Cigar City Sugar Plum Brown Ale

Cigar City Brewing’s official celebration of Christmas. A rich-bodied brown ale forms the stage for holiday flavors which dance a festive ballet highlighted by pirouetting leaps of Christmas inspired spices. Cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, rose hips and chamomile compliment the subtle chocolate and light coffee notes of the malt and the addition of roasted carob and chicory complete the performance. Brewed once a year to celebrate the Christmas season. Pair with fresh cracked nuts, fruit cake and share with friends and family.

Merry Christmas from the CCB family!

3.4

227 reviews

Tampa, United States

Community reviews

3.5 Dark, almost black, pour. Slight khaki head. Little lacing. Dark fruits and malt. Spice. Taste is a sweet spicy molasses mess. Not bad.

3.2 Bottle in Vail. Thanks to adnielsen for sharing. Pours a deep brown color with white head. Sweet, roasty, plum, fruity, spice aromas and flavors.

3.3 Bottle in Vail shared with jcnielsen. Thanks to Homer321 for bronusing. Pours a dark brown appearance with a thin dark brown head. Cinnamon, dark grape, fig, plum, spicy aroma. Not all that sweet flavor. Spices are also not overpowering in the flavor with some notes of vanilla, citrus, grapes, plums, cinnamon, and flowers. Ok.

3.2 Bottle. The pour a dark brown. The aroma has dark fruit and spices. The taste is rather mild. A muted infusion of holiday spices. A solid christmas offering.

3.5 This was a pleasant surprise for me, had it out of the bottle. It taste exactly how they describe it a brown ale base turned to a christmas ale with spices! I really enjoyed big malt and big spice (cinnamon and ginger are prevalent). Glad they made them into 6 packs

3.4 Pours a rich ruby umber color with a finger of eggshell foam. The nose is interesting with lots of burnt sugar, vinous plum and traces of seasonal spice. The palate follows the nose with lots of plum pit, toasted malts, burnt sugar some lighthanded seasoning a little coffee and cocoa on the back end... not too sweet even a bit of tang from the plum.

3.7 12oz bottle, brought back to the area from FL by a dear friend. This beer poured a very dark brown color with a medium sized off white head. Aroma was caramel malts, dark dried fruits. Flavor had nice plumbs, sweetness. Some nice Christmas spices in here - nice, enjoyable. Nutty, and malty. Quite enjoyable.

3.7 Bottle poured Into a snifter. Dark brown cola with a light beige head. Cinnamon and brown sugar in the nose Smooth semi nutty taste. The spice notes are there but are in the background. Very tasty.

3.6 Thanks to Homer321 for the trade! Pours clear dark brown with a mocha head. Aroma of spices and malt. The flavor is pretty much what you expect from the aroma. Sweet, spicy, smooth. Good body. Nice brown ale.

3.5 Red Brown clearing pour. Lots of spice in the nose- cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg. Taste is also lots of spice with rich malt backbone and dark fruit and tart presence. Pretty darned sweet. Drinkable medium heavy. Nice Xmas beer.

3.4 bottle from beechner224 pours opaque brown, quick flash of a tan head. nose of cinnamon, toast, coffee. taste is sweet, muddled spices. finish is quick.

3.3 An interesting beer. A sipper, couldn't drink a whole lot. Lots of cherry and chocolate, some ginger. Not much hopping. A tad sweet for me . But interesting.

3.0 From a bottle thanks to Brent. Pours a very dark ruby amber to brown. Thin tan head that persists. Aroma is nutmeg and cinnamon and spices. Place is all of the nice with sweet malt and dark fruits. Slightly bitter. As holiday ales go this one is drinkable. But I hate holiday ales almost without exception. Yuck.

3.3 Smells a bit off but the flavor is pretty solid. Sweet, fruity, spices with a subtle and slightly tart finish. I can dig it.

3.7 12oz bottle from Sean who sent me a HUGE box of crazy beer for nothing. Dude is nutz! Pours a deep brown to black with thin tan head. Aroma is fruit, spice and some roasted malt. Cherry really. Taste is again more of a light brown ale with some fruit. Cherry, cinnamon, liquor, candy. The fruit on this is really big and comes through more than the spices for sure. Nice Christmas ale I could drink next to the fire.

3.3 Decent beer. Had it in The Tasting Room on tap. Poured a dark dark brown color. Not much of a smell. Tastes of cinnamon and spice, a little ginger. It’s a good beer for the winter time. You can def get the Christmas taste from it.

3.8 A: Reddish/Brown Hue, Passes Mild Light, Thick White Head, Great Lacing S: Ginger, Cinnamon, Cardamon T: Ginger, Cinnamon M: Outstanding Carbonation, Medium Bodied, Mildly Spicy Overall, the taste is just spicy with an overpowering ginger on nose and taste.

3.5 bottle. plum brown pour. lots of flavor, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, some dark fruits, chocolate. Nutty fruit cake. Flavorful Holiday ale

2.6 On tap. Pours a Dark brown with full head. Aromas of allspice, nutmeg, and shellac. Flavours are similar. Tastes more like a pumpkin beer. Pass.

3.3 Bottle. Light brown, cloudy color with minimal head. Aroma is muted spice, sweetness, and mild fruit. Taste is subtle mix of spice and malt, with no hop character to mention. Mouthfeel is smooth. Not to bad for a mild drinkable holiday beer.

3.3 From the September 2013 3R6P tasting +++ Sampled form a 750 ml brown bottle this beer poured a dark brown color with plum highlights and a huge foamy orange-tan head that faded quickly and left good lacing. The aroma was sweet Dr Pepper, fig, cinnamon and nutmeg. The flavor was malty and toasty with a prominent Dr Pepper presence and notes of fig, cola, cherry, orange and hints of tobacco, molasses and nutmeg. Long finish of Dr Pepper, fig, molasses, orange and nutmeg. Medium body. Odd.

3.3 Beer a fair amount of spice. Nutmeg maybe some cinnamon. Lot of bitterness from hops and I get this slight pit bitterness to it as well. The nose is pretty good but in the end this combination of spice and flavors was a little disappointing.

2.8 Une bière de noël fichtrement trop épicé pour moi, le gâteau aux fruits est partout et moi je m’en vas.

3.4 Sampled at esbls. Dark red brown. A cool blotchy tan head. Lots going on here and it is kind of weird. Cinnamon, spices, complex fruit. Maybr "fruit cake" describes it. Ok, different but not great.

3.3 First, it’s Memorial Day weekend and I’m drinking a Christmas beer, but hey, whenever I’m able to get some CCB beer in GA, I’m gonna drink it. Dark copper, cloudy. Thin head disparate s quickly. Aroma is holiday spice. Spice continues in the taste along with dark ripe fruit and caramel. Medium mouthfeel. Overall, fairly unique beer. I enjoyed it.

2.7 Une bouteille de 12 oz datée de 2012. Cette bière brune acajou est bourrée par les épices, bien maltée et assez fruitée. Ses saveurs me semblent plus étoffées. Je relève des grains presque chocolatés, des malts rôtis, du caramel, des épices de Noël et de l’orge doré. La sensation en bouche me semble bien professionnelle. La finale est plutôt sèche, épicée et légèrement trop longue. Une bière qui ne m’allume pas du tout malgré le fait qu’elle ne soit jamais trop sucrée ni jamais trop lourde. Son nez épicé et ses saveurs balancées (il y a des houblons là-dedans) ne réussissent pas à me convaincre de la totale utilité d’une bière qui souligne les 2000 ans d’une imposture montée par un petit bonhomme qui ressemblait à un acteur de Bollywood et qui parlait l’araméen.

3.2 Not a fan. Pours dark brown with a small head. The nose is big spicy apple pie, but I guess in the case it’s plum pie. Some fruity aromas, to include plums, raisins, figs and some molasses as well. The taste is very high sweet and low to no bitter. To much. The texture is crisp, body is heavy and the finish is long.

2.7 Bottle. Aroma is a huge cinnamon and ginger spice bomb. Pours cola brown with a real bubbly tan head. Taste like cinnamon-filled gingerale. Cloyingly sweet. I guess a nice winter beer, but not so pleasing in the spring time. Even this 12oz bottle is too much for me.

3.1 Bottle as shown. Pours a dark amber with medium beige head that lasts awhile leaving spotty lacing. The aroma is berries, caramel, and spice. Medium mouthfeel with a spicy fruit flavor and light roast and caramel with light spice in the finish. Good.

3.5 Bouteille 33cl, thansk to Ibrew2or3. Cuivrée trouble, col crémeux beige. Arôme présente un bouquet agréable d’épice de saison hivernale donnant ici un côté festif entre cannelle, gingembre léger, cardamone. Le tout garde un fruité léger noir, pruneaux, malté grillé sur une fine pointe de chocolaté venant de carobe. Palais est léger, rappelant le pain d’épice; fine note de cannelle, chocolaté, cardamone avec un côté fruité tirant vers la prune, raisin sec, pruneaux. Gingembre ajoute une touche d’épicé, le tout sur un profil moyennement fleuri et houblonné. Garde cet esprit festif US de par l’usage sympa des épices et qui manque franchement en Belgique. Fini sec avec en retrait une fine douceur sucrée. Une première pour un ajout de cynorrhodon, dont je ne connais pas le goût mais qui ajoute peut être cette douceur?