Cigar City / Mikkeller Dirac
Born: 8-8-1902 Bristol, England. Died: 20-10-1984 Tallahassee, Florida. Paul Dirac was one of the founders of what became modern Quantum Mechanics and along with Erwin Schrodinger won the Nobel Prize in 1933.
The recipe for this stout (10% ABV, brewed with raisins and spice) was conceived by Wayne Wambles, Head Brewer at Cigar City Brewing and brewed in collaboration with Mikkeller.
The recipe for this stout (10% ABV, brewed with raisins and spice) was conceived by Wayne Wambles, Head Brewer at Cigar City Brewing and brewed in collaboration with Mikkeller.
3.8
188 reviews
Tampa, United States
Community reviews
Ok, that does it. It’s time to call it a day. No more ratings for me this night, my palate is completely and utterly exhausted: I can’t really find any clear differences between Dirac and Bohr, other than a much lighter sourness in the Dirac. Apart from that Dirac has a black body, quickly disappearing brown head, very strong aroma and flavours, it’s dark roasted, and I get chocolate and coffee.
[Sample @ RBNG14 Grand Tasting, Fredriksten festning, Halden ]
Bottle 750ml @ RGNG-14
Pours black with a small tan head. Aroma has notes of roasted malt, chocolate, coffee, caramel and oak. Taste is medium to heavy sweet and medium bitter with a long chocolate and coffee finish. Body is full, texture is oily, carbonation is soft to flat.
At RBNG 2014 Halden. Black color, some foam. Aromas of malt, dried fruits, licorice and a few coffee notes . Full body & high complexity. Sweet , some balancing bitterness . Very enjoyable
Bottle picked up at Hunahpu Day 2011. Viscous black pour with light brown head. Aromas of roasted malts and dark fruits. Roasted malt, raisin and molasses flavors with some licorice. Full body with syrupy mouthfeel. This beer has come together nicely with a few years on it. Had side by side with Bohr. Very similar beers, but I like the Bohr a bit more.
Bottle @ Bruce’s. The pour’s thick, sludgy dark brown with a small head. Intimidating pour. The nose is grape, caramelized cherry. Brownie mix, cocoa. The taste is earthy, sweet. Cinnamon spiced chocolate cake. Some lactose. Vietnamese coffee. Full body, soft carbonation. Great stuff.
6th August 2013
Tasting at Bruce’s pad. Opaque dark black - brown beer. Good tan head. Softish, viscous and dry palate. Fine carbonation. Little bitter spice. Light salty licorice. Smooth dark malt with a trace of coffee. Mild dark fruit tang. Softish finish. Quite a savoury beer.
Bottle shared at Jack’s Fare-Thee-Well Tasting, big thanks to Kenny for this one, 06/08/13.
Pitch black with a big dirty tan head.
Nose is roasted malt, earthy, bitter chocolate.
Taste comprises bitter roast, dark chocolate, molasses, mineral notes, dark fruits, woody notes, light coffee.
Full bodied, fine carbonation, roasty finish with a boozey punch.
Nice work, solid impy, alcohol is well integrated.
Rating#3800. Bottle thanks to Kenny at Jack’s farewell tasting. It pours jet black with a small tan head. The nose is big, rich-roasted malt, coffee, chocolate gateaux, mild acidity, dried fruit, spice and light sesame. The taste is rich-roasted coffee, oily, chocolate cake, toffee, burnt notes, dried fruit, tablet, spice and a touch of bitterness. Full body, fine carbonation and oily mouth-feel. Big, bold and fairly sweet, yet somehow remains rather drinkable. Nice.
From big bottle into Corsendonk chalice.
Pours black with brown head...some lace.
Aroma of sweet chocolate, dark chocolate, rich roasted malts, espresso, chili, roasted hazelnuts.
Modest carbonation and pungent mouthfeel.
Flavors of sour malts, bitter chocolate, milk chocolate, Mexican chocolate, burnt malts. Overall very bold and flavorful with some unique bitterness and sour notes atop lots of chocolate, spices, and raisins.
Sample from a bottle at DLD ’11. Pours a dark brown to black color with a small beige head. The aroma has roasted malt, dark chocolate, raisins, a hint of alcohol and some peppery spice. Perhaps a touch oxidized. The flavor has roasted malt, dark chocolate, raisins, some peppery spice, some booze with a mild bitterness to the finish.
Sample at CBC 2013.
Black with a beige head. Aroma and flavour of dark dried fruit, roasted malt, coffee, chocolate and alcohol.
750mL bottle. Poured near-black with a remarkably dark brown head.. looked quite imposing in the glass! The aroma picked up a hefty dose of raisins, molasses, and licorice with accents of coffee roast, herbal hops, and rye alcohol.. large and in charge. The flavor found mostly licorice and molasses at the core, along with a good hit of golden raisins.. oxidation and misplaced nutty roast laced throughout.. finished dry with powdered molasses, raisins, and roast. Heavy-bodied and very filling on the palate.. tangy and warm in the end, but the balance held.. very good overall.
Bottle @ CBC. Pours black with a brown head. Aroma of roasted malts, coffee, dark chocolate, caramel, cedar, light boozy. Flavor is sweet with rich malts, coffee, chocolate, caramel, rasins, licorice, cedar. Full body, soft carbonation, warming alcohol in the finish. 030513
Draught at CBC ’13. Opaque black liquid with small to medium tan head. Aroma of raisins, dark fruit, wood, port wine, chocolate and licorice. Taste is light to medium sweet and medium bitter with notes of wood, chocolate, light booze and raisins. Full bodied with low to medium carbonation.
Nose is bliss with chocolate, brown sugar, vanilla and coffee. Taste is similar with some cognac as well. Fantastic!
Pours black with low dark tan head. Aroma of figs, raisins, brown sugar, syrup, melasses. Taste is very sweet with cherry port and alcohol. Tons of raisins. Body is medium to full, creamy, with low carbonation.
Black coloured. Light brown head, mostly diminishing. Dark aroma, roasted malts, dark fruits, soy-sauce, faint alcohol. FLavor starts sweet, moderate acid, finish moderate bitter, harmonic. Syrupy texture.
Pours a thick black with a dark mocha head slowly dissipating. Coffee heavy nose with a conspicious bourbon aroma, also sporting relatively heavy dark raisin notes. Hint of soy. Noticed a coconut-esque sweetness in the thick, oily taste. Very smooth finish carried by a moderate sweet choc bitterness that balances the whole experience.
Bottle from Mane Liquor. Wasn’t expecting a great deal from this but wow it delivered. A thick, sinisterly dark tan head sits stop the black body. Nose shows stewed dark raisins, almost rum like raisin notes. There’s coconut, powdered chocolate and a touch of soy sauce in there too. Raisins never overpower. Coconut and cocoa shine and are in superb balance. Smooth melted chocolate and a hint of coffee. Creamy mouth feel with light yet lengthy bitter sweet notes on the finish. Wow. Fantastic stuff. Wish I had another
Bottle from mane liquor. Jet black pour with an amazing tanned head! Aroma has powdered chocolate, coconut, hints of soy and dark raisins. Taste is incredibly balanced. Smooth chocolate and raisins combining exceptionally well. Loads of espresso coming through. Huge beer. Massive chocolate bitterness. Just struggling to put the glass down
08-MAR-2013, bottle @Sonni, @Ulkløbben tasting, from Kihoskh.
Black with brown head.
Wonderfull roasted aroma with also raisins and prune.
Taste the same. Fruit - raisin - and roast. So full. Quite sweet, low carbonation. Not alcoholic. Been wanting to try this for some time. Thx. Sonni for supplying this monster:-)
Sweet burnt malts and licorice. Taste like licorice and raisin (Sour ale mixt with stout). Pitch black and brown tiny head.
Black pour, brown head. Strong aroma of licorice and raisins. Strong licorice in the taste aswell. Alongside raisins, deep plum, and some leather. Rich on the palate.
Bottled. Pours dark, deep brown with a small brown head. Aroma of hard roasted malt, chocolate, wood notes, raisins and some spice. Sweet flavor that ends up more dry and slightly bitter with a hint of alcohol. Full bodied, oily texture and flat to soft CO2. A great impy. ★★★★
Bottled. Pours pitch black with a big creamy tanned head. Aroma of heavy roasted malts,vanilla, dark fruits and raisins. Taste is super smooth and silky, mild but hard roasted malts, dark fruits, coffe, raisins in rum. Light sticky and oily mouthfeel. Full bodied and very nice IS.
In short: An extremely sweet viscous fruity-roasted dark ale with discordant spiciness. Acceptable at best.
How: Tap at Hill Farmstead Brewery.
The look: Black body topped by a very small beige head.
In long: Nose is sweet raisins, soy sauce, some other dark fruits, light spicy sensation. Tastes is uber-sweet, heavy sweet fig cookies, raisin pie, date squares, roast, cinnamon bun, awkward spiciness (star anise, more…), soy sauce. Very viscous, not carbonated enough, very cloying. Too sweet and viscous for me and overall just not very harmonious, a single glass was enough. Named after Paul Dirac, famous for his contributions to quantum mechanic, and I don’t know what this quantum thing is but I assume when a quantum mechanic bends over you can see his quantum mechanic buttcrack.
On tap at the Hill Farmstead Harvest Festival VIP Event, Vermont. Dark brown pour with a thick, beige cream head. Super sweet beer, tons of raisins, other dark fruits. Full bodied with fine carbonation. Lightly warming to finish, big and rich, lots of dark fruits, brown sugar. It’s an incredibly hefty beer, and certainly not one that lends itself well to a protracted drinking session, but still a damn tasty sipper.
On tap at VIP night HF Harvest Fest. Black pour with thin head. You can definitely tell they used raisins in the aroma, quite spicy as well, has a nice "oatmeal raisin cookie" aroma going on. Taste is where things get rough, a total sweet mess, very cloying and too spicy. Palate is poorly carbonated and body falls apart. Definitely a shame for something that started out smelling so nice.
On tap at Hill Farmstead. Black pour with a frothy brown head. Massive dark fruit and raisin with fig, date, and cherry chocolate. A bit sweet for me. Thick rich palate with a syrupy finish. Could only have one.
Bottle shared by Thorpe429. Thanks Mike!
Served side by side with Bohr.
The beer is on the edge of blackness, with a beige cap that leaves a healthy trail of lacing on the glass. The aroma brings roasted malt, dark fruits, and subtle spice. The flavor is very enjoyable, with a light smokiness and mild chocolate flavor. The beer is slightly sweet, with a hint of the 10% abv present throughout. The feel is creamy and smooth on the palate, with the beer being very thick and viscous. Carbonation is light. Overall, this is a really good beer. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it.
I preferred Dirac over Bohr, but only slightly. I think they are both great beers. This collaboration was definitely a success.