San Cristobal DLH La Fuerza (EML MAR 14) Weekend Review Competition

[Fosgate]

I got these fresh from our host recently and had a one jointly with a friend during a time of needed emotional support for his father’s health. We had that initially with a glass of Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon and they were delish together. I got to thinking how it would taste with one of my current go to craft beers. So today I decided to try pairing these.

Now, I’m real partial to O’Dells Brewery out of Fort Collins Colorado. Part of a field trip in college brewing science class involved in going to Fort Collins and touring three breweries. I have to say, the men and women working at O’Dells are extremely passionate about their craft and the beers they make. Super friendly people as we toured their small brewery, sticking our heads in their brew pots, stuffing hopps from Germany in our face, showing us and talking to us about their upcoming limited releases and letting us try it. We spent nearly 5 hours like kids in Willy Wonka and they were more than happy to answer all our questions and share stories with us. Of course it helped that they kept our glasses full (Free of charge) and paused for frequent bathroom breaks. Not so at the other breweries as the staff at others charged us for our beer, hurried us through like we were inconveniencing them within an hour. So we went back to Odells, bought loads of beer to take home and proceeded to drink our dinner. The rest is history.

So, my thought was to try the San Cristobal La Feurza with an O’dell 90 Shilling Ale. The beer is a 5.3 ABV Scottish Ale with malty fruit smell. Flavor and mouthfeel are of caramel and very malty with a hint of chocolate. Aftertaste is slightly fruity and seems reminiscent of weinhestephan yeast used in wheat beers like Hefeweitzen but does not carry the prominent clove, bubblegum, banana flavors of the Weitzen beers. Well balanced beer.

Now the cigar is young and the wrapper is pretty while not Cohiba pretty, the construction is very good. First thought after the couple puffs; It has a little sweet like others have said a molasses like taste or like Rob has said “Pancakes with molasses”. Very smooth for a young cigar and the last one I had out of the box stayed consistent all the way through the first, second and final third.

Paired with the 90 Shilling ale was fantastic. Together they are creamy with a balance flavor of maybe a cappuccino with dark caramel or maybe brown sugar and a hint of fruit on the aftertaste. Friends around me watching the game have no idea how good it is and I’m not sharing at the risk of that box emptying out. I kept a low profile in front of them until the end.

This is my new favorite cigar not only because of the pairing and overall taste. I like the size of it, the cigar burns evenly at a nice rate. Good amount of smoke and the flavor is on. I just wish they were a foot longer so I could stop burning my finger tips as I have been doing and continue to do when they near the end. This is also the first CC that a got my friends attention enough for him to want to buy a box. For me it's what cigars are all about, the overall experience with friends. I hope to age some of these.

[Fosgate]

Typo on the box date for the subject line. Should be 2014 as the box code shows.

[MrGTO]

Nice review and beer selection. I love Scottish ales and 50 cal bottle openers!