Cisco Brewing at Barcade

Last week, I kicked off my two weeks of beer events with my second trip to Barcade, located in Fishtown. The point of Barcade is the ability to drink great beer while playing old school arcade games. Of course, I sat down and then never got up to play any of those games, but the option is there if you want it. I went because they were having Cisco Brewing in the house with them taking over quite a few of their taps. I was excited to be able to try the sours without committing to spending $20-$30 on bottles.

Not knowing what to try first, I decided on the Monomoy Kriek, a barrel aged sour with cherries.

Cisco Brewers Imperial Stout

Opened a bottle of the Cisco Brewers Russian Imperial Stout with our friends this past Friday night. This is part of their slightly limited Island Reserve series.

The nose was roasty with some citrusy hops in the back. Body followed with the roast starting things off like a normal imperial stout but then huge citrus and bitterness finishing things off. This was really reminiscent of 21st Amendment Back in Black though slightly hoppier. Not quite as hoppy as Victory Storm King though. My friends enjoyed this but I'll admit I like my stouts with less hops. Just not a huge fan of the super hopped ones. If you like Storm King, though, you'd almost definitely like this one.

Cisco Pumple Drumkin

While I've already had a few pumpkin beers because of the Pumpkinfest at the Institute, the Cisco Pumple Drumkin was the first I've had at home.

Definitely the oddest named pumpkin beers. Smelled of clove and cinnamon, but not overpowering. Nice. Tasted pretty different than some others which was also nice. The major flavor in this was actually pumpkin with clove and cinnamon coming up behind it. I realize it sounds weird to be surprised a pumpkin beer tasted like pumpkin, but a lot of them end up just tasting like spices. Really enjoyed this one.

Cisco Winter Woods

I've had this in my beer fridge for a while now and just never found the right time to drink it. After driving home from Western Massachusetts last Saturday, trying to beat the hurricane, I figured it was a good time. It's not that Cisco Winter Woods is rare or anything, I just like to find the right time to drink big bottles. It certainly explains why my cellar is rapidly expanding.

I wasn't sure what Winter Woods was (other than some sort of American Wild) until I opened it and turns out it's a sour brown. Big sour nose with a lot of tartness in it. Inviting for a sour, no off notes. Thick mouthfeel. Started with sourness, then you get some plum flavors and some bitter tannins from the chardonnay barrels. The finish was pretty tart and completely coats your mouth. The glass continued that way even when warmed up a bit. At times, the oak and bitterness are a little too present, but they fade quickly after appearing so they don't ruin the flavors luckily. Definitely tasty and worth trying if you like sours.

Cisco Brewers Moor Porter

My wife bought me a bottle of Cisco Brewers Moor Porter a couple months ago and I finally drank it last night.

I wanted to show off my Andechs Monastery tankard so you can't actually see what the beer looks like this time.  It poured nice and dark with a brownish head, basically what you'd expect from a decent porter.  The flavor had hints of bitter chocolate and roasted malts.  All in all, it was great and I'd love to try it on draft at some point.