Cigar City Final Push Imperial Stout
Imperial Stout aged on kopi luwak coffee, vanilla and cacao nibs
4.3
152 reviews
Tampa, United States
Community reviews
Growler at RBWG. Thanks whomever brought this. Aroma of vanilla, dark coffee. Wow, rich, thick, and bold. Coffee and vanilla. The same ashy flavor as regular Zhukov but smooth as hell through the finish. Oak, vanilla and coffee... Amazing
Growler to taster at RBWG (BIG thanks to whoever brought this - maybe Danny!). Looks good; pitch black and viscous. Smells good too; big malt with a heavy Kopi influence). Tastes like it smells with a good mouthfeel. Good shit (literally).
Pours jet black with no head. Aroma of black coffee, dark chocolate and caramel. Taste follows, thick chocolatey and chewy. This beer is phenomenal. So thick, so chewy so chocolatey, great coffee notes. Rediculous!
2nd November 2010
Thanks mate, for this one! Oily opaque black beer, tiny chocolate coloured head. Very mild carbonation. Smooth palate, silky. Nose of coffee and suppressed fruit. Brief showing of a little cream before a big coffee hit. Deep rich coffee with a fruity tangy leading edge. The coffee just keeps going! The aftertaste, pure espresso. Nice balance of coffee and tangy fruits. A warming afterglow finishes things off nicely.
Growler shard by ygtbsm94. Thanks Brad!
The beer is black with a thin beige collar that leaves some oily, filmy lacing on the snifter. The aroma offers a huge coffee presence. Extremely rich, dark, roasty. The Marshal Zhukov’s, which is a lovely imperial stout in its own right, serves as a terrific base for the Kopi Luwak coffee. Alcohol is masked extremely well. A superb example of a coffee stout.
Pours a murky black with almost no head. Half-decent lacing. Absolutely disgusting lemony aroma, with notes of strawberry and corn. Overweening maple malt backbone, with vanilla and lilac. Chalky mouthfeel and long finish.
Thanks Brad. Served in a snifter. Beer is black, pitch black, lazy head, small bubbles, tan / brown, no lacing, low carbonation. This is from a growler. Beer smells like coffee and chocolate, strong, roast, nice. Beer is smooth and sweet with a nice dark roastiness at the back end. I really liked this beer and I would have it again.
Huge, huge thanks to ygtbsm94 for sharing this growler. Served in a snifter. Pours black with a really nice mocha head. Good retention and spotty lacing with a thin collar throughout. The nose has a really nice bit of coffee. Really intense and great coffee aroma with excellent notes of chocolate with a light bit of roast in the background. Flavor is intense coffee followed by dark chocolate and a touch of sweetness. Body is full with no alcohol and plenty of coffee. Smooth, smooth finish. Absolutely fantastic. Much better than any of the BA Hunahpu’s.
Hermetically sealed growler sotto vuoto, courtesy of ygtbsm94, a huge thank you for this beer that I never thought I’d see. Admits no light. Brown head. Aromais peppery dark bittersweet cocoa. Taste is rick dark milk chocolate with coffee grounds filling. Really nice.
Another really good variation of Zhukov, with a nice amount of coffee, but a bit on the sweeter side and not my favorite interpretation. Thanks Diego, as usual.
Had this as 2010 GABF. My favorite beer there by far. Might be my favorite beer all time. I went back in like 5-8 times to have it. I love coffee. I love big stouts. This mixture was just amazing. Pitch black. Fresh coffee. Nice huge rose of roasted malt. Perfect.
In short: A big fat viscous chocolaty stout with an almost espresso-like coffee character. Excellent (even if a bit overrated).
How: Fresh growler. Sent to me by GodOfThunder, consumed within days of receiving it. Thanks a lot Jay
The look: Pitch black body topped by a small brown head
In long: Nose is showing a roasted coffee beans over a chocolate cake. Given the hype of the beer I expected a more explosive aroma. Body is thick and viscous as hell. Somehow, the body felt more viscous than the base Marshall Zhukov, which is strange because usually I find that the coffee version of a big stout (example: Meph Addict vs Mephistopheles) makes for a dryer more roasted sensation. Taste is pretty straightforward, a big fattening rich chocolate cake with fresh coffee beans. I’m sure not familiar with the flavor of the much talked about Kopi Lowak coffee variety but to me the Final Push coffee character was a bit more espresso than with other well known high-quality coffee stouts (Speedway, Peche Mortel, etc.). Of all the quality coffee stouts I’ve had I’d say that Final Push was the most chocolaty I’ve had. Actually I don’t think the coffee outshines the chocolate or vice-versa. Alcohol is a bit apparent but it is fitting for this dessert beer. Also some green herbal notes. Carbonation was relatively smooth, I would have preferred a more active carbonation to increase drinkability but maybe it is because it was a growler consumed a week after it was filled. So despite my long rambling, all I can really say about this beer is that it is a rich chocolate cake and coffee with some alcohol warmth and light green herbal notes. Even after drinking a full growler I really cannot add anything. It is a straightforward but highly enjoyable sipper. In a blind tasting I don’t think it would score higher than the less hyped widely available quality coffee stouts out there (Speedway, Peche Mortel, etc.) but it remains an excellent example of the style. And in case you drank the beer but don’t know why the beer is named “Final Push”… well, you don’t want to know, just like you don’t want to know if your mother ever kissed your goodnight after giving your father a blowjob.
Had this at CCB Red Banner, so much to be said about this beer, and luckily everyone has said it, heaven!!
A pitch black beer with a thin dark brown head. The aroma has notes of dark chocolate, alcohol, roasted malt, and tobacco. The flavor is sweet with notes of alcohol and roasted malt, as well as lighter notes of brettanomyces and wood, leading to a dry, woody, and roasted finish.
Tap @ BT, NYC. The aroma is coffee, dark chocolate, coffee again. The appearance is a deep tar black, no head. Looks sort of lifeless with no carbonation. The flavor is coffee, more coffee, but actually a smoth coffee, not overly roasty, cream, chocolate. The finish is roast coffee. Medium/thick in body, again lifeless with its lack of carbonation. Nicely done, but I remember liking the regular zhukov more. Maybe this beer needed nitro. And it’s wierd that I’m saying that, b/c I normally hate nitro.
Tap at the BA Hunahpu release 9/24/11. Thanks to drowland for saving me a pour of this rarity. You are the man!
Pour is typical Zhukov, an ink black SRM that produces a Martian red head looking extremely similar to used motor oil. Bubbles and all. Lots of glass staining but not a lot of head retention and lacing. Nose is quite nice. I’m not the biggest coffee fan, but can appreciate having hazelnut, vanilla, cinnamon apples, and cocoa powder in the nose in lieu of near DMS like qualities and sharp, gritty roast. Rich and soft in the nose thankfully. For taste, I still think the palate is what shines above taste. Palate is rich and oily. Extremely thick but no cloying sugars like you would expect given the staining. Instead, the coffee does pack decent bitterness (no astringency) but there is still such a hefty dose of coffee acidity creating a tart lemon profile in the back end. Certainly yummy, but someone may see this as simply extremely thick coffee rather than imperial stout. Could use more bitterness and could work on the appearance department. If you are going for this whale, I hope you enjoy coffee explosion.
300th rating! This one had a thick black body and the head was pretty dark as well. Aromas were strong and almost spicy of rich coffee and hops with notes of dark chocolate. Tasted fantastic, loads of smooth chocolate and strong coffee battle the taste buds as you get an almost smoky lingering aftertaste. The mouth feel was incredible, creamy and a little bubbly - reminded me of coffee ice cream. Finished smooth and mellow, leaving you with a mouthful of roasted malts and dry hops. VERY complex, just not quite what I expected though with all the hype :-P.
Poured a pitch black sludge that stains the glass sides, when it touches it. Aromas of fresh roasted malts, and roasted coffee. Tastes like an cold cup of strong coffee, with some vanilla, chocolate, and no bitterness what so ever. Doesn’t taste like this beer should be 11%, and really good overall, very surprised on this one, and amazing.
Thanks to the guy in line @ CCB that let me have some of since he got the last of it. Nose is pure coffee and roast. Like coffee ice cream. Pour is absurdly dark and coats that glass leaving a trail of beer that recedes after every sip. Tastes like a cup of coffee...Sort of a bland description but that’s what it is with less bitters. Some notes of vanilla and slight chocolate. Well balanced. Pretty darn good but I honestly like the original Zhukov better. Definitely an unusual and rare beer worth trying once for sure though.
HOLY NOSE BATMAN! Probably the best beer I’ve ever smelt. Just, wow. Pour thanks to Markwise, thanks man, best extra ever. Big body, taste is exceptionally malty and balanced. Nutty, big coffee, just a crazy good beer. If I had an endless supply of this I would hydrate on it.
Pour is deep black sticky tan head lasting legs like a thick cab. Smell is wow coffee with sugar. Taste is hard roast great big coffee light vanilla and a little bit of toast. Great!
This poured a straight jet black color with a very dark tan to brown head. This stuff was extremely viscous, just like the regular version, very oily. Aroma was fresh dark roasted coffee, lots of herbal notes, chocolate, vanilla and lots of dark roasted malts, just awesome. Flavor was just as great as the aroma, lots of freshly roasted coffee, slightly burnt, sweeter chocolate, roasted malts, and very herbal hops notes. Just excellent stuff.
Draft. Pours black with a thin head. Big big big coffee aroma with roasted malts and some light molasses-like sweetness. The flavor, again, has huge coffee notes up front, with molasses, chocolate, and roasted and burnt malts. Really good.
Pouring at the Blind Tiger for Mike’s 50th birthday extravaganza. Pours a deep jet black, with no head. I’ll have to agree that this one may have been better on nitro, and that’s a rarity since I usually think nitro is overused. Huge coffee on the nose, blows away any other coffee beers I can think of for the amount of “I’m pretty sure this is coffee, and not a beer with coffee in it” that I was getting. Deep roast, just loads of it, one dimensional really, nothing but roast and coffee. Like drinking an iced coffee, sort of too much. Long coffee and roast. Light alcohol on the finish. Still awesome, but maybe a bit too much.
On tap at Blind Tiger in honor of Mike Eyedrinkale; thanks Victor (if you actually got me any of this). Pours a good looking thick, syrupy black with a slight polish to it. Aroma is massive of espresso and chocolate liqueur. Flavor is similar: primarily delicious espresso with a bit of chocolate liqueur. Velvety and thick body with loads of fresh coffee in the finish. This was a bit simplistic but just too ridiculously delicious to rate lower.
Tap at Blind tiger for Mike’s B-day bash - Big thanks to EDA for saving this keg when he knew I’d be there (haha). Arouma is sweetened espresso, creamy body, dark chocolate and milky pine and plenty of oak. Sweet dark malts, with a lingering dryness some boozey heat and carbonic acids. Not much complexity, actually. I hear (from Andy) that it’s better on nitro.
Draft at blind tiger with Brendan, barons, Andrew and streets. First thing this reminds me of is the mikkeller beer geek weasel. Pours a pitch black body with no head, no lacing. Aroma is full of the richest, most delicious coffee, chocolate and smooth roast. Mouthfeel is medium to thick with notes of perfected coffee, tobacco, roast, light tart, and some chocolate in the background. #2200
On tap at Blind Tiger with Andy, Streets, James. Dark pour with no real head. Aroma is intense sweet resin and alcohol. Palate is smokey coffee with dark, dark chocolate malts. Pretty unique. Medium-bodied and drinkable. Gets points for complexity.
On tap at blind tiger. Rich coffee syrupy flavor... Reminds me of the weasel breakfast. Pour is near black with tabacco and rich roast espresso aroma. Little bit of sharpy marker, tobacco, and espresso in the mouth.
A: Dark black-brown body. Thin dark brown collar with a whispy skim. Traces of foam left behind on the glass.
S: Dellicate but assertive coffee notes. Light milk chocolate and hints of vanilla and caramel.
T: Roasted coffee, chocolate, creamy brownies, and caramel. Well disquised booze.
M: Smooth and creamy with moderate carbonation. Fuller bodied, but certainly manageable.
O: I haven’t had the regular Zhukov to compare this to, but this is clearly a quality imperial stout. Hard to say whether kopi luwak really did much here -- I didn’t get much in the way of that earthy coffee note that I have gotten in other kopi luwak beers. Regardless, I enjoyed it.