Maduro Brown Ale
Cigar City Brewing
3924 West Spruce Street Suite A Tampa, FL 33607
Phone (813)348-6363 ext 206
Head Brewer: Wayne Wambles
Profiled by Ken Carman
I had this for the first time at the Emerald Coast BrewFest. It stood out amongst many ales and lagers. You have to understand: this is a bit like finding an affinity with a single tree while viewing all of Alaska. So I decided to write this when I could simply get the sense of the tree without the forest.
Still amazing.
Open the bottle and Cascade hit the nose. Not a lot, but a nice whiff. Yet mouth feel and taste were quite different. The deep malt sense is damn near bottomless. The hops pop out as it warms with a nice, yet not too much, bitter. This is a complex quaff that keeps developing.
Deep, deep brown with garnet highlights. Not much head and it fades fast. This is an edgy Brown American Ale. Am I getting some Munich Malt? Brown malt too. This is one of the best beers I’ve profiled and I’m more of a beat the taste buds, high alc kind of guy. This solves that thirst by being edgy.
I met the head brewer: Wayne Wambles, when he was with Buckhead in Tallahassee…
…a location closed long before Buckhead itself went away. Let’s just say I’m not surprised I’m giving such an up review, considering the quality of the brews I’ve had Mr. Wayne had made.
Some sites on the net referred to this as an oatmeal Brown. Nothing on the bottle indicates this, though the body sense could support the premise.
Deserves any awards it might win.
