Jai Alai IPA - Cedar Aged (Humidor Series) - Cigar City Brewing

Jai Alai IPA - Cedar Aged (Humidor Series)Jai Alai IPA - Cedar Aged (Humidor Series)

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722 Ratings
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rAvg: 4.07
pDev: 14%
Reviews: 428
Hads: 294

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Brewed by:
Cigar City Brewing visit their website
Florida, United States

Style | ABV
American IPA |  7.50% ABV

Availability: Year-round. bottle (398), cask (14), on-tap (10), growler (6)

Notes:
Our flagship beer in the Humidor Series is Humidor Series India Pale Ale. We start with Jai Alai IPA as a base beer and add the cedar during secondary fermentation. The cedar provides a perfect balance with the assertive hops of Jai Alai to create an entirely new experience.

70 IBU
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Reviews

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Photo of beagle75
beagle75

Iowa

3.4/5  rDev -16.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a 750 ml bottle into a tulip glass.

A: Slightly hazy, medium amber color with one finger of diminishing white foam head. Light lacing remains on the glass.

S: A sharp-edged combination carbon dioxide and fresh-cut wood largely masks the presence of malt. Esters are also present, providing a suggestion of sweetness and becoming more pronounced as the beer warms.

T: Begins nearly dry, with volatile wood and robust toasted malt, with a lively coppery taste just under the surface. Carbonic acid soon surges to an aggressive level and stays there, tapering off well into the finish. Hop aromatics are earthy and spicy early, then developing a faint dark citrus quality as the middle elapses. Grainy toasted malt becomes resurgent in the middle, where estery fruit and black pepper may also play a small role. The finish sees the various flavor threads approaching the end like runners whose endurance is flagging--diminished by their journey, but still in it. The cedar, nuanced even at the beginning when it was at its strongest, is relatively unrepresented here, although it may be responsible for the mellowing effect had over the bitterness, which stays mild but with a medicinal quality.

M: Thin to medium viscosity, acidity builds on the palate to the point of distraction, with brisk carbonation.

D/O: Complexity is a quality that cannot usually be attributed to the function of any single ingredient, and neither is it something that is always desired in a beer. Here complexity reigns, and it is probably this beer's best quality. While it struggles with some acidity issues, it produces some very intense and resonant flavors that are challenging to put into words. It is definitely not a typical IPA-drinking experience, and that is irrespective of coasts. This is eminently sippable, with the ability to hold its own against tripels and strong ales.

Serving type: bottle

05-31-2011 02:16:44 | More by beagle75
Photo of Reaper16
Reaper16

Alabama

3.43/5  rDev -15.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

750mL bottle served into a tulip glass

Pours a darkish, burnt orange color. Plenty of murkiness to the body, though you can see some carbonation when you hold the beer to direct light. The carbonation gushes out, forming a two-finger-plus sized head, but it reduces down to a very tight one finger. Plenty of thick-ringed lace is left in its wake.

The dominant aroma I'm getting is caramel malt. Which isn't what I personally want to get as the dominant aroma in an IPA, but I can roll with it. There's green hop notes here, a splash of fruit juice too. There's a different sort of astringency here too which I am attributing to the cedar chips. Slight vanilla comes along with the wood. I've had cedar in beer before (namely Boulevard's discontinued Seeyoulator Dopplebock), and this doesn't at all smell like what I thought it would. The unique character of cedar is diminished on the nose of this bottle. Is it old? I have no reason to think so, but it could be the case.

Tasting the beer leads me to believe that it isn't blindingly fresh but isn't over the hill either. There's a fair amount of peach and orange hop flavor to this bottle. The caramel malt IS stronger than I'd prefer, but it maybe needs to be. The cedar flavor isn't dominant or even particularly strong, and I think the malt is helping a lot to keep the wood in balance. That wood is green and yes, tastes like cedar. Very trace vanilla; mostly green wood.

This beer is on the thicker side of medium-bodied. I typically don't like that attribute, but it works for this beer. There's something pleasing about the textural heft in relation to wood flavor. Usually, wood-aged beers are so thinned-out, so the contrast is unexpected and enjoyable.

Overall, this is an above-average IPA. It is unique and enjoyable, though nothing that I would turn to regularly (or ever again, even). It isn't what I'm looking for in an IPA, but it does succeed in what it wants to do.

Serving type: bottle

12-07-2011 03:57:18 | More by Reaper16
Photo of johnnnniee
johnnnniee

New Hampshire

3.43/5  rDev -15.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a clear golden color with a decent sized white head that slowly fades to a ring around the top of my glass. Smells like that old chest at the end of your grandmothers bed. Earthy and woody with a hint of patchouli. There's some citrus in there as well, and maybe some malt, but the cedar is such a powerful aroma its hard to find anything else. It tastes just like it smells. Cedar and citrus with a hint of pepper and malt splashed in for good measure. I'm not sure if I'm imagining this, but after each sip my pallet seems awash with the flavor of cannabis. Medium body with a moderate level of carbonation and a sweet bubbly mouthfeel. The cedar flavor and aroma is quite strong here and the first few sips were rough until my taste buds finally cried uncle. This is not something I would drink often, but I applaud the result.

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2012 01:52:51 | More by johnnnniee
Photo of bigfnjoe
bigfnjoe

Pennsylvania

3.43/5  rDev -15.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a bottle into a Victory tulip

A- pours a cloudy shade of orange with a one finger slightly offwhite head. A decent bit of sediment in this one. Huh.

S- the cedar is the primary aroma, with some sweet fruit creeping through as well

T- slight bitterness, decent smoky wood flavor, mild sweetness. It's ok

M- body is actually relatively thick

O- not a huge fan. I know this is one of CCB's staples, but I'm not in love with it

Serving type: bottle

06-16-2012 15:19:54 | More by bigfnjoe
Photo of TotallyHosed
TotallyHosed

Illinois

3.48/5  rDev -14.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Thanks goes to Heatwave33.

The appearance has all the markings of a good brew: thick off-white head, translucent dark amber color, lacing from top to bottom and bubbly.

The smell of this brew is lacking. I certainly smell the cedar wood, but at no time could I smell anything else.

The taste is a little better than the smell. When the brew was cold, I was only able to taste cedar and a little bit of sweetness. As it warmed up I did pick up some hoppy bitterness.

The feel is nice. There's adequate carbonation and light body. The bottle says the brew is unfiltered, but the appearance nor the feel reflected this. I would expect to see some cloudiness and a light-to-medium body. In my opinion, this is simply an observation, not a negative critique.

I do enjoy IPA's that are aged with wood. That extra layer, or layers, of complexity is a welcome change from the usual profile. My only disappointment is that I expected more hops in the nose. Maybe a bottle that is more fresh would deliver this. This is an interesting beer that I recommend you try once. I don't smoke cigars, but I imagine this brew would make a good pair.

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2012 00:43:29 | More by TotallyHosed
Photo of billab914
billab914

Virginia

3.5/5  rDev -14%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 750ml bottle into my Russian River tulip glass. Poured a murky copper orange color with a big frothy three finger off-white head. The head had some very good retention and left a lot of lacing on the glass as I drank it.

The aroma starts off with some hoppy citrus flavors but then the big cedar, dry, woody flavor hits you. It really smells like you walked into a humidor. It's kind of hard to pick up any of the beer flavors through the strong cedar.

The taste shows a little more of the hoppy, citrus & pine IPA flavor then the nose did, but it also has a pretty strong woody cedar taste to it. The finish leaves a nice long lasting bitterness on the palate. The ceder might just be overpowering the taste too much in my opinion though.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Drinkability is decent, you really have to enjoy the wood flavor for it to be drinkable though.

Overall this was a very interesting beer, it was a cool idea and I'm glad I got to try it. The cedar is just too overpowering in it though in my opinion and the wood flavor is hard to get past. This is probably the most extreme "wood" flavored beer I've ever had and I'm not sure how I feel about cedar as a beer flavor. It didn't seem to lend itself to beer as well as say Oak does in my opinion.

Serving type: bottle

03-21-2010 19:23:09 | More by billab914
Photo of krisandajt
krisandajt

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -14%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

My 200th review, figure I better make it something good. Got this one from a trade with awalk1227. Cheers!

Appearance: Poured from the bottle into my Shorts pint glass, the beer is a nice, barely cloudy, vibrant copper color with a huge amount of not-quite-white head. The retention is impressive, so much so that I have to wait for it to fade away before I can really dig into this beer. As the head slowly dissipates, it leaves behind thick sheets of schtick along the sides of the glass.

Smell: I'm getting more of the cedar aging than I am hops. The smell is muted, most likely a result of the aging. I'm getting the feeling that this brew is suffering from a bit of hop fade. I'm hoping that the aging on the cedar will make up for the lack of bitterness.

Taste: Thankfully, I'm getting me some hops now. The hops bring a bit of pine to the brew, but it's mostly overshadowed by a malty backbone and a subtle hint of wood aging. All the flavors combine to form a pretty balanced brew, but I was hoping for a bit more of an in-your-face hoppy blast.

Mouthfeel: A nice medium body, and ample carbonation.

Drinkability: Not exactly what I expected. Though I guess that an IPA that has been aged is going to be a little muted. Overall, it does have some good flavor. I think the cedar aging does add a nice quality to the beer, but it would be much better if they amped up the hops.

Serving type: bottle

08-06-2010 23:41:47 | More by krisandajt
Photo of argock
argock

Virginia

3.5/5  rDev -14%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Poured from 750mL brown bottle into a clear stemmed glass wine goblet. No freshness date. Purchased at Knightly Spirits (Orlando, FL) for $8.99.

A: Burnished amber with dense 1-finger off -white head which leaves a sheet of lace all around the glass.

S: After sampling this immediately following a Jai-Alai unleaded, this brew has no bright aroma signature at all comparatively. There is a dull woody chest of drawers type of aroma but no bright citrus and resin hoppiness like the progenitor ale.

T: The flavor is a little better than the aroma, but overall it is still muted and masked byt he cedar heavy sprucey, woody flavors. Hoppiness is very bitter but not much else.

M: Still very smooth and creamy but the aftertaste is bluntly woody.

D: Cedar aging did no favors for this wonderful brew. THe aroma and flavors are muted and darkened. Not at all a good version compared to the original.

Serving type: bottle

02-04-2011 06:22:01 | More by argock
Photo of TheGordianKnot
TheGordianKnot

Tennessee

3.5/5  rDev -14%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Another awesome beer from ShadesOfGray, thanks Ryan! Poured into tulip glass...

A- Not quite opaque, but not clear. Blood orange in color with large two finger yellowish head. Beautiful lacing!

S- Aroma is subdued. Still spicy and earthy. Also get a hefty helping of wood, cedar I assume.

T/M- Hmmm. Spicy and earthy. Supported heavily by malts. Hops have faded for sure. Cedar is there, but smooth and balances the spicey hops. Strong bready character, maybe its more like toast actually, from the malt. Not sweet, but malty for sure. Carbonation is prominent but bubbles are tiny and not prickly.

O- Need. This. Fresh. Period. Great as is, but was sent to me cellared for an unknown period of time, 8 months I think. Everything had faded, but reminiscent of what it could be, and I want to explore.

Serving type: bottle

08-19-2011 18:47:42 | More by TheGordianKnot
Photo of photomike
photomike

California

3.53/5  rDev -13.3%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Very nice extra from HeyOhhh...thanks!

Pours the color of blood orange juice with slight haze and a really gorgeous orangey-white head of about one inch. Very soft with amazing retention and abundant lacing. If clarity bothered me, I'd give this a 4.5, but I really can't understand scoring it less than that. Exceptional is right!

Smell is...well....it is what it is. Ever jammed your face into an empty cigar box? Yep, that's exactly what it smells like. Pure, unadulterated cedar. Very light biscuity malt sweetness and a little bit of sweet citrus. The non-cedar elements are definitely overpowered by the wood. I happen to love the smell of cedar; in fact, it's one of my favorite smells. This is a bit too much, but I rather like it.

Thankfully, the flavor is not quite as out of balance as the aroma, but it's pretty close. Cedar is certainly the most prominent flavor here, but there is also a nice underlying grapefruit-peel bitterness. Not as sweet as the regular Jai Alai. In fact, nowhere on the bottle is Jai Alai mentioned. Biscuity malts. Dry finish. Not entirely complex, thanks to the prominence of the cedar.

Lots of really active carbonation on the tongue, though not uncomfortably so. Medium bodied, and lightly astringent. Very oily, the flavor sticks around in your mouth for ages.

This is a pretty tasty beer, especially for big fans of cedar such as myself. That said, the 750 was a bit of a chore after a while. So much cedar. I feel as though cedar could certainly contribute in a very positive way to a beer, but this is too much.
Sorry Cigar City.

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2010 03:48:17 | More by photomike
Photo of stang02
stang02

Georgia

3.53/5  rDev -13.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

Served in a pint glass from a 750ml bottle. Pours an opaque orange that has absolutely no clarity to it. Has a one finger head that is slowly diminishing with great lacing. Smells is overwhelmingly strong from the citrus, namely grapefruit and some orange. There is no cedar in the nose which is disappointing. There is no cedar anywhere which is even more disappointing. If it weren't cedar aged then it would be a pretty good IPA but since it is supposed to be cedar aged it is a little bit underwhelming. That being said, it is still a very good, very drinkable IPA that should be experienced by anyone who likes the hops. The finish is slightly acidic because of the grapefruit taste that dominates the entire body of the beer. It is not balanced with the hops commanding most of the taste, with little regard to malts anywhere in the body of this beer. It has a good mouthfeel but feels oily on the palate afterwards.

I was originally excited to try this beer but it was underwhelming. It is still good to drink but the cedar is not prevalent whatsoever. Good IPA but I wouldn't go too far out of my way to get it.

Serving type: bottle

05-26-2010 21:53:51 | More by stang02
Photo of mwilbur
mwilbur

Minnesota

3.53/5  rDev -13.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Poured from 750 mL bottle into shaker pint glass.
A: Pours a clear golden color with 1 inch bubbly white head. Decent retention. Faint lace.
S: Nice cedar and hops. Pine and pineapple notes. Hint of guava and black pepper. Fresh and pleasant.
T: Holy hops! Cedar is still present, but not as nicely balanced as in the aroma. I'm sure there's more there, but the hop bomb obliterates everything else.
M: Very bitter from the overpowering hops. Light body. Slightly oily feel.
D: I'm a little over half-way through a pint of this one and having difficulty continuing. This started out promising, but took a nose-dive. Although I'd still say this is above average overall, I wouldn't recommend it. Don't go out of your way for this one.

Serving type: bottle

05-30-2010 04:40:02 | More by mwilbur
Photo of morimech
morimech

Minnesota

3.53/5  rDev -13.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3

Pours a murky, dark amber with two inches of white head that had decent retention before settling to a thick cap. Moderate amount of sticky lacing is left on the glass. First impressions of the aroma, where is the cedar. I had to really search deep for any hint, but there is some cedar and herbal aroma. Citrus hops and sweet malt makes up the remainder of the aroma. The flavor as well, did not seem that special. A lot of sweet malt upfront before citrus hops and bitterness takes control. The cedar lends slight hints of, well, cedar and something along the lines of memthol. Bitterness is high but it has to be to balance the sweetness of the malt. Alcohol is detectable and feels warm in the body. The mouthfeel is the best part of the beer. Nice soft carbonation gives an excellant texture. Medium/full body that seems to becoming the norm for American IPAs. Just do not sense what is so special about this beer at what I am sure is a premium price.

Serving type: bottle

06-20-2010 22:26:23 | More by morimech
Photo of dborginis
dborginis

Pennsylvania

3.53/5  rDev -13.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Jai alai cedar.  Turbid, hazy copper color.  Sweet fruity smell, with a bit of booze as well.  Metallic hop flavor, mild on the metal.  If I really try to, I can taste the cedar. Heavy on the hop bitterness, heavy on the malts, but the malt clearly takes a backseat. Not sure what hops were used but they are very bitter. Wish there was a stronger aroma hop presence. For the amount of flavor here, not as drinkable as it should be...too high abv.

Addendum: I just sipped the dregs, not sure why, but it was painfully hoppy. Was this dry hopped?

Serving type: bottle

09-07-2010 02:07:27 | More by dborginis
Photo of glazeman
glazeman

Illinois

3.53/5  rDev -13.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Huge thanks to moose3285 for this beer in a recent trade.

A: Orange in color with a 3 finger white head. The head has excellent retention and lacing, but was too large on initial poor.

S: I smell more of the barrel here than the base IPA, lots of woodiness

T: I feel like the main thing the cedar aging does to this beer, as compared to the regular jai-lai is that it adds a little bit of woodiness to the finish and tames the bitterness somewhat. There's some pine up front, but I don't get much citrus.

M: Over carbonated in my opinion. Otherwise this beer has a good mouthfeel and a pleasant aftertaste.

D: This beer goes down easy and is quite enjoyable. Besides the high level of carbonation that may give me an upset stomach, I feel it is pretty drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

01-20-2011 00:35:23 | More by glazeman
Photo of Kkottonmouthkngz
Kkottonmouthkngz

Massachusetts

3.53/5  rDev -13.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A: cloudy as hell, amber orange with an enormous pillowy head, rocky peaks all over the place. it literally doesnt move if its left untouched. theres legs and patches of fluff all over the sides of the glass.
S: kind of smells like pineapple and possibly raw fruit. theres also some spice aspect, seems like cloves that youd stick in an orange for an air freshener. im not sure i really enjoy the way it smells altogether, but its different for sure.
T: again almosy a mildewy pineapple. its got a weird prominent flavor that i cant really pinpoint, but im leaning towards charbroiled pineapple. these flavors are kind of a headscratcher.
M: this thing has huge amounts of carbonation, and it really pricks the tongue and palate rather viciously. something about this just rubs me the wrong way.
D: im ok with this on my first glass, but interested to see how i feel in a little while. overall im not really sold on this one.

Serving type: bottle

02-08-2011 01:17:25 | More by Kkottonmouthkngz
Photo of thagr81us
thagr81us

South Carolina

3.53/5  rDev -13.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Served from bottle into a Stone nonic. Poured a hazy yellow-orange with a half finger off-white head that subsided to a minimal amount slowly. Maintained decent lacing throughout the glass. The aroma was comprised of sweet malt, citrus, wood, and tobacco. The flavor was of sweet malt, citrus, citrus hop, wood, and tobacco. It had a light feel on the palate with medium carbonation. Overall this was a decent brew. The tobacco aspect in this one really killed it for me unfortunately. I went into this one really wanting to like it, but couldn't bring myself to do so as much as I thought I would. However, the flavors from the Humidor was definitely transferred to the brew. Hope to get a chance to try more Humidor offerings that might fit in better based on style than the IPA.

Serving type: bottle

08-10-2011 19:13:27 | More by thagr81us
Photo of kbm
kbm

Arizona

3.55/5  rDev -12.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Received a bottle in a trade with Keifdog.

Preface: I decided to drink this in a cigar store (which boasts one of the largest walk in humidor's in the state, so lots of cedar smells already) with a cigar (Rocky Patel Sungrown).

Appearance: Poured slightly cloudy copper with a huge head (maybe four fingers) with great retention and lacing.

Smell: Citrusy/piney hop metallic and the more I drink the more I smell the cedar.

Taste: Malty and citrusy with cedar prominent in the after taste. Moderate hopiness. The cedar is not a bad flavor, just different but I don't think the cedar adds to the beer. I've had the regular Jai Alai IPA and given the choice, I would order the regular Jai Alai every time. However, the cedar did add an interesting complexity in the cigar shop which was already cedar smelly in its own right.

Mouthfeel: Moderate to heavy carbonation. Pretty refreshing on a warm day.

Drinkability: Somewhere between a gulper and a sipper. Medium body.

Serving type: bottle

08-16-2009 07:15:29 | More by kbm
Photo of AChamberlain
AChamberlain

Texas

3.55/5  rDev -12.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

750 bottle. Poured into chalice sort of glass. Poured an orange, marmalde color. Translucent, a bit murky. Nice head. Good looking. Musty hop aroma. Dirty hop water. Woody? Sharp bitterness up front and then sparkling sweet malt flavor covering my tongue. Definitly a wood quality in the flavor, dank. Smoothish, some zest. Overall pretty drinkable. The flavor and mouthfeel work well. Aroma needs some work.

Serving type: bottle

09-15-2009 20:32:58 | More by AChamberlain
Photo of pmccallum86
pmccallum86

Minnesota

3.55/5  rDev -12.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Thanks to kbutler1 for bringing this treat back from CC.

Pours a golden color with a hazy cloudy body. The the head is thin and bubbly, looks inviting.

Lot's of cedar going on here, it's a very original smelling IPA. Tangerine, citrus and other hoppy notes.

Bitter with some woody notes, must be the cedar. Tons of cedar, not much malt present. Lots of cirtrusy hops, maybe some grapefruit as well. This is a very original IPA, that's for sure.

Medium carbonation, bitterness lingers in the tongue.

This beer was great to try, but I found it to be lacking in the drinkability department.

Serving type: bottle

03-24-2010 22:12:55 | More by pmccallum86
Photo of pwoods
pwoods

Ohio

3.58/5  rDev -12%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Thanks Ftown for sharing. Murky light iced tea color. Godd head. Lots of peppery spice and sharp citrus. Cedar is soft in the back. Taste is a bit more subtle but good spice and citrus. Average bitterness. Moderate malt to balance. Good body and drinks decently.

Serving type: bottle

09-12-2009 02:20:36 | More by pwoods
Photo of FtownThrowDown
FtownThrowDown

Ohio

3.58/5  rDev -12%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a cloudy amber in color. Nice inch of frothy head forms on the pour.
Smell is spicy hops, just a hint of cedar. Taste is a nice balance between the hop flavors and the cedar. There's not as much cedar in this beer as I was expecting. The 100k + OT #2 had a lot more cedar in the flavor.
Medium to full on the mouthfeel. Very easy drinking beer that you could easily drink a bunch of. Would have loved to try this on draft.

Serving type: bottle

09-12-2009 17:49:35 | More by FtownThrowDown
Photo of Slatetank
Slatetank

Pennsylvania

3.58/5  rDev -12%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This is one of the most unique cask beers I think I have had the chance to try. I had a 10oz half pint at cask temp.

A - The color is a murky hazed (due to lack of cask finings) color of apricot with smallish head of cream

S - The smell is a strange but pleasant blend of piney hops and cedary woodiness w/ a light fruit ester

M - The mouthfeel is intensely hopped upfront with a astringent/resinous cedar bark texture which leaves the palate dry - medium body, a bit on the thin side of 7.5%

T - The taste is good, but not great as the hops are sligthly overpowered by the cedar, there is a nice Ipa flavor with mild fruit and subtle citrus of the hops, but it seems like they just went overboard with the cedar to prove to you that this is Really REALLY a cedar beer and IPA second. I love the experimentation, but when in balance with the total beer in mind

D - I will sum up here with a good, but not great along the lines of the taste portion of the review. I could probably only handle a 1/2 pint to be honest. I like the way cedar smells and Jai Alai is a decent IPA, but the combination seems to detract slightly for me rather enhance the drinking experience -just my .02

Serving type: cask

03-25-2010 16:36:30 | More by Slatetank
Photo of zeff80
zeff80

Missouri

3.58/5  rDev -12%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A - Poured out a clear, orange color with golden highlights. It had a small, white head of foam that left some nice rings of lace.

S - It smelled of cedar and citrus - mostly orange. There are some hidden notes of caramel, too.

T - Lots of spicy flavor and lots of cedar flavor, maybe too much cedar. The caramel and malt is mild and sweet.

M - Very crisp and sharp. A smooth finishing ale that is medium bodied.

D - I've only had a handful of cedar aged beers, but this one was a little too strong on the cedar.

Serving type: bottle

08-01-2010 03:37:47 | More by zeff80
Photo of onix1agr
onix1agr

Pennsylvania

3.58/5  rDev -12%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Picked up a bottle of this on the cheap at whole foods in plymouth meeting, poured into a Penn Pilsner pint glass.

Jai Alai cedar pours out the standard orangeish infused with light red color and some creamy egg colored foam on top, small lacing. Smells like Jai Alai, I guess the cedar really is not all that prevalent. The wood is there, it just does not break through the east coast malt build. Some small citrus in the nose with grapefruit, I guess the hops died down when this was aging on the cedar. It tastes like Jai Alai as well, I thought I was drinking the regular version because the wood is not big. Grapefruit and a dash of pine with minimal wood. Feel is medium and bulky, drinkability is hindered, not a huge fan off this. They should do a double cedar aged version of this

Serving type: bottle

09-06-2010 13:51:34 | More by onix1agr
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Jai Alai IPA - Cedar Aged (Humidor Series) from Cigar City Brewing
91 out of 100 based on 722 user ratings.