16 oz growlers - ~$6 each
- Purchased at Monkey Town Brewing Company
Background
When I was at Monkey Town the other day and picked up my “unauthorized” growler of Full Eclipse, I also bought 16 oz (pint) growlers of two other beers brewed in Dayton, Tennessee. I’ve never hidden my love for dark beers…why start now?
First up is “Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble,” an American Stout “brewed with molasses and boiled for 3 hours for added caramelization.” That’s directly from the restaurant/brewery’s online menu and it has nothing else to add except that it weighs in at 6.2% ABV. The name of the beer comes from Macbeth, by William Shakespeare—specifically the line where the witches say, “Double, double toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble.” It’s just a guess, but I’d say the 3 hours of boiling made the brewer think of this line.
The second beer I’ll be working with today is “Me Thinks Thou Doth Port-est Too Much,” an Imperial Porter “conditioned on vanilla beans and chocolate.” It has a 7.8% ABV and the name is inspired by another Shakespeare play, Hamlet, in which Queen Gertrude utters the words, “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” The word “protest,” of course, has been changed to “Port-est” here in a nod toward the type of beer.
I’m pairing these beers (well, the first one, at least…who knows if I’ll get through both beers with a single cigar) with a Tabernacle Robusto by Foundation Cigar Company.
Notes
Tabernacle is a Nicaraguan blend with a Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro wrapper, created by Nick Melillo for his company, Foundation Cigars. Interestingly enough, the day I smoked this and wrote this review was also his birthday. So, Happy Birthday, Nick-R-Agua!
Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble was dark, but not that dark as Stouts go. It was more of a dark-roast, lots-of-grounds-in-brewing coffee, or even a cola brown. Giving it a sniff, I picked up on the toasted maltiness and extra-carmelized molasses. The beer is definitely thinner than I see in many stouts, but then as far as “stouts” go, a 6.2% ABV isn’t all that stout. I guess the sub-category of American Stout is what really plays into this, with a lower alcohol content and lighter body.
Lighting up the Tabernacle enhanced the beer, bringing in sweeter notes along with the signature Nicaraguan earthiness. The notion of a “lighter stout” is interesting, but honestly it’s not what I drink stouts for…I love them dark, rich, thick…intense and heavy.
Some of you might be wondering…what is the difference between a stout and a porter? Ok…so you’re not…I’m going to tell you anyway. Basically, porters are a traditional English style of beer, well-hopped and made with brown malts, which makes the beer darker than the pale malts used in other styles. It is believed to have been popular with street and river porters, which is where the name comes from. Stouts are traditionally the strongest—“stoutest”—of a brewery’s porters. In essence, stouts began as a sub-category of porters…though now both have many subcategories all their own. And there you have it…
The first sip of Me Thinks Thou Dost Port-est Too Much made me very happy. It was what I was really looking for…creamy, thick foamy head with a sweet and strong flavor right behind it. The vanilla beans came through extraordinarily strong on this one, probably even stronger than I’ve gotten in Ballast Point’s Victory at Sea. The chocolate in the mix was underneath and more on the finish.
I had finished a little over half of the Tabernacle by this point, but I didn’t think I’d finish the cigar too early…the beer was so good I wanted to drink more. Honestly, this is one of those beers that makes me wish Monkey Town would actually bottle some so I could take it to my friends in California when I visit. Hopefully this small town brewery will continue to grow and thrive so that someday that will happen. In the meantime, if you’re ever in East Tennessee, take a side trip to Dayton so you can try some of the beers my adopted hometown is brewing. I promise you won’t be sorry.
