some Americans)
Strong Nicaraguan puros and a stout/porter
Oscuro wrappers (601 Green) with IPAs also works

Romeo y Julieta Mille Fleur with a good Barley wine is scrumptious!

I'll take just about any medium bodied smoke, as long as it isn't too spicy and pair it with a nice brown ale. I tend to pair the lighter beers with light cigars, medium with amber and browns. Occassionally I'll do a maduro and a stout. My most common pairing though is a Montecristo number four and one of my brown ales. Not too hoppy to distract from my stogie since I don't smoke very often (about once a month sometimes longer between smokes).

Memorex88 said:

Would you say that about Scotch too?

Click to expand...

No, not Bourbon either

Cigars take away from the beer experience for me anyway. Something about the smoke/carbonation kills it for me.

Maybe I need to try a Macanudo with a Rauchbier though

Now BOURBON is the way to go. . . But medium bodied smokes go great with english style beer carbed to real ale levels, my fave recently was a NUB Cameroon and some of my Mild.

My taste in cigars really isn't refined enough to pick out particular type, but I do love sipping really big beers with a cigar. Something like a barleywine or a really strong stout, Goose Island Bourbon County for example, go great with a fine smokable in my opinion.

JOHN51277 said:

I have many favorites.

Maduro Chisel with oak/bourbon ales
Habanos RASS, PSD4, PL's with IPAs (some Americans)
Strong Nicaraguan puros and a stout/porter
Oscuro wrappers (601 Green) with IPAs also works

Click to expand...

I thought you liked:
ACIDs & Smirnoff Ice

An Arturo Fuente Hemingway Signature and a tall glass of Centennial Blonde will turn and ordinary day into an extraordinary event.

I find that smoking Cigar's kills my taste buds, so I usually enjoy my beer, whiskey, whisky, or bourbon w/o the smokey goodness.

I do enjoy an occasional cigar, but it never enhances the taste of anything I'm eating or drinking.

febbrewro said:

I find that smoking Cigar's kills my taste buds, so I usually enjoy my beer, whiskey, whisky, or bourbon w/o the smokey goodness.

I do enjoy an occasional cigar, but it never enhances the taste of anything I'm eating or drinking.

Click to expand...

Same here. When I have a cigar, I use that opportunity to drink some of my inferior batches.

CAO MX2 and dopplebock. Troegs or Victory's have done me well.

SevenFields said:

I thought you liked:
ACIDs & Smirnoff Ice

Click to expand...

Shut your filthy piehole Travis!

I thought you were a grape Backwoods and Ole English type of fella?

I just got finished smoking a Cuban and drank Guinness earlier with my coworkers and farewell'd a coworker of mine back for his journey back home! I must say, Guinness that isn't pasteurized along with a Cuban is a hit in my books!

Blunts and Barleywine.

Cohiba and Chocolate Stout go good together. I've had both the Cuban and Dominican ones and they're both good so no need to knock the ones you can buy in the U.S.

I think beer + cigars is largely about the experience. The combo puts you in a super relaxed state.

Had a La Riqueza #4 and a Oaked/bourbon ale last night. Great combo!

I'm semi-entry level cigar smoker, but I loove a nice Maduro and a big Stout. Like someone mentioned, I love good bourbon and good cigars as well.

Awesome pair (terrible picture, wish I had my D3000 at the time, I can always re-take at some point)


I also had a Tempus with Devil Dancer the other night that paired very nicely. Saying a cigar ruins the taste of a beer is like saying food ruins the taste of a beer. It's all about pairing. I do however taste the beer/bourbon first, clean my palate, then taste the cigar by itself for a bit, then pair.

I'm more a pipe smoker than a cigar smoker. I've got a very nice aromatic blend from a local shop. It pairs really well with a Three Philosophers.

I do tastings at a local B&M 3 or 4 times a year. I'll right up a review of the beers I have on hand and the cigar shop will pair them up with a nice selection for an event. Sometimes I'll just show up with a keg and do a impromptu pairing. The Chipotle Smoked Porter did really well last time.

I just had a sandwich and a glass of milk stout for today's brewday breakfast. After lighting this Ghurka microbatch TPB-1, I started craving another milk stout. Nice combination.

I had a Perdomo Lot 23 Maduro with my cream stout about a month ago. That was a great combo! for most connecticut wrappers, I like just plain water.

demonrichie said:

cubans and ipas are nice (poor americans no cubans for you)

Click to expand...

Funny, pot is illegal too. Too bad no Americans smoke that either.


I've had a cuban cigar or two. Good, but I can't tell the difference since I'm not a cigar connesuir.

Punch and a hefe - the full body of the cigar balance the sweetness of the brew.

LX2 with RIS
RP edge with barleywine


btw

for most connecticut wrappers, I like just plain water.

Click to expand...

Me as well...lol

CAO Black + Rasputin RIS

Romeo Y Julieta Reserver Maduro...in the churchill size..... pair that with a strong, dark beer like RIS or Robust Porter.

Yesterday i had left hand milk stout with a Padron 3000 and an Olivia serie V. Couldnt have been better.

demonrichie said:

cubans and ipas are nice (poor americans no cubans for you)

Click to expand...

Poor cannucks who don't know they are part of the America's and therefore are also Americans.

I just had a Perdomo lot 23 and an IPA i have on tap (ranger clone). That was NOT a good combo

Sorry for the minor threadomancy/hijacking, but I figure posting here is better than starting a new thread.

Has anyone ever brewed a batch with the express intent of pairing it with cigars? Personally, I find that the only beers that can stand up to a medium-to full-bodied cigar are barleywines and imperial stouts; in my experience, the cigar smoke kills my ability to really appreciate anything other than bold malt flavors. And that includes hops, which I think are something of a flavor antithesis to tobacco.

Thus began my quest to brew a beer perfectly suited to cigar pairing. Because I'd rather have a beer that that complements the tobacco rather than just mimics it, I decided not to go for a big rauchbier. Instead, I'm thinking that a modified wee heavy Scotch ale might do the trick. Currently, the recipe stands at:

11# pale 2-row
1# brown malt
1# 60L
.5# brown sugar
.35# peated malt
.15# roasted barley
1 oz Northdown pellets

I'll then age it over toasted oak cubes that I've soaked in Scotch...and I'll probably end up dumping the majority of a bottle of Scotch into the secondary as well.

So whaddaya think? I'm hoping it'll come out nice and malty with a significant, but not overwhelming, smoky and earthy edge. Should I up the peated malt? I've never used it before.

Cheers!

ZehBaron said:

Has anyone ever brewed a batch with the express intent of pairing it with cigars?

Click to expand...

All the time. I do tastings at a local B&M. They let me know what cigars they want to exhibit and I try to come up with three beers to enjoy along with them.

babalu87 said:

Cigars ruin the taste of beer

Click to expand...

I have gotten into this discussion with my brother an advocate cigar smoker. He says beer ruins the taste of cigars. I think they go amazingly together. Especially if you like them both equally. I drink my hefe i brewed with a La Flor daminicana.

My brother says the carbonation in the beer ruins the cigar. Remember everyone has different taste buds and people like different things. Just how I don't like my beer to hoppy so I dislike a lot of huge IPA's. I absolutly love esb's, porters, and english pale ales.

It all depends on the person. If that person loves cigars. Then im pretty sure hes gonna hate drinking beer with it.

I have some La Aurora 100 Anos that I drink Dunkel with. IMHO, La Aurora has perfected that art of being mild and smooth yet still having flavor. I used to not be a believer, but lately I've been on a Nub kick. The Connecticut wrapper Nub goes well with my pilsner and Vienna lagers. I'm not fond of stouts, porters, or IPAs with cigars. Then again, I'm also not fond of Maduros and beer. I like to keep the two from overpowering each other without getting into an arms race.

hal2814 said:

I have some La Aurora 100 Anos that I drink Dunkel with. IMHO, La Aurora has perfected that art of being mild and smooth yet still having flavor. I used to not be a believer, but lately I've been on a Nub kick. The Connecticut wrapper Nub goes well with my pilsner and Vienna lagers. I'm not fond of stouts, porters, or IPAs with cigars. Then again, I'm also not fond of Maduros and beer. I like to keep the two from overpowering each other without getting into an arms race.

Click to expand...

La aurora makes the le jimenes series... very good cigar.

Had a T52 Toro, and a Moylans Hopsicle last night. Great combo right there!!!