Cigar City Brewing
Tampa, FL
Available: AL, FL, NY, PA
Maduro is a Northern English-style brown ale that has elements of a higher gravity brown porter, somewhat higher alcohol, and features flaked oats in the malt bill, which imparts a silky mouthfeel.
ABV: 5.5
ABW: n/a
Color: 20
Bitterness: 25
Original gravity: 1060
Who’d have thought Northern England brown ale would inspire a brewer in Tampa, Florida but the world of beer never fails to astonish and surprise. This 5.5 percent interpretation has a fine claret color and a pronounced chocolate note on the nose, with burnt grain and a floral hop note. The palate is delightfully clean and quenching, the rich grain and chocolate beautifully balanced by an increasing hop bitterness. The finish is finely balanced by grain and hops with a continuing chocolate note. As Geordies, the folk from Newcastle, ancestral home of brown ale, would say: “Awa’ the lads!”
The bottle has no label, but the liquid is dark and settles to a murky brown in the glass. The head flees quickly. The aroma is reminiscent of hazelnut-flavored coffee and dime-store chocolate. The palate is almost salty and slightly sweet up front, with hops and roast just barely managing to balance out the malt sweetness. It dries to a slight astringent finish. There’s a lot going on here, and it doesn’t all quite mesh together. It will indeed match a cigar or pair well with a steak, but might be less successful on its own.
Roger Protz is the author of Complete Guide to World Beer and 300 Beers to Try Before You Die. He is a respected beer authority and editor of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide.
Internationally recognized brewer and expert on traditional beer, Garrett Oliver is the brewmaster of the Brooklyn Brewery and the author of The Brewmaster's Table.
