Cigar City Humidor Series Jai Alai Cedar Aged India Pale Ale

Brewed by Cigar City Brewing
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Tampa, Florida USA

bomber from rustychiles opened 9/27/09 with the crew. beautiful brew.... bright orange brown... rather reminiscent of butterscotch. hazy to start becoming cloudy toward the bottom. it is capped by a fluffy white head which deposits a bunch of spotty/drippy lacing on the glass as it settles. the first smell is a blast of nothing but wood... later, notes of mango, soapy florals, dust, pine and citrus are noted. the cedar carries over to make a dusty pine flavor which mixes with citrus, caramel, black pepper-y spice and earthy wood. it finishes lightly dry and somewhat bitter but neither are enough to counter the underlying sweetness. medium body with lively carbonation and a little grittiness or minerality to the texture. 8/5/7/3/15/3.8

Rating #1400! 750mL bottle. Very bitter with a nice smoothness and sweet flavor that must be from the cedar. Unique and quite delicious. The cedar is subtle. A unique mouthfeel that is almost chalky and quite dry.

Bonus bottle from bucwild. Thanks! When I first opened the bottle and took a whiff, I was a little surprized. It smelled like strong chlorophenols, like pinesol floor cleaner and chlorine. I thought, maybe they mashed with heavily chlorinated water. It wasn’t until halfway through my glass I realized it was a piney aroma from the cedar wood. I poured it into my glass, where it had a nice offwhite head, and amber color. The taste was like a red grapefruit. Lots and lots of citrusy hops, which could have been accentuated by the pineyness. Light melanoidin sweetness, and very easy to drink. I admit I didn’t like it until halfway through my glass, probably because of the novelty, but I now I like it a lot, again partially because of the novelty, and because I understand where the aroma is coming from. I guess it could be like sour beer. At first it’s disgusting, then you don’t die from drinking it, then your body says " Hey this is good stuff," then you love it.

Thanks to Kelsey for bringing this to awaisanen’s baby shower I really enjoyed how the cedar complemented the hoppiness of this beer. It gave it a nice complexity and balance.

Oh yeah, thanks to Daknole for the hookup! Bottle. Pours a hazy light orange color with a large foamy whipped head. Flavor is soft caramel malts followed by a nice dose of earthy cedar wood. Finish is dry and somewhat resiny with a nice citrus hop wallop. Medium bodied. This is a damn fine beer, and the cedar seems to have mellowed it out just the right amount.

Pours a very hazy orange amber with thick creamy white head. Aroma is yeast and earthy floral notes. Flavor is a mix of citrus and floral (hops) and a bit bready as well. Palate is creamy with high carbonation. A really enjoyable beer.

Bottle thanks to TheCheeseMan. Pours a clear coppertinged amber with a big frothy offwhite head. Aroma is glorious, juicy fruity and pinelike hops, sweet citrus like tangerine, some citrus zest, some very slight sweetness from the malts, and a lovely spicy note that I can’t quite pin down. Not quite peppery, but almost. Also some vanilla and alcohol. Great! Flavour does not let it down. A resinous and citric hop bitterness is well balanced with the malt sweetness, and the spiciness shines in the dry finish. Body is medium, carbonation is lively but not too sparkly. You know, I was a bit cautious when drinking this, seeing as CCB has gotten so much hype. Was expecting to be disappointed, but it surpassed my expectations and more. The most interesting and tasty IPA I’ve had. Wonderful brew!

750ml courtesy of TheCheeseMan. Pours a cloudy medium amber with a thick 2 finger beige head that lasts and leaves great lacing. The nose is ripe citrus, light wood and malt. The taste is caramel, citrus, light wood and a big piney finish. Medium bodied. Tasty stuff – thanks Daniel!