Cigar City Cubano-Style Espresso Brown Ale
Alcohol by Volume: 5.5%
This beer isn’t available locally, but see below to find out where you can order it from online.

Intro: Cigar City Brewing has been helping to redefine the beer scene in Florida since Joey Redner opened the brewery in Tampa, FL, in 2008 with Wayne Wambles as brewmaster. On the strength of their unique and flavorful beers, they’ve been ranked in the top 5 spots of Ratebeer.com’s Best Breweries in the World list for at least the past three years. As often as possible, they try to incorporate local ingredients and traditions into their beers, hence the “Cubano-style” of this example.

Description:
Pours a very dark brown with medium, fluffy light brown head. Coffee and sweet chocolate come through strongly in the aroma. I can sometimes have issues picking things up from the aroma, but it is loud and clear here. Lots more chocolate and coffee follow in the flavor, but everything is kept nicely in balance. I don’t pick up any off flavors, and the bitterness is kept in check; many coffee beers can be astringent in the finish. The medium-light body is just barely big enough to carry the flavors, but it works well while keeping the alcohol at a pleasantly low 5.5% ABV. An imperial version of this would be outstanding as well I’m sure, but I really love low alcohol beers with this much flavor.

Overall, this is a really nice example of a coffee-flavored beer that I’m glad I have a few more bottles of (I’m going to have another one right now). It’s full-flavored, yet smooth and sessionable. I’ve had several beers from Cigar City that justify the substantial hype (in beer communities) surrounding this brewery, and this one is no different.

Verdict: Buy It
While not available locally, I ordered mine online from Luekens Liquors, located in Dunedin, FL. They ship to WA, and the prices are reasonable. The shipping cost is no more than what it would cost you to ship a box if doing a trade with someone online via Ratebeer or BA. They also have several other bottles from Cigar City and other local breweries available.

Brewery Website
Ratebeer Info
BeerAdvocate Info

Commercial Description/Press Release:

This rich brown ale is redolent with Cuban-style roasted espresso beans, sweet caramel and toffee and hints of dry nuttiness. Cuban Espresso is a popular drink in the Cigar City of Tampa owing to its many Sicilian and Cuban immigrants. The beans for Cubano-Style Espresso Brown Ale are roasted locally by Mazzaro’s Italian Market and Deli in St. Petersburg to our exact specifications.