Cigar City El Catador Club Thread

[Mudvayne1988]

Raspberry Halo description sounds exactly what I got from LIL. Hmmm

 

[Mudvayne1988]

Anyone else think alot of the El Cat beers taste very similar? Every single one I drink I get the same big caramel taste and smell. At least maybe just the bourbon barrel ones. Any other differences are very subtle.

 

[chongcheesol]

IMO, Cycle is far more guilty of this than CCB

 

[Mudvayne1988]

IMO, Cycle is far more guilty of this than CCB

Very true!

 

[IndianaJones]

Anyone else think alot of the El Cat beers taste very similar? Every single one I drink I get the same big caramel taste and smell. At least maybe just the bourbon barrel ones. Any other differences are very subtle.

with respect to the beers from this round? Or overall? I haven't had any from this round so not sure on those. A lot of the old ales/strong ales/barleywines run together for me though

 

[chongcheesol]

The sheer volume that Cycle releases is probably the main issue. I really wish they would disclose what their base beers are for each bottle. That way, even if they tasted similar I'd know if the beers were different. Still got love for Cycle though. Highly consistent.

Even if CCB doesn't release what the base beer is most of the time, I can at least tell it's a different grain bill since they usually post ABV.

That said, really solid round so far! Even the initial reviews of the BA Halo aren't bad!

 

[dsigmon]

The sheer volume that Cycle releases is probably the main issue. I really wish they would disclose what their base beers are for each bottle. That way, even if they tasted similar I'd know if the beers were different. Still got love for Cycle though. Highly consistent.

Even if CCB doesn't release what the base beer is most of the time, I can at least tell it's a different grain bill since they usually post ABV.

That said, really solid round so far! Even the initial reviews of the BA Halo aren't bad!

Everything that says "Rare DOS"...is Rare DOS as the base beer. The collab week beers were totally new obviously. Most of the stouts cycle releases is Rare DOS w/ different treatments or barrels.

 

[chongcheesol]

I'm still failing to see how it's obvious that they are new beers. They can easily have a DOS based beer and call it something else if they want to, ie for a collab.

 

[dsigmon]

I'm still failing to see how it's obvious that they are new beers. They can easily have a DOS based beer and call it something else if they want to, ie for a collab.

Of course they could but if it were a collab using Rare DOS as the base then it would be something like Rare NOA...like maybe if they did that collab w/ a brewery like Omnipollo who has NOA in the name of their famous stout...oh....wait...

 

[chongcheesol]

I suppose you're right. Still, I don't trust Cycle. I mean, if most of the beers were DOS as the base, ****, I'd start naming them something else too. I know I'd feel duped if every single thing they put out was the same base, but since they don't say what the base beers are 95% of the time, we'll never really know. It seems that most of what they've been doing lately has been a blend of barrels. I wouldnt be surprised if there's some DOS in every beer they do albeit it could be 20% in one beer, 50% in another or just a straight up 100% DOS beer. Again, I don't think we'll ever know.

 

[BigGene]

Last Bottle of ECC 7 Bourbon Huna. https://cigarcitybrewing.com/beer/bourbon-barrel-aged-hunahpus-imperial-stout/

 

[jvanaus]

Last Bottle of ECC 7 Bourbon Huna. https://cigarcitybrewing.com/beer/bourbon-barrel-aged-hunahpus-imperial-stout/

There - can people stop complaining about "aww no huna variant..." and we can get some other stuff that's awesome like Decoherence and Leon?

 

[SerenityNow]

Yay!

I'll be one of those pesky complainers, but really, really want the singe-barrel Apple Brandy to be done again some year soon. That is the best beer I've ever tasted, hands down.

 

[Dino1]

SO is this OVER, over now?

Hope not.

 

[BigGene]

SO is this OVER, over now?

Hope not.

Was at CCB yesterday. The guy I spoke to says that the ECC is not going anywhere. The gap between 7 and 8 may be as long as 90 days due to the Taproom remodel. I for one am okay with that. My wallet needs a break.

 

[jvanaus]

SO is this OVER, over now?

Hope not.

Someone mentioned elsewhere they spoke with CCB employees and claim it's all a rumor. Certainly would make sense to go out with a bang - this round was incredible. But I have a hard time believing they'd let 3k bottles that are guaranteed sold at $30/bottle go away for no reason at all.

It was fun while it lasted, if it's over - but I'm betting no.

 

[Dino1]

Was at CCB yesterday. The guy I spoke to says that the ECC is not going anywhere. The gap between 7 and 8 may be as long as 90 days due to the Taproom remodel. I for one am okay with that. My wallet needs a break.

Same.

 

[RyanMcFly1985]

Damn I was about to come in here like this but you all beat me to it...

 

[BigGene]

And here you go
The Exciting Future of
El Catador Club
We at Cigar City Brewing would like to thank you for your support of our brewery through your membership in our El Catador Barrel-aged Beer Club. The Seventh Edition El Catador Club served as an opportunity for our brewers to resurrect some of our most in-demand barrel-aged beers of the past (Life is Like…, Bourbon Barrel-aged Hunahpu’s) and some of our own sentimental favorites that we considered worthy of a second appearance (Bourbon Barrel-aged Imperial Milk Porter, Bourbon Barrel-aged Raspberry Halo). We’re extremely proud of this club and have loved the feedback that our El Catador Club members have been giving us online and in the Tasting Room.

7th Edition El Catador Club members have until the close of the Tasting Room on
Friday, September 15th to claim the bottles from this club. No pickups for members or trustees will be honored after that time, and your El Catador discount card will expire at that time as well. We strongly encourage those picking up bottles before that date to visit the brewery on weekdays or early afternoons to expedite pick-up. If you are acting as a trustee for more than four members, please contact us at [email protected] before arriving at the brewery so we can have your bottles ready for you and you can have more time to enjoy a beer in the Tasting Room.

As we have at the end of each edition of El Catador Club, we’d like to communicate our plans for the future of the Club and give our loyal club members and idea of what to expect from Cigar City Brewing moving forward. We have several big plans in the works at the brewery, one of the largest being a complete redesign and remodel of our Spruce Street Tasting Room. This will involve closing our current Tasting Room space for several weeks and moving our normal service to our Fermentorium space adjacent to our original brewhouse. This space is smaller and still serves as an active production area, necessitating some creative approaches to service for our guests. Because of this, we are going to delay the opening of the Eight Edition El Catador Club for several weeks.


The space and staff needed to brew, age, package and release a new El Catador Club beer is not insignificant. As a team our brewery staff came to the conclusion that the Tasting Room remodel will have a large enough impact on our ability to deliver the highest-quality service possible to all guests if we are also handling El Catador Club bottle pick-ups in a smaller space. We’d rather hold off on opening the Eighth Edition Club than deliver a customer service experience that may not be up to our standards.

Again, 7th Edition El Catador Club members have until the close of the Tasting Room on Friday, September 15th to claim the bottles from this club.

Seventh Edition Bottles Included:

Bottle One: Life is Like
Bourbon Barrel-aged Imperial Sweet Stout with Cherries and Cacao Nibs

Bottle Two: Whiskey Barrel-aged Imperial Milk Porter

Bottle Three: Double Barrel-aged Marshal Zhukov
Bourbon and Rum Barrel-aged Imperial Stout

Bottle Four: Bourbon Barrel-aged Raspberry Halo
Bourbon Barrel-aged Imperial Stout with Raspberries

Bottle Five: Bourbon Barrel-aged
Hunahpu's Imperial Imperial Stout
Bourbon Barrel-aged Imperial Stout with Chile Peppers, Cinnamon, Vanilla and Cacao Nibs
To emphasize our intent and to ensure that there is no misunderstanding: El Catador Club is not going anywhere. We never want to lose our forum for ambitious barrel-aged beers and our opportunity to share them with our most discerning (and vocal!) fans. We have intentions of making some updates to our club, which will be communicated as soon as they are finalized, and as always current members will have first right of refusal on re-joining. Our plan is to begin the Eighth Edition El Catador Club as soon as humanly possible and to get more barrel-aged beer into our Club members’ hands as quickly and efficiently as possible. As always, we will announce the renewal period for current El Catador Club members via email and will announce the lottery to fill vacant spots viaElCatadorClub.com and our social media outlets.


On behalf of our brewers and our management team, we'd like to thank you again for your trust and your support. We all look forward to sharing our most ambitious and exciting beers with you for many Clubs to come. L'chaim!

- Cigar City Brewing

 

[RyanMcFly1985]

Welp

 

[Jb123]

A break is nice ....$$$$$$$

 

[RyanMcFly1985]

A break is nice ....$$$$$$$

Totally agree with that.

 

[SerenityNow]

A break is nice ....$$$$$$$

Between membership, shipping, and all those fancy thank you beers, around $450 every round. Could use a break, save some $, and reduce the out of control collection I already own. Still, though, can't wait for round 8. Round 7 might have been my favorite round.

 

[Jb123]

Between membership, shipping, and all those fancy thank you beers, around $450 every round. Could use a break, save some $, and reduce the out of control collection I already own. Still, though, can't wait for round 8. Round 7 might have been my favorite round.

Agreeed....

 

[johnyb]

CCB Update......

We wanted to make our members aware that we are currently monitoring the progression of Hurricane Irma and have decided to postpone making any adjustments to the El Catador pickup window until we understand the full impact of this storm. We will make sure that any adjustment made to this window works to the benefit of our members and is communicated in a timely fashion, so please keep an eye on your email for updates.

 

[kiki3drt292]

Would anyone be able to help out with being a trustee for this last round of bottles? I would be happy to send you a 12 bottle shipper filled with California goods like Alvarado St., Henhouse, maybe even some Cellarmaker cans- or anything else you may want! I'll send you a label and you just send it on back filled with the last round. Thanks!

 

[jvanaus]

Would anyone be able to help out with being a trustee for this last round of bottles? I would be happy to send you a 12 bottle shipper filled with California goods like Alvarado St., Henhouse, maybe even some Cellarmaker cans- or anything else you may want! I'll send you a label and you just send it on back filled with the last round. Thanks!

JBoogie - any plans on a Tampa trip before the pickup deadline?

Edit: Sept 24 is the final day of pickup.

 

[liquiddegenerate]

Would anyone be able to help out with being a trustee for this last round of bottles? I would be happy to send you a 12 bottle shipper filled with California goods like Alvarado St., Henhouse, maybe even some Cellarmaker cans- or anything else you may want! I'll send you a label and you just send it on back filled with the last round. Thanks!

Can help if needed

 

[JBoogie]

JBoogie - any plans on a Tampa trip before the pickup deadline?

Edit: Sept 24 is the final day of pickup.

Unless I go tomorrow, probably not. We're busy next weekend, unfortunately. If I can make it tomorrow I'll hit up kiki3drt292 with my deets.

 

[SerenityNow]

Some break. Went from $300 membership for 10 bottles to $500 for 14 bottles (plus 2 gift 4 packs of Zhukov variant cans). Shipping’s gonna be way more expensive now too. Can’t squeze into a 12 bottle shipper anymore.

Stakes are raised if you want to keep a 2 bottle membership. Probably gonna do it anyway, but man my heart sunk into my stomach reading that.