Good Cigar/Beer Pairings

ztanner25

When I typically read about good cigar pairings I see a great deal of pairings with scotch, cognac, liquors, or red wine, etc. Also coffee, tea, Dr. Pepper, or your favorite nonalcoholic beverage.

My question is what cigars and what beers do you think pair together well. Even if you have an idea but havn't tried it out yet, post it!

newbiesmoker24

I am a beer lover. I recently had the Nub habano with an Erie Brewery Misery Bay IPA and it paired VERY well. I think the bitterness and hoppiness of the IPA cleansed the palate with a medium bodied cigar. Also, I haven't tried it yet but I would bet that a stout or porter would pair well with a sweet (probably not spicy) maduro or heavy cigar. Although, I paired Oliva G maduro (very sweet) with Captain Morgan's private stock rum and it was an AWESOME pairing.

My hypothesis is that pairings work well when they are complete compliments or are complete opposites - not somewhere in between. Let me know if you find any other good beer/cigar pairings!!

RaschNuts

ztanner25:

When I typically read about good cigar pairings I see a great deal of pairings with scotch, cognac, liquors, or red wine, etc. Also coffee, tea, Dr. Pepper, or your favorite nonalcoholic beverage. My question is what cigars and what beers do you think pair together well. Even if you have an idea but havn't tried it out yet, post it!

I had asked a similar question about this before HERE might give you some ideas.

I had a Woodchuck hard cider with a RP 92 went really well together.

jsnake

No such thing. All beer tastes like urine filtered through a dirty sock that was worn by Rosie ODonnel after she walked accross the desert to get a donut.

dennisking

jsnake:

No such thing. All beer tastes like urine filtered through a dirty sock that was worn by Rosie ODonnel after she walked accross the desert to get a donut.

holy crap. I would never take you for a beer hater. insane.

bacon.jay

dennisking:

jsnake:

No such thing. All beer tastes like urine filtered through a dirty sock that was worn by Rosie ODonnel after she walked accross the desert to get a donut.

holy crap. I would never take you for a beer hater. insane.

Wow, me neither. I thought you did like beer Jake...

I really really liked the regular MOW with Weihenstephaner Hefeweizen.

kuzi16

bacon.jay:

dennisking:

jsnake:

No such thing. All beer tastes like urine filtered through a dirty sock that was worn by Rosie ODonnel after she walked accross the desert to get a donut.

holy crap. I would never take you for a beer hater. insane.

Wow, me neither. I thought you did like beer Jake...

I really really liked the regular MOW with Weihenstephaner Hefeweizen.

jay... we need to get together sometime soon again. ill bring the cigars. you bring the beer.

t_evan50

I almost always enjoy a beer with my cigar. I'm a huge fan of sweet or nutty, dark beers, stouts, porters, etc. I have to say my favorite is the Rogue Brewing Hazelnut Brown Ale or a Clay County Coffee Stout (indiana beer). Both go great with a nice full bodied maduro.

Hays

bacon.jay:

dennisking:

jsnake:

No such thing. All beer tastes like urine filtered through a dirty sock that was worn by Rosie ODonnel after she walked accross the desert to get a donut.

holy crap. I would never take you for a beer hater. insane.

Wow, me neither. I thought you did like beer Jake...

I really really liked the regular MOW with Weihenstephaner Hefeweizen.

LOL jay you're on crack.. we had many a convo about this topic back in the CCom BBM days, and I'm pretty sure "urine filtered through a dirty sock" has been Jake's ongoing opinion lol.

j0z3r

I haven't been a big fan of beer and cigars, haven't had a lot of luck pairing them. The one success story I do have is the LFD Airbender paired with a Honeymoon summer all, the two complemented each other perfectly.

dennisking

Oliva G Maduro with Spaten Optimator. the pairing is amazing. I like the darker heavier malt beers with fuller bodied sticks

JohnnySlickster

have to say newbiesmoker is on to something with the IPA. I love smoking a cigar with a full IPA or even a double IPA, the higher the IBU's the better. For some reason I think a super hoppy and bitter beer goes great with the bittersweet taste of any maduro. Try sippin on a Sierra Nevada Torpedo, Lagunitas IPA, or Hop Juice if you can find it.

ejenne87

JohnnySlickster:

have to say newbiesmoker is on to something with the IPA. I love smoking a cigar with a full IPA or even a double IPA, the higher the IBU's the better. For some reason I think a super hoppy and bitter beer goes great with the bittersweet taste of any maduro. Try sippin on a Sierra Nevada Torpedo, Lagunitas IPA, or Hop Juice if you can find it.

If you can get anything by Stone Brewing, do it. Those guys are kings of the hops! Their IPA and Ruination IPA are some of the best I've had. In fact, the Ruination IPA is one of my favorite beers!

And it's not just their IPAs that a full up on hops. Most of their brews have a higher IBU count than other guys hoppiest IPAs. Their Sublimely Self Righteous Ale is tops! Anything by them is sure to be hoppy, and delicious.

Dogfish Head is another great one. They have a couple different IPAs that are phenominal! Founders is pretty decent with the hops also, as is Victory.

Ken Light

The best beer/cigar pairing I've ever had was a RP Decade with Sam Adam's White Ale.  I've found the White Ale to be a hugely complex brew and for that reason pairs well with the complex flavors of a great cigar, the Decade was just the best of them.  Unfortunately, the White Ale was replaced this year with some other more mass-palatable nonsense I'm not going to mention.  But I've heard it'll be back in some Brewmaster's variety pack or other eventually.

Also, +1 to Stone as the best beermaker out there.  The Vertical Epic series is, well...epic.  Arrogant *** and Ruination IPA are also incredible.  Double *** is my favorite brew by them by far, though.  If you haven't tried it, do it.  It only comes around once a year, release date on their website I believe, and it tends to go fast.  If you like lighter brews they also make the best light beer out there, called Levitation Ale.

Ken Light

Ken Light:

The best beer/cigar pairing I've ever had was a RP Decade with Sam Adam's White Ale.  I've found the White Ale to be a hugely complex brew and for that reason pairs well with the complex flavors of a great cigar, the Decade was just the best of them.  Unfortunately, the White Ale was replaced this year with some other more mass-palatable nonsense I'm not going to mention.  But I've heard it'll be back in some Brewmaster's variety pack or other eventually.

Also, +1 to Stone as the best beermaker out there.  The Vertical Epic series is, well...epic.  Arrogant *** and Ruination IPA are also incredible.  Double *** is my favorite brew by them by far, though.  If you haven't tried it, do it.  It only comes around once a year, release date on their website I believe, and it tends to go fast.  If you like lighter brews they also make the best light beer out there, called Levitation Ale.

Hahaha, the site censored the names of the beers!  To spell it out, bass trrd.

coachjamie

I love beer, I love cigars. I think you guys are putting way too much thought into this!! lol I have smoked many different types of cigars with many different beers. It's all good to me. I am happy smoking a Diesel with a PBR or Miller High Life or a MOW with a Dos Equis or vice versa,lol. So long as the beer is cold and plenty of it and so long as I have plenty of sticks in my herf a dor.....it does not matter to me,lmao!! Good friends...cold beer...strong cigars....always equals good time!!

YankeeMan

jsnake:

No such thing. All beer tastes like urine filtered through a dirty sock that was worn by Rosie ODonnel after she walked accross the desert to get a donut.

Don't hold back, say what your really mean!

Russ55

YankeeMan:

jsnake:

No such thing. All beer tastes like urine filtered through a dirty sock that was worn by Rosie ODonnel after she walked accross the desert to get a donut.

Don't hold back, say what your really mean!

Seriously, he's so timid.

JohnnySlickster

Ah I completely forgot about Stone Brewing! Yes they've got some seriously good IPA's, the Ruination being the best in my opinion. In fact, I have a MOW Ruination sleeping right now...I wonder how it would pair with the Ruination IPA? haha

newbiesmoker24

coachjamie:

I love beer, I love cigars. I think you guys are putting way too much thought into this!! lol I have smoked many different types of cigars with many different beers. It's all good to me. I am happy smoking a Diesel with a PBR or Miller High Life or a MOW with a Dos Equis or vice versa,lol. So long as the beer is cold and plenty of it and so long as I have plenty of sticks in my herf a dor.....it does not matter to me,lmao!! Good friends...cold beer...strong cigars....always equals good time!!

No offense coachjamie, but just as there are multiple qualities, blends, and origins that make premium cigars unique - there are equivalently as many yeasts, recipes, and fermentation styles of beer. So to compare a miller high life (pilsner style lager) to a Dos Equis (amber style lager) is like comparing a swisher sweet to a backwood in the cigar world. Both are lower quality products and do not even begin to touch the vast array of premium, high quality products within that market.
Suffices to say I think you are missing the point that alot of aficionados and beer snobs will find great ways to stimulate the palate with pairings... But I will agree with you non-the-less... I love beer, and I love cigars!!!!

dennisking

coachjamie:

I love beer, I love cigars. I think you guys are putting way too much thought into this!! lol I have smoked many different types of cigars with many different beers. It's all good to me. I am happy smoking a Diesel with a PBR or Miller High Life or a MOW with a Dos Equis or vice versa,lol. So long as the beer is cold and plenty of it and so long as I have plenty of sticks in my herf a dor.....it does not matter to me,lmao!! Good friends...cold beer...strong cigars....always equals good time!!

yeah but those beers, as much as I love me some PBR and Highlife, are the least complex beers out there. they taste like every other cheap-o beer. you get some Microbrews and it all changes. most the beers we are talking about have alcohol over 5.9% and have more hops in one bottle than a 6'er of PBR.
this beer talk is makin me thirsty. I have some cold PBR pounders at home that are going to get killed tonight fo sho.

shamrocked

ejenne87:

JohnnySlickster:

have to say newbiesmoker is on to something with the IPA. I love smoking a cigar with a full IPA or even a double IPA, the higher the IBU's the better. For some reason I think a super hoppy and bitter beer goes great with the bittersweet taste of any maduro. Try sippin on a Sierra Nevada Torpedo, Lagunitas IPA, or Hop Juice if you can find it.

If you can get anything by Stone Brewing, do it. Those guys are kings of the hops! Their IPA and Ruination IPA are some of the best I've had. In fact, the Ruination IPA is one of my favorite beers!

And it's not just their IPAs that a full up on hops. Most of their brews have a higher IBU count than other guys hoppiest IPAs. Their Sublimely Self Righteous Ale is tops! Anything by them is sure to be hoppy, and delicious.

Dogfish Head is another great one. They have a couple different IPAs that are phenominal! Founders is pretty decent with the hops also, as is Victory.

I work and live within 10 mins of stone brewing compnay. That being said I love their beers but since I have consumed so much I tend to look for other breweries. (Favorite in San Diego being Ballast Point) However, if you're looking for an excellent bitter beer try the Flying Dog Double Dog Pale Ale - It is a double pale ale hence the name and is one of my favorite beers. Costs about $11 for a four pack. Also, in regards to stone and their vertical epic brews, the vertical epic 10-10-10 is awesome!!! I can't wait until after 12-12-12 when they do the entire vertical epic tasting in sequential order. It will definitely be epic. Also, all of their imperial russian stouts are awesome too. They should be coming out with this year's edition soon.

RaschNuts

dennisking:

coachjamie:

I love beer, I love cigars. I think you guys are putting way too much thought into this!! lol I have smoked many different types of cigars with many different beers. It's all good to me. I am happy smoking a Diesel with a PBR or Miller High Life or a MOW with a Dos Equis or vice versa,lol. So long as the beer is cold and plenty of it and so long as I have plenty of sticks in my herf a dor.....it does not matter to me,lmao!! Good friends...cold beer...strong cigars....always equals good time!!

yeah but those beers, as much as I love me some PBR and Highlife, are the least complex beers out there. they taste like every other cheap-o beer. you get some Microbrews and it all changes. most the beers we are talking about have alcohol over 5.9% and have more hops in one bottle than a 6'er of PBR.
this beer talk is makin me thirsty. I have some cold PBR pounders at home that are going to get killed tonight fo sho.

Now that this has taken the turn of comparing beers. You guys should watch Beer Wars its a great documentary of how hard it is beeing a craft beer. and how the big three try to stop the growth of the crafts

shamrocked

RaschNuts:

dennisking:

coachjamie:

I love beer, I love cigars. I think you guys are putting way too much thought into this!! lol I have smoked many different types of cigars with many different beers. It's all good to me. I am happy smoking a Diesel with a PBR or Miller High Life or a MOW with a Dos Equis or vice versa,lol. So long as the beer is cold and plenty of it and so long as I have plenty of sticks in my herf a dor.....it does not matter to me,lmao!! Good friends...cold beer...strong cigars....always equals good time!!

yeah but those beers, as much as I love me some PBR and Highlife, are the least complex beers out there. they taste like every other cheap-o beer. you get some Microbrews and it all changes. most the beers we are talking about have alcohol over 5.9% and have more hops in one bottle than a 6'er of PBR.
this beer talk is makin me thirsty. I have some cold PBR pounders at home that are going to get killed tonight fo sho.

Now that this has taken the turn of comparing beers. You guys should watch Beer Wars its a great documentary of how hard it is beeing a craft beer. and how the big three try to stop the growth of the crafts

I streamed that documentary via Netflix about 6 months ago. I would definitely recommend it to everyone as well. Not sure how the little guys can actually make it!

james40

shamrocked:

ejenne87:

JohnnySlickster:

have to say newbiesmoker is on to something with the IPA. I love smoking a cigar with a full IPA or even a double IPA, the higher the IBU's the better. For some reason I think a super hoppy and bitter beer goes great with the bittersweet taste of any maduro. Try sippin on a Sierra Nevada Torpedo, Lagunitas IPA, or Hop Juice if you can find it.

If you can get anything by Stone Brewing, do it. Those guys are kings of the hops! Their IPA and Ruination IPA are some of the best I've had. In fact, the Ruination IPA is one of my favorite beers!

And it's not just their IPAs that a full up on hops. Most of their brews have a higher IBU count than other guys hoppiest IPAs. Their Sublimely Self Righteous Ale is tops! Anything by them is sure to be hoppy, and delicious.

Dogfish Head is another great one. They have a couple different IPAs that are phenominal! Founders is pretty decent with the hops also, as is Victory.

I work and live within 10 mins of stone brewing compnay. That being said I love their beers but since I have consumed so much I tend to look for other breweries. (Favorite in San Diego being Ballast Point) However, if you're looking for an excellent bitter beer try the Flying Dog Double Dog Pale Ale - It is a double pale ale hence the name and is one of my favorite beers. Costs about $11 for a four pack. Also, in regards to stone and their vertical epic brews, the vertical epic 10-10-10 is awesome!!! I can't wait until after 12-12-12 when they do the entire vertical epic tasting in sequential order. It will definitely be epic. Also, all of their imperial russian stouts are awesome too. They should be coming out with this year's edition soon.

I love going up there - that is the best drinking place hands down and the Arrogrant *** Ale is pretty damn good.

ejenne87

james40:

shamrocked:

ejenne87:

JohnnySlickster:

have to say newbiesmoker is on to something with the IPA. I love smoking a cigar with a full IPA or even a double IPA, the higher the IBU's the better. For some reason I think a super hoppy and bitter beer goes great with the bittersweet taste of any maduro. Try sippin on a Sierra Nevada Torpedo, Lagunitas IPA, or Hop Juice if you can find it.

If you can get anything by Stone Brewing, do it. Those guys are kings of the hops! Their IPA and Ruination IPA are some of the best I've had. In fact, the Ruination IPA is one of my favorite beers!

And it's not just their IPAs that a full up on hops. Most of their brews have a higher IBU count than other guys hoppiest IPAs. Their Sublimely Self Righteous Ale is tops! Anything by them is sure to be hoppy, and delicious.

Dogfish Head is another great one. They have a couple different IPAs that are phenominal! Founders is pretty decent with the hops also, as is Victory.

I work and live within 10 mins of stone brewing compnay. That being said I love their beers but since I have consumed so much I tend to look for other breweries. (Favorite in San Diego being Ballast Point) However, if you're looking for an excellent bitter beer try the Flying Dog Double Dog Pale Ale - It is a double pale ale hence the name and is one of my favorite beers. Costs about $11 for a four pack. Also, in regards to stone and their vertical epic brews, the vertical epic 10-10-10 is awesome!!! I can't wait until after 12-12-12 when they do the entire vertical epic tasting in sequential order. It will definitely be epic. Also, all of their imperial russian stouts are awesome too. They should be coming out with this year's edition soon.

I love going up there - that is the best drinking place hands down and the Arrogrant *** Ale is pretty damn good.

Their double *** ale comes out on Monday! November 1 is always a great day for a Stone fan.

Heavy

As far as pairing a beer with a cigar - One needs to be cold. The other needs to be on fire. As long as i don't confuse which is which I'm usually a happy camper.

bigjohn125

I don't always drink beer, but when I do, I prefer dos equis!

docedwards

Heavy:

As far as pairing a beer with a cigar - One needs to be cold. The other needs to be on fire. As long as i don't confuse which is which I'm usually a happy camper.

If you confuse which is which, you've probably had too many and it isn't going to make any difference.

Fourtotheflush

kuzi16:

bacon.jay:

dennisking:

jsnake:

No such thing. All beer tastes like urine filtered through a dirty sock that was worn by Rosie ODonnel after she walked accross the desert to get a donut.

holy crap. I would never take you for a beer hater. insane.

Wow, me neither. I thought you did like beer Jake...

I really really liked the regular MOW with Weihenstephaner Hefeweizen.

jay... we need to get together sometime soon again. ill bring the cigars. you bring the beer.

Jay, I thin yourll make out the better in this deal! I would show up! Heck I would drive out there from MA!

dennisking

bigjohn125:

I don't always drink beer, but when I do, I prefer dos equis!

no one else picked up on this yet. awesome