Cigar City Brewing Batch 69 Double Cream Ale

Cigar City Brewing Batch 69 Double Cream Ale was bottled in July of 2012, and I felt lucky to find this at a bottle shop in Florida a few days before the new year. This was enjoyed at about six months of age by Lee, Andrew and me during the recording of podcast #13. Cigar City admits that a Double Cream Ale is a made up beer style, so I guess we will call this an American Strong Ale. This is a double version of the original Cream Ale brewed for their 69th batch. Not getting much on the nose, kind of like an old IPA with a malty/fruity thing going on. The mouth-feel of this beer is very nice, I’d go so far as to say it’s velvety. At six months old I’m surprised at the amount of floral/spicy hops that are still in the taste, I can only imagine this fresh. There is a great orange citrus flavor in there (Mandarin orange?) mixing with the sweet malt base. This is the most complex, and possibly only, double cream ale out there. Solid and different, not your Dad’s cream ale. Typical Cigar City Brewing.