question: Beers that go well with a full bodied smoke? i.e VSG, LGC Series R, smokes along that line. suggestions?

usually i stick with coffee, earl gray, or water. every now and then a budweiser. looking to try a new beer with my smoke.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: tgherpst,

I have always been a fan of a nice draft of Guinness or another dark brew when enjoying a good stick. Not sure if that is appealing to your taste buds but it does the trick for me.

Newcastle, Red Tail Amber Ale, Boddingtons, Old Speckled Hen, Fullers ESB, moose drool brown ale. Most english ales go very very well with cigars. The malty character seems to complement the cigar. I don't care for really hoppy beers with my cigars so most IPAs and many craft beers are out.

I like Guinness, Sam Smith Nut Brown Ale, Newcastle and Bass

Maredsous Abbey 8 with a VSG are a great pair!! They seem to complement each other quite well..

Salud & Enjoy

I like a Bass Ale when I am smoking during the summer.

Last evening I was smoking a Hemingway Short Story and ordered a Sam Adams. A very weak brew almost like drinking cold water.

You need something with cajones when smoking a good cigar.

I like either Bass Ale or Harp's with a cigar. Guiness or a black and tan is ok, but I prefer the first 2.

Guinness, Beamish, Boddington's, and Gordon Biersch Marzen if they sell it in your neck of the woods.

St. Peter's Cream Stout

Bass and Guiness!

Grant's Perfect Porter, if I can get it. Otherwise, Guinness.

Pmp, you hit it on the head. The hoppyness of beer like an IPA is the worst complement to a fine cigar.

The first thing to think of when pairing beer and cigars is balancing the maltyness of your beer. I find that the major flavor characteristic of malt is roast coffee and chocolate. Malt also gives beer it's dark colour, so its pretty safe to say that the darker the beer the more coffee and/or chocolate flavor there will be. Malty beer seem to be the easyest to pair with cigars as they share many of the same atributes. Look at the above posts and nottice all the fuller bodied, dark beers mentioned.
Hops is the only ingredient added to beer souly for flavor. It imparts bitterness and in large quantities gives a poperie flavor. I find that cigars dont pair well with beers that are hoppy. The piercing hop flavor usualy can outweigh the fullest bodyed smoke by overloading the palate with bitterness and the smoke will in turn turn your beers hoppyness into a mouth full of tin or metalicness.

So to make a long story short dark beers such as Porters, Ales, and Bocks serve a cigar best. If you guys like guinness try a Kilkenny instead. If you like the Kilkenny try a Porter. Personaly an Icebock is the ultimate because of its 9% alc percentage and massive complexity.

Should have known my man Dre would have the info on the alcohol discussion.

Never had an icebock but I drink doublebock a lot. I like optimator and salvator. I would actually like to make one someday. Regardless of their 400 year old ancestry I find paulanders tastes too much like diacetyl for me. Thats probably the yeast strain. And spaten has too much dextrine on the finish. It leaves a sticky mess on your palate rather than a crisp refreshing bite. Are there any icebocks you can recommend Dre?

quote:

Are there any icebocks you can recommend Dre?

Ill bring you the best one in the world when im in LA

Paulaner Salvator- strong, rich & malty. Delicious with a good cigar.

Let me suggest a Morretti - an Italian beer is unusual but I find it to be a good match for a full bodied cigar (which I also prefer).

They sell Morretti at the Borgata & I've had a couple bottles. Good beer, but a little light for my taste. I like the maltier beers.

not sure where you are but if you get Cdn beer try a Moosehead or a Labatt 50

Chimay Grande Reserve (blue lable). If you can't find that, the Chimay Cinq Cents is also really nice (white label).

No comparison.

Not often I drink beer with a cigar, but when I do, its usually a guiness or maybe a hieneken or corona during the warmer months