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

rfgetz

New Jersey

4.1/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours an extremely hazed orange amber color with moderate poof of off white head, decent retention and sticky lacing with some oily residue. Scent is dominated by tropical and citrus - grapefruit and mango - backed up by some pine and ceder scents. Only a faint hint of pale malts. Taste brings tropical fruits backed up by some grapefruit - the ceder aging adds a hint of pine but also softens the bitterness. Slightly noticeable alcohol presence. Nice medium body, oily with a very very dry finish. A really really good base beer in Jai Alai, but to be honest, the ceder aging only really softens the bitterness and adds a modest touch of character.

Serving type: bottle

10-24-2010 20:28:27 | More by rfgetz

grub

Ontario (Canada)

4.25/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

brought this one back from my recent trip to florida.

750ml bottle labeled "humidor series india pale ale" and mentions aging on spanish cedar on the side. sampled oct 27/2010.

pours hazy reddish orange with a big fluffy cream coloured head. the head drops slowly and leaves a thick layer of lace as it falls.

aroma is cool. much of the same west coast hops and tropical fruit that the jai alai contained, but paired with an interesting spicy woody character. light alcohol. caramel and toffee. white bread and cracker, with a touch of biscuit. hint of vanilla. a neat fruity character.

taste is great. the pairing with the cedar is really interesting. the hops are slightly mellowed from time on the wood, but the character it has added makes up for this. lightly sweet caramel and toffee. tropical fruit - mango, papaya, and pineapple. light grapefruit and orange. light vanilla and woody character, but the cedar has more of a spicy and herbal side than oak. around medium bitterness level.

mouthfeel is good. medium body with a fairly dry finish. just over medium carbonation level.

drinkability is great. i like the extra depth and complexity that the wood adds. nice balance, hiding most of its alcohol. i think i may have enjoyed this a little more than the regular jai alai, if only for its ability to stand out from the pack with the interesting wood aging. good stuff.

Serving type: bottle

02-04-2011 17:40:42 | More by grub

cjgator3

Florida

4.43/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

750ml bottle

A- 750ml bottle poured into a snifter. Pours a dark hazy amber color with a huge off-white head that provides amazing retention and lacing. Cigar City sure knows how to make fantastic looking brews in the glass! 

S- The aroma is a bit of malt with a good dose of fresh citrusy hops. There is also a very small presence from the cedar. It is subtle, but it goes awesome with the beer.

T- The taste like the aroma has a small malt backbone that quickly gives way to an explosion of bitter hop flavors in the finish. Like the aroma, the subtle cedar notes are very well placed.

M- The mouthfeel is medium bodied with a perfect amount of carbonation.

D- Cigar City has done it again with another fabulous beer! I was a huge fan of the regular Jai Alai on tap so I was very excited to hear that they were releasing a Cedar Aged version. It was well worth the wait, what a fantastic beer! Highly Recommended!

Serving type: bottle

07-11-2009 04:33:47 | More by cjgator3

msubulldog25

Oregon

4.18/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Brown 750ml bottle, poured to one those sculptural/engineered Sam Adams 'Perfect Pint' glasses. A generic 'Humidor Series Ale' label wraps the lower half of the bottle...without knowing this was the Jai Alai IPA (thanks, Sebletitje!), it could be any from the series. The catch with 'Humidor' is that each ale is aged on cedar, which 'has a more subtle effect on beer than more traditional woods like oak'. Cool.

A: A mildly hazed amber/honey colored pour. Carbonation is modest at best, rising to 1+ finger of ivory creaminess. Good retention, a hanging ring and patchwork of lace.

S: Interesting aroma, light and herbal, indistinct woodsy perfume, flowery. Sweet like honeysuckle, a bit of mown grass. Just a pleasant, if not very distinctive, IPA (disappointing with the 'wood-aging' expectations).

T: Much more noticeable the effects of cedar-aging: a woody tang that has a vaguely 'bourbon' spicing, mild char and a herbal green-ness. Wood offers a slightly vinous, white grape tang; caramel coating balances the flavors beautifully. Initial tastes were a little 'unfamiliar', but once the taste buds got acquainted it was an absolute joy to drink.

M: Zesty feel, a lively spicing and fine prickly carbonation that mellows beautifully to a warmth and coating sheen that covers the whole mouth, working over the tongue and drawing the cheeks ever so slightly. Medium body, seems to get creamier as time wears on.

D: A pleasant drinker with a stealthy ABV; over the course of a couple hours I found a way to knock out the bottle before, during and after dinner [*see below]. Appealing flavors and a fine feel make this worth recommending

*Talk about your fine food pairings. Tonight's dinner was my wife's skillet-seared scallops over a bed of mixed greens, thin-sliced apples, chunked avocado, pan-fried bacon and shaved shallots, with a drizzle of tarragon vinaigrette. Drool. What? Oh yeah, there was beer...the Jai Alai paired wonderfully! :)

Serving type: bottle

12-07-2009 03:00:42 | More by msubulldog25

nickd717

California

4.13/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Very generically labeled bottle without "jai alai" on it anywhere from what I could tell, shared at a BA tasting by mfielden - thanks, Mark!

A - Pours a cloudy golden-amber with noticeable sediment and a creamy white head that leaves some nice foam.

S - Aroma is citrusy hops, sweet malt, and lots of cedar, which I think works well here.

T - Sweet pale malt and cedar balanced by grapefruity hops. A little spice as well, especially lemon pepper. Another winner from CCB flavor-wise.

M - Palate is nice and smooth with soft carbonation.

D - High. I got through this one way too soon.

Serving type: bottle

09-15-2009 00:31:50 | More by nickd717

mdaschaf

Washington

4.13/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Review from notes 2/11/11. Thanks to THECPJ for sharing.

A: Pours a hazy orange with two fingers of thick foam on top. Great retention and lacing!

S: A little woody, nice citrus - I get some papaya, pink grapefruit, and maybe some guava.

T: A little oaky with a nice hop bite. The citrus fruits return and are extremely pronounced. Crisp finish, not very bitter.

M/D: Medium bodied with great carbonation. A really good beer, very impressed with the fruit flavors that come forward in this beer. Cigar city ipas continue to impress me.

Serving type: bottle

03-08-2011 21:54:24 | More by mdaschaf

Reagan1984

Massachusetts

3.68/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Special Thanks to Avalon68 for providing this as an extra in a recent trade. Frank is an awesome trading partner..

Poured this into a tulip glass hoping to accentuate the wood notes of this beer. As it turns out that was not necessary. Beer pours with couple fingers of tight foamy white head what almost looks like whipped egg whites. Excellent retention and lots of sticky lacing. The beer is a hazy amber color with orange sunset tones.

Aroma is peppery and clearly of cedar. Lots of herbal qualities here along with some pine.

Well my first impression is that the cedar completely takes over the beer. As I slowly worked my way through the bottle I got accustomed to the heavy cedar notes and enjoyed the beer more. Initial pine notes, white pepper and then cedar, cedar, cedar. I've heard pencil shaving used as an adjective for some wood aged beers. I've never used it and now I am... Yep, taste like wood shavings. It's almost like the cedar accentuates the hop bitterness. Big lingering hop bitterness. Also some yeast notes here.

The carbonation is almost pin point like and brightens the flavor. Medium body and a little powdery.

The wood aging really slows you down in drinking this. If this is a standard IPA, it's the slowest one I've ever consumed.

This is interesting, that's for sure. But I am not in love with it. Very glad to have tried it.

Serving type: bottle

11-21-2009 23:10:58 | More by Reagan1984

rarbring

Sweden

4.33/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

The brew is clouded deep orange amber, has a solid off-white yellow hued head, very good lacing and good curtains.

This one was smelling sour, vinegar - a Cantillion vibe, spicy cloves and slightly earthy. Unexpected, but very nice. There is also a wooden cask feelling.

Starting fruity sweet, dextrose, oranges, a dash of apple vinegar, then bitter nuances, seeds and peel from bitter oranges.

High carbonation, soft and refreshing with a good body and good dry finish.

This one was very complex, and played on all registers, the sour ones, was, as said, not expected, but it actually enhanced the experience if you ask me.

Serving type: bottle

08-09-2011 09:37:51 | More by rarbring

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

illidurit

California

4.3/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Growler from the free table at Woodshop 5.0. Pours a clear orangey gold with a thin white head. Aroma is massively cedary with a big spruce/pine hoppiness as well as grass and citrus. Cigar City does not fuck around when it comes to cedar, according to this beer and Humidor Zhukov. If I was molested in a 100% cedar lumberyard and with every subsequent breath of my life I couldn't get that aroma out of my lungs, it would still be less intense than the cigar box battering received upon each inhalation and sip of Humidor beer. But anyway, the flavor has some unripe citrusy notes and the bitterness marries well with the woody dry finish. Rad.

Serving type: growler

02-23-2010 10:00:30 | More by illidurit

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

cpetrone84

Pennsylvania

3.23/5  rDev -20.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Re-review November 14th 2011

Pours a deep slightly hazed copper orange with a full off white head with medium to large bubbles. The nose has a fair bit of lemon and orange peel with a slight phenolic twang behind a strong sweet sugary malt. The cedar may be playing in there blending with the citric flavors. The flavor is very similar, still a slightly off twang, lots of sweet malts and overly sugary, strong citric orange peel and lemon, touch of sweet wood with some tinges of booze and and strong hop bitterness. The feel is full bodied and a touch creamy mixed with grainy. Light carbonation and a bit of a muddled semi dry finish.

***
Huge extra from HeyOhh, amazing trader!

A-pours a hazy orange amber color with bubbles running up the side of the glass. The head is two or three full fingers of a slightly off white head that is fulffy and creamy. The retention is huge as it doesn't want to leave at all. The lace is thick and velvety covering the whole glass without let up.

S-the nose is quite big with cedar right up front and hints of vanilla underneath. Hops lie behind and have a solid presence. Herbal and floral hops are strongest with touches of pine needles

T-the taste follows the nose only bigger. The woody cedar is right up front with just a touch of vanilla. Hops take over with a strong herbal tea like presence, hints of floral hops with some tangerine in the back. Fresh pine needles in the finish as he bittering is light but present as well

M-medium body with a lightly syrupy texture and somewhat sandy on the palate. The carbontion is strong with a crisp bite at the finish.

D-this is a great IPA, the cedar has enhanced the piney hops and makes it taste so fresh. Nice hop presence with a light bittering so you can really enjoy.

Serving type: bottle

11-16-2011 23:06:28 | More by cpetrone84

liamt07

Ontario (Canada)

4.08/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Bottle brought out by Jason, 750ml into some stemmed glasses. Thanks dude!

Poured an orange/brown, with a big fluffy white head. Great retention. Nose has some grapefruit zest, some woodieness that I'll guess is cedar (not that I knew what it smelled like in the first place!), light spiciness. Taste is more 'cedar-forward' than a regular IPA, spicy, some more citrus and grapefruit again. Lots of sweet toffee and malt body. Solid bitterness in the finish, an almost full feel imparted by the weight of the body. Good drinkability and a nice variant on what is already a badass IPA.

Serving type: bottle

06-05-2011 21:37:10 | More by liamt07

Pencible

Virginia

4/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: This poured a hazy bright copper with some light tan head.
S: It smelled like apricot and candied pineapple, with some cedar and grapefruit and honey.
T: It tasted like grapefruit and apricot and dry cedar, with sugary caramel and herbal bitterness. It had a harsh and lasting bitter aftertaste.
M: It was oily and slick with some carbonation. A bit light but pretty good.
D: This had a great scent and taste with nice body. But the harshness in the aftertaste made it more difficult to drink. Very enjoyable IPA, but not quite top tier.

Serving type: bottle

12-20-2010 16:26:17 | More by Pencible

TheSevenDuffs

Ontario (Canada)

3.28/5  rDev -19.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Bottle purchased from Lueken's Liquors on-line. Date on label was JUN2012. It appears that this is well past its prime which is disappointing.

A -Poured a cloudy medium orange/amber colour with two fingers of bubbly white head with some great lacing.

S - Cigar smoke up front - the Spanish cedar really comes through. Sweet caramel and a light citrus aroma round out the nose. The hops are barely noticeable.

T - Follows the nose. The Spanish cedar really shines, creating a cigar-smoke like palate that is definitely the predominant flavour. The hop presence is barely noticeable, likely the result of this bottle not being very fresh. Sweet caramel malts and some muted pine notes round our the palate. Somewhat one dimensional.

M - Medium body with a good chew. Light carbonation.

O - Past its prime and one dimensional but interesting nonetheless.

Serving type: bottle

11-16-2011 02:26:52 | More by TheSevenDuffs

claspada

New Jersey

4.33/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a dark slightly hazy amber color with a generous amount of white sticky, soapy head leaving ample sticky bubbly lacing on the goblet and a nice lasting soapy-looking, white, bubbly cap.

Aromas are begin with lemon, orange, and slight grapefruit hoppiness. Then you get some biscuity and pale sweet maltiness. On top of that is the spicy yet subdued wood aroma of a fine cigar box and a small hint of alcohol. It really, really smells like a empty cedar cigar box, that is crazy...

The tastes begin with biscuity malts and light pale malt sweetness, but then you get a nice light hop bitterness and flavor highlighted by lemon, orange and grapefruit notes, just like the nose; then the cedar wood flavors flows in. The wood both mellows and adds complexity to the taste.

The mouthfeel is medium bodied with medium carbonation; light enough to be drinkable but has enough body to stand up and complement the complex cedar-aged flavors. Finish is on the drier side thanks to the "higher" ABV but mainly the wood-aging. I wouldn't classify it as crisp or clean because the citrus hops are still quite apparent; extraordinarily balanced between clean malt bodied, sticky (hops), sweet (malt again), bitter (hops) and dry (cedar) is my "expert" analysis.

Overall this beer was a treat. I really, really enjoy wood aged IPAs because the oak aging allows the hops to take a lesser role, and in a way, balance the beer to an almost American Pale Ale hoppiness level. The flavor and aroma are quite complex and interesting and worth while to savor. The cedar character is incredible and Cigar City has really mastered and yet still continues to revolutionize this style in my opinion. I have met few wood-aged beers I dislike, but this one stands out because the cedar is so prevalent/distinct and makes this worth seeking out if you can find it relatively fresh.

Serving type: bottle

11-01-2010 00:10:40 | More by claspada

ktrillionaire

Florida

4.63/5  rDev +13.8%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

On-cask at Datz Deli, served with Sunday brunch.

A - It appears an iced tea hue, way cloudy (turbid), no head. On par with the cask norm.

S - Smells of humidor cedar, apple cinnamon, and black pepper.

T - Tastes of super humidor cedar, less black pepper than usual, lots of tobacco notes. Outstanding!

M - It appears still and does have a scant level of carbonation. And yet it works so well.

D - An amazing brew, this Humidor IPA; it is the soul of Tampa, fermented.

Serving type: cask

05-17-2010 16:57:24 | More by ktrillionaire

sweemzander

Illinois

3.03/5  rDev -25.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

750mL bottle poured into a tulip. Thanks to Matt for sharing!

(A)- Pours a slightly hazed goldenrod yellow/orange color. Some decent white froth and lacing.

(S)- Very woody. I can see how much the cedar is playing a role in this beer. Citrus gets kind of lost in the deep cedar and pine notes.

(T)- Again, intense notes of the cedar and pine. Some citrus is there, but it sure gets lost behind all the wood.

(M)- A good carbonation level. I appreciate the nuance of the cedar in this, but it really overwhelms the rest of the beer's profile.

(O)- I always appreciate and enjoy different ways to make the same beer, but I think in this instance, it gets lost behind all the wood characters.

Serving type: bottle

11-27-2012 17:12:03 | More by sweemzander

mcallister

Ohio

4.03/5  rDev -1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Love the looks, unfiltered cloudy copper with scarlet hues. A thick off white head leaves a large amount of lace. Very pillowy and appetizing.

Nice citrusy notes and spicey cedar in the nose with a bit of toffee malt in the background.

Tropical fruit flavors fill the mid palate, very balanced with toffee and caramel malts leading into an earthy, piney, resiny hop finish. The cedar seems to have added a soft roundness to the beer and a hint of spice and some wood tannin on the finish. Very nice easy drinking IPA

Serving type: bottle

12-12-2010 19:39:51 | More by mcallister

HuskyinPDX

Washington

4.08/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Big 25.4oz bottle poured into a tulip.

Appearance - A cloudy orange with a one finger yellow-cream head. Decent retention, mild lacing.

Smell - oaky, citrus, very woody.

Taste - Oak, citrus, more wood.

Drinkabilty - Strong carbonation.

Overall - Nice IPA.

Serving type: bottle

05-22-2011 06:11:52 | More by HuskyinPDX

Arbitrator

California

2.98/5  rDev -26.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Chilled 750mL into a glass. A generous extra from Jw347. Thanks Johnathan!

A: Pours an extremely cloudy amber color that glows a diffuse orange against the light. Great-looking body that would be improved by some clarity. With some inspection I can see bubbles streaming up the glass. The pour results in 1.5 fingers of creamy, off-white head that retains for several minutes before retreating into a light cap on top of the brew. Leaves some dribbles of lacing down the sides of the glass. I like my IPAs clear, unfortunately.

S: Wow, they really take the cedar to heart. Very tannic and earthy, with an herbal note to it. The hops are almost an afterthought, or perhaps they're fading a bit. There's some dankness in there, with citrus hops coming last. The smell really stands out on this one; I'm having a great time just sniffing it and not sipping (I like cedar). Not a great nose if you're looking for IPA characteristics, though.

T: Initially malty with a caramel flavor, but it gets hoppy midway through with, as the nose suggests, citrus and a stronger pine/weed flavor. Dank, earthy pull into the finish, which is fairly tannic (if I can be honest, TOO much so) and surprisingly dry. A lingering bitterness with some pepper in the aftertaste.

M: Medium-bodied. Well carbonated. I don't like lingering bitterness in beers, and the bubbles in this one do a decent, but not great, job of staving it off. Kind of a chewy body.

D: A very distinct flavor and one I appreciate. But a bit much to have on a regular basis. Definitely a brewery to keep an eye on, though.

Serving type: bottle

09-11-2009 09:44:47 | More by Arbitrator

lackenhauser

Maryland

4.08/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Usual orange to copper color with a white foamy head going on. Holy grandma's cedar chest-huge cedar aroma!!!! A great, almost "tangy" wood scent. Really well rounded aroma wise-enough of a hop backround going on as well. Solid malt and hops flavor with a very pronounced cedar taste. Lingering dryness I am assuming from the cedar. Smooth and creamy mouthfeel, again a lot of dryness in the finish. Very drinkable and enjoyable-the cedar may get to be too much in the long run but that could tend to be a personal preference. Nice twist on wood aged for sure. I would think you would want this as fresh as possible too.

Serving type: bottle

09-05-2011 01:12:56 | More by lackenhauser

Chaney

District of Columbia

4.28/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I picked this one up, along with about $120 worth of other stuff at the Total Wine right up the road from Cigar City.

Aged on Spanish cedar huh? As opposed to American cedar? What's the difference?

I poured this into a Cigar City sniffer, so I guess that is good karma already.

A: Very cloudy (unfiltered), golden, but with a mild reddish hue. the spider web-like off white head did what spider webs do best.

S: Not in your face... very subtle actually, with a wood paneling scent that took center stage. Also, I got a few puffs of yeast and citrus.

T: Very pepper, woody, toasted, and... well... cigar-ish, if you will. I got tons of that ash-like sizzle that Cigar City is famous for, and a tinge of Citrus fruit, particularly on the front end.

M: Ridiculous lacing, and the sweet citrus lined with pepper and kindling made the fruit sugar lingering insignificant. The carbonation was insignificant.

O: Excellent IPA, but the best anti-West Coast beer brewers in the business. I went back to the store and picked up another one this morning.

Serving type: bottle

07-13-2011 17:02:09 | More by Chaney

CrellMoset

Virginia

4.2/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

750 mL bottle from Kingdom Liquors in Brandon, FL. Great folks - stop by if you can. Poured in to a tulip.

Appearance: Pours a hazy and honestly slightly unattractive hue, sort of a dull, brownish goldenrod, absolutely opaque either by virtue of a high hop content or the wood addition. Most notable about this beer is the high quantity of effervescence. Racing and streaming upwards, multiple streams of large bubbles zip towards an eggshell-colored head, initially one finger tall, though it ultimately fades down to a thick, uniform surface foam. Average retention kept it aloft for longer than expected, and the plentiful carbonation does a lot to maintain a thick foamy collar. The lacing on the sides of the glass is similarly foamy, thick, sudsy, and itself showcases some average though not exemplary stick.

Aroma: Much woodier than the taste ... almost one-dimensionally woody, in some ways. Cedar absolutely dominates the olfactory landscape here, slightly woody, very resinous, and very spicy. Slight citrus and slight (faintly woody, even) roast meld to suggest caramel orange, though this nose is mostly dominated by freshly cracked, Spanish cedar.

Taste: An interesting interplay. First, the IPA here is every bit of what I remember from the original Jai Alai, and that's a huge plus in this beer's favor - start with a shitty base beer, and you're nowhere; start with a great one, and you have a lot of wiggle room, regardless of what you do with your final product. The base beer here showcases a nice balance between sweet malt sugars and attenuated malt remnants, mildly roasted, with lots of caramelly toast notes, a dry biscuity cracker-like undertone, and some nice rustic, wholesome bread notes. The hop bitterness is moderate - just enough to balance the aforementioned residual sweetness - and the hop flavors robust, with tons of leafy tobacco, mint, heavy citrus (mostly heavy in a dull, buried sense, not in a "grapefruit and not lemon" sense), and juniper berry-esque pine notes. And then there's the cedar.

Cedar is one of a few things that I think most beer drinkers (beer drinking novices?) likely know far better by aroma than by taste. I mean, you smell cedar trees, or you smell cedar smoke, or you smell cedar potpourri. You don't eat cedar trees. Until now. A definite woody note - slightly spicy, slightly earthy, slightly sweet, and definitely slightly resinous and piney - mingles expertly with both the hop bitterness as well as the hop flavor profile. Jai Alai seems like the perfect candidate for wood aging of this sort (there are a few other similarly profiled IPAs and DIPAs that come to mind that would also do wonders with a similar treatment), and the results seem to bear that out.

Mouthfeel: Plentiful carbonation in a body of average, medium thickness - perhaps a little thinner than the traditional Jai Alai, though not by much - but the excellent balance of attenuated and non-attenuated sugars with the effervescence gives rise to an even, smooth beer, one part creamy and two parts lift. The former augments the slight sweetness of the malt base and the woodiness of the cedar, whereas the latter augments the (admittedly more pronounced) hop bitterness, hop spiciness, and cedar kick. Take it down one notch (out of ten), and you'd be spot on.

Drinkability: Cigar City is a brewery I cannot really forgive myself for taking so long to get in to (a fact intricately tied up with my self-loathing over my inability to visit my family in Florida often enough). So dedicated to the craft, they're brewing not only expert traditional beers (Jai Alai), but pushing them farther and harder than many American craft breweries, and for that we should all be thankful (and this beer is but one of many, many examples). At 7.5%, the amount of flavor you have here is almost sinful, and any beer that can coax this much flavor out of so few ingredients deserves a recommendation.

Serving type: bottle

11-25-2010 01:03:48 | More by CrellMoset

homebrew311

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +10.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Received in a trade with Sebletitje- thanks!

A: pours a deep orange / gold, relatively clear, nice 1 finger head, slightly off white, great retention

S: the aroma starts with some juicy fruity hops, lots of mango and orange, the cedar comes through pretty strong at the end, this smells intriguing

T: the hops are up front, very fresh and citrusy, slightly sweet with very little bitterness, the cedar comes through and provides a interesting wood character... it balances nicely with the hops and has a touch of bready malts on the end. It is amazing how much the cedar transforms this beer, and I must say I like this one better

MF: medium body, very smooth texture, carbonation is relatively low but it works nicely with the beer

D: wow, this is delicious and I could drink a lot of it. Unfortunately I only have access to CC brews through trade, so it can't be a standby. Overall, very nice balance and refreshing flavor.

Serving type: bottle

04-15-2010 22:37:02 | More by homebrew311