Cigar City Bolita Double Nut Brown Ale

Bolita was a type of lottery popular with the working class citizens of the Ybor City district of Tampa. Bolita means, ’little ball’ but profits from the illegal (and often rigged) game were anything but little. In the 1920’s Tampa native Charlie Wall was the undisputed kingpin of the Bolita racket.

Our Bolita is a Double Northern English-style brown ale that has a complex malt forward character with notes of chocolate, toffee and hints of roasted nuts in the finish. Bolita pairs well with Baklava, Big Band Music, Cool Evenings and robust cigars.

3.8

536 reviews

Tampa, United States

Community reviews

3.7 Bomber to snifter. Nose is a ton of toast with a bread crust and light chocolate aroma. Dark brown. Medium sized off white head. Taste is initially butter from dark grain and hops. Lightly sweet but also balanced. Some noticeable alcohol warming. Nice.

3.8 Old rating. Thick Brown ale. Malty, caramelly, nutty, some chocolate. Huge sweetness and booze for a brown. CC going big as usual.

4.6 Rated based on notes taken 28 Dec 2014 -- On tap. This beer is nothing but malty layers of caramel-y goodness. Very impressive brown, possibly the best brown I’ve ever had.

4.1 Holy moly...This stuffs a pal.... bomber shared with hakes at club w dek bar. .brownish pour with super sugar and malts.. delicious...never been a big fan of brown. .but this is legit

3.2 750 ml bottle from 2011 I believe. Aroma is fairly oxidized with honey and cardboard. Medium light notes of toasted bread, caramel and nuts. Hints of chocolate and dark fruit. Pours a dark brown with lighter brown hues on the edges with hints of burnt amber. Small, moderately thin, light mocha head that recedes fairly quickly to the edges where it lingers for a bit. Flavor is slightly sweet with a moderate bitterness. Some cardboard notes but, the oxidation is not as noticeable as in the aroma. Moderately strong nuttiness with medium toasted bread and hints of caramel, roast and chocolate. Hints of dark fruit, cherry and raisin. Mouthfeel is medium to medium full bodied with medium carbonation. Low,but present astringency and low alcohol warmth. Overall, age does not help this beer. I can imagine the aroma used to be more like the flavor and full of nuttiness and melanoidins, but now the oxidation dominates. The light fruit notes work well and add a bit of complexity.

3.5 Dark brown pour. Big creamy tan head. Lacing. Chocolate and peppery malt aroma. Big boozy taste. Some malt. Hot finish.

3.0 2009 bottle, trade with Daknole. Five years cellared is apparently more than enough, this gushered out as soon as I popped the cap.Even decanting a third of it into a glass still won’t keep the foam from swelling over the bottle top. What I end up with is a dark brown beer, looking like a porter, with a flat sudsy brown head. Smell has nice nut brown roast malts, but without peat or ale fruity esters. And unfortunately, what should have been an extra dose of yeast to help boost alcohol has turned into some bacillus, giving the aged beer a sour funk to it. Well, I’ve drunk a lot of strong homebrew that turned out this way. I’m pretty sure I can claim I treated this bottle properly, so this is a strong beer that could not stand up to aging. Next time, I’ll get a fresh CC beer when available, and see if that doesn’t change my mind.

3.3 How: Bottle, 2010 vintage. Where: SMÖF 2014. Appearance: Dark brown colour with a beige head. Aroma: Malt, caramel, some chocolate and alcohol. Body: Medium to full body, medium carbonation. Flavour: Caramel, some liquorice, malt, alcohol, a bit sour. Comment: Either slightly infected or has an odd sourness to it that doesn’t fit.

4.0 "bolita brown is the red headed stepchild of lion stout and dfh palo santo. expecting a brown ale, this would be an odd one. it’s thick, strong, and well...thick. dense head atop a beer that looks like a big stout. huge roasted malt and chocolate and toffee...sweet, but not overbearing. a wonderful sipper on a cool night."

3.8 750 ml bottle. Pours a nice brown color with a medium sized off white head. The aroma and flavor have toffee, a solid nutty character, some roast, dark chocolate, with some earthy bitterness. This is as solid a brown ale as you can find.

4.0 Pours a dark brown color with off-white head. Nuts, caramel malt, bread, and some toffee on the nose; follows onto the palate. Very nutty on the finish and semi-sweet.

3.6 Bottle to tulip. Pours brown with a decent sized beige head. Nose is nutty sweet; taste follows with some brown sugar, molasses, toffee. Really nice smooth mouthfeel. Good.

3.0 Into a snifter.Smell is lighter. Malty. A hint of roastiness. Pour was weird until I realized this was a brown ale not a stout. Looks great fora. Brown ale. Nice brown color. Explosive tan head.Light on the taste. Earthy. Malty. Hint of roastiness.Very smooth on the palate. Acidic. Tastes lighter than expected. Some nice flavors but the acidity takes away. Maltiness is nice. Not bad but nothing amazing. Good for the style.

4.5 Poured from 750ml into a snifter. Beautiful brown color, similar to the color of nutella. Huge flavor of hazelnut, peanut, roast malts. So amazing!

4.4 Great double Brown ale. limited head. Nuts, citrus, roasty, earthy. finishes clean. Woody

4.4 Had with Christmas Pud. Pours opaque brown with a small head. Aroma of roasted walnuts and caramel. Flavor is intense burst of nutty sweetness balanced by a moderate hopping. A lively carbonation. A very pronounced aftertaste of black walnuts. Wonderful.

3.9 Poured at a good temperature with a modest, thick, light tan head that soon settled and a tiny bit of lace. Color is a clear cherry brown with lots of bubble trails. Aroma is cocoa, malt, leather, mild tobacco. Flavor’s not as good as nose as there are notes of raisins and molasses which I don’t find appealing in this kind of beer. Body is hurt by those Flavor’s too which clashes and leaves high points. Finish like taste, is longish, and a tad boozy.

4.2 Pours a nice deep cola red color with a minimum off white head. Aroma is roasted malts, heavy syrup, coffee and nuts. Taste is a beautiful blend of coffee, nuts, molasses, and toffee transforming to a nice malty finish. Awesome.

3.6 750ml bottle, cloudy brown hue, with a big rocky pillowy beige head, with a yeasty, subtle funky winey, ripe apple, dried raisin fruity, nutmeg spicy nose, with some soft oatmeal raisin cookie dough, toffee, light leathery, earthy musty berry accents, and with a faint bread crust, crumbs, english pudding, in the aroma follows through on a medium-bodied palate with a warmth yeasty, mild musty fruit, toffee, dusty, raisin cookie dough, caramelized, toasted, biscuity, roasted malty character, with an earthy harsh flowery tobacco leaf hop flavour, leading towards a warming, mild yeasty, funky fruity, dried raisin, earthy red wine, caramel, toffeeish, nutty finish.

3.6 A: Dark Brown Hue, Passes Mild Light, Brown Head, Some Lacing S: Nutty, Dark Sweet Malts T: Sweet Malts, Peanut Shells M: Decent Carbonation, Medium Bodied, Semi Nutty, Mildly Sweet Overall, a nice nut brown but the aftertaste tasted like peanut shells...weird.

4.0 Brown pour with a nice tan head. Really nice nose - chocolate and almost a sweet bourbon character. Chocolate forward taste with a mellow finish. A nice one to sip.

3.8 Bottle. Dark brown with a light tan head. Aroma is nutty and fruity. Taste has notes of figs, berries, chocolate and roasted nutty malt. There's a weird gummy fruit snack undertone throughout. Rich oily palate. This is complex and enjoyable.

3.9 Rated on 01-09-2009 at Fort Wayne, IN Winter Gathering (Bottle courtesy of jsquire) This beer pours a small fizzy tan head with a long retention, brown body with a red tint, no visible carbonation, and a fair amount of lacing. The Aroma is malty, chocolate, roasty, and nutty. The Taste mimics the Aroma. The Palate is oh so smooth and this is a full bodied beer. This beer is very quaffable and the flavors come together very nicely. This beer is worth trying and a beer that not only would I drink again, but also recommend.

3.6 Pours opaque brown with a khaki tan head. The aroma is toffee and malt. The flavor has a tiny burn at it’s finish but has a sweet toffee, caramel flavor. Super smooth on the tongue.

4.7 malty roasted nuts. very dark. brown head. good lacing. paired with filet mignon. nice meal. too bad I cant get this beer locally

3.7 750ml bottle. Finally getting around to drinking this one. Big thanks to Tricyclist from the chapter 3 local for local swap. Pours a murky dark chestnut brown color with a finger or tan head. Aromas is nutty, with notes of chocolate, roasted malt, and molasses. Taste has a lot of hazelnut, followed by caramel, brown sugar, chocolate, and a roasted coffee finish.

4.5 Now this is a brown ale to write home about. Bolita is malty sweet, but far from cloying, boasting heavy notes of vanilla, caramel, and walnuts.

4.0 Pours a deep burnt umber with a thick foamy head... Lots of nice roast great silky mouthfeel nutty, soft chocolate, raw peanuts, vanilla, spent coffee grounds, malt and a touch of earthy chewing tobacco on the finish.

3.5 A: Nutty, malt, vanilla and chocolate. A: dark in color with a tan head. T: taste cocoa, vanilla, nutty, and some bitter at the end P: full mouth feel, drinkable

4.1 Appearance: Deep dark brown color with extremely thick beige head. In fact the head started at 3/4 of the glass and it ended up rising over the glass Aroma: Smells like chocolate malt balls Taste: Complex layers of flavor for a nut brown. A heavy layer of malt with hazelnuts, leather and a nice coating chocolate sweetness on the finish. Overall: A very hearty nut brown ale more reminiscent of a doublebock. Alcohol is very well masked.