Craft Beer and Cigars Tonight!

So, What do I do, on Friday nights, if I stay in? I make it special. I may cook something I really like, buy a new drink, or simply try something new. Tonight, I decided to make it, a craft beer night. I went to a local large chain that sells an assortment of spirits and cigars. They had a special on craft beers. So I decided to try a couple tonight. I have a Vanilla Porter by Breckenridge Brewery and Jack Stout by the Wild Onion Brewing Company, a small bowl of Snyder's pretzels dipped in dark chocolate, and a Don Rigo Biaggio Cigar.

 
The Biaggio cigar is has Cubano and Dominican seeds, lots of flavor but has a subtle and smooth finish and could be pretty much paired with a lot of different drinks. 

Vanilla Porter

I started with the lighter of the two beers, which was the Vanilla Porter. Vanilla Porter has ale brewed with real vanilla beans. I did not have any chocolate pretzels with this beer. I paired it with my cigar. I really liked it for an ale. Usually, I prefer stouts because they are  fuller and maltier. But this went well with my medium body cigar. It had lots of flavor. It did not disappoint me. The Vanilla Porter was mild and mellow to my palette.  It was a smooth beer with a hint of sweetness. You can taste the richness of the malt as you swallow. The cigar and the Vanilla Porter did not overpower one another. It was a yummy pair. Now, I am not an expert in spirit and cigar pairings. But I had no arguments here. 

More about this beer: http://www.breckbrew.com/brews/vanilla-porter

Jack Stout

The Jack Stout was pretty good too. It's a very full-bodied oatmeal stout. The beer is brewed with five different roasted malts. It's rich, creamy, full, dark in color, malty and you can smell the espresso before taking the initial taste. It is rich with espresso and chocolate. These are a couple of my favorite things, in a beer. I paired this beer with the chocolate pretzels and the cigar. It' was great with the cigar, but sometimes there is a such thing as too much of a good thing. So I will not have chocolate with this beer again. The beer had a lingering sweetness with the chocolate pretzels that I did not like. And the beer already has  just  a small hint of sweetness, but nothing too overpowering, to even notice. So the pretzels wasn't the better choice to pair with this beer. This probably would have paired better with a steak or cheese. Overall, the beer is another winner. And I wish I would have made a nice steak tonight to accompany this beer. But it was a lesson.

More about this beer: http://www.onionbrewery.com/tradition/

Cheers!