SkinsFanLarry
Craft Beer Addict!
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2008
- Messages
- 14,355
When pairing cigars with beer, a general rule applies: the less intense or more delicate the beer, the smaller the cigar should be. Because a small ring gauge cigar produces a cooler smoke it will pair better with a wheat beer than with a stout. A short, fat robusto will, in most cases, pair better with flavorful beers like porter, stout and dark ale.
Next comes the wrapper. This is the first thing you see and an integral part of a cigar's persona. As much as 60 percent of a cigar's flavor comes from the wrapper, which makes this aspect of cigar selection very important. Generally speaking, the lighter the wrapper's color, the lighter the taste will be.
There are seven wrapper categories, which we've listed here from light to dark: Claro Claro (light green, sometimes called Jade or Candela); Claro (light, yellowish brown); Colorado Claro (light brown); Colorado (medium brown); Colorado Maduro (chocolate brown); Maduro (dark "coffee" brown); and Oscuro (blackish brown, the darkest of the dark).
Like ring gauge, wrapper color will pretty much determine the strength or intensity of a cigar and provides the best clues for the perfect cigar-to-beer match. The lighter the wrapper, the lighter the brew, and so on.
The attributes of filler tobaccos are harder to pin down. Tremendous variations exist between growing regions and styles of curing and aging. These descriptions provide an overview: Dominican (generally a milder tobacco); Honduran (slightly more full-bodied or spicy than Dominican); Havana (medium-to-full- bodied); Jamaica (mild, lighter than Dominican); Maduro (varies from sweet and mild to powerfully rich and heavy -- very often having chocolate and coffee flavors).
Matching the powerful flavors of beer and cigars means seeking harmony or a "like-with-like" relationship between the intense flavors of smoke, malt and hops competing for your attention. Neither the cigar nor the beer should overpower the other.
This past weekend, which is still a bit hazy, I paired several Ambos Mundos Toro No. 2's with about 8 bottles of Big Boss's Helle's Bell, a 7% Belgian Style Ale. They went well together, it was eating something during the wedding reception that I forgot to do!
Next comes the wrapper. This is the first thing you see and an integral part of a cigar's persona. As much as 60 percent of a cigar's flavor comes from the wrapper, which makes this aspect of cigar selection very important. Generally speaking, the lighter the wrapper's color, the lighter the taste will be.
There are seven wrapper categories, which we've listed here from light to dark: Claro Claro (light green, sometimes called Jade or Candela); Claro (light, yellowish brown); Colorado Claro (light brown); Colorado (medium brown); Colorado Maduro (chocolate brown); Maduro (dark "coffee" brown); and Oscuro (blackish brown, the darkest of the dark).
Like ring gauge, wrapper color will pretty much determine the strength or intensity of a cigar and provides the best clues for the perfect cigar-to-beer match. The lighter the wrapper, the lighter the brew, and so on.
The attributes of filler tobaccos are harder to pin down. Tremendous variations exist between growing regions and styles of curing and aging. These descriptions provide an overview: Dominican (generally a milder tobacco); Honduran (slightly more full-bodied or spicy than Dominican); Havana (medium-to-full- bodied); Jamaica (mild, lighter than Dominican); Maduro (varies from sweet and mild to powerfully rich and heavy -- very often having chocolate and coffee flavors).
Matching the powerful flavors of beer and cigars means seeking harmony or a "like-with-like" relationship between the intense flavors of smoke, malt and hops competing for your attention. Neither the cigar nor the beer should overpower the other.
This past weekend, which is still a bit hazy, I paired several Ambos Mundos Toro No. 2's with about 8 bottles of Big Boss's Helle's Bell, a 7% Belgian Style Ale. They went well together, it was eating something during the wedding reception that I forgot to do!