Invasion Pale Ale - Cigar City Brewing

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

3.78/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Poured out as a clear golden color with a white head on top. The lacing is pretty good, the retention is thin. The smell of the beer is malty and hoppy, decent balance. The taste is ok, nothing really jumps out at me on this one. The mouthfeel is smooth, nice drinkability. Overall it's a decent pale ale. Nothing too special.

Serving type: growler

05-01-2013 21:55:00 | More by Knapp85

standardcherry

Massachusetts

4.38/5  rDev +9.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

On tap at CCB takeover at OTC.

A: Pretty standard for a pale ale I guess. Pale golden color. Pretty clear with a nice white head. Great lacing.
S: Lots of citrus. Oranges and peaches all the way. Some pineapple and mango too.
T: Extremely well balanced. Citrus and tropical hops. Some maltiness to balance it out. Clean and bitter finish.
M: Light bodied. A bit sweet but extremely drinkable. Nice bitterness.
O: Excellent pale ale, one of my favorite sessionable beers.

Serving type: on-tap

03-21-2013 04:24:27 | More by standardcherry

kylehay2004

Florida

3.88/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Single finger head with minimal retention and nice lacing on a clear deep golden with burnt orange hue body. Aroma has a lot of citrus, mostly orange peel and tangerine, very nice degree of sweetness. Flavor has more of a sour citrus flavor, is very bready with the finish very earthy with hint if pine resin. Medium body and moderate carbonation. A nice beer. It's a little dry and the degree of sourness hurts drinkability. A little unidimensional but still good to try.

Serving type: growler

03-10-2013 17:39:28 | More by kylehay2004

Alieniloquium

Florida

4.16/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

On tap at Field of Beers in Abacoa. Served in a pilsner glass.

Appearance - Pale clear yellow. Excellent lacing and decent head retention.

Smell - Subtle but substantial citrus hop. Sweet orange and tropical fruits. Faint biscuit malt nose behind it.

Taste - Much more balanced, but still assertively hoppy. Citrus and tropical fruit hopes. Very pineappley. Grainy malt that just hardly stands up to the hop. Finishes clean and just bitter enough to keep it interesting.

Mouthfeel - Comes off as sweet, but I think that's the hop profile. Very drinkable. The only beer I drank twice tonight.

Overall - My favorite overall beer of the night. I could drink a lot of this.

Serving type: on-tap

01-26-2013 01:52:53 | More by Alieniloquium

spinrsx

Ontario (Canada)

3.91/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Pint on Tap at Cigar City Tampa FL for 5$

Appearance - Slightly hazy yellow colour with an average size fizzy white coloured head. There is an average amount of carbonation showing and there is some decent lacing. The head lasted for around 4-5 minutes.

Smell - Hops, malts, caramel, lemons/grapefruit

Taste & Mouth - There is an average amount of carbonation and I can taste caramel and hops. There is also some grapefruit, tangerines, and lemons. It ends with a fruity and hoppy aftertaste.

Overall – Strikes me as more of a IPA taste wise. This is a really good beer that I would gladly revisit. It was quite hoppy and very drinkable.

Serving type: on-tap

01-25-2013 18:56:30 | More by spinrsx

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.65/5  rDev -9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

On tap at the CC Tasting Room. Very conventional spot on IPA. Light orange coloured, lace dots. Watered down mouthfeel. More or less conventional American IPA, at sessionable ABV level. More hops and bodyfeel would make it more memorable as a CC beer.

Serving type: on-tap

01-21-2013 04:39:34 | More by northyorksammy

PorterLambic

Florida

3.59/5  rDev -10.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours out a paler-than-usual light honey color with a solid, well formed and well retained, barely off-white head. Good lacing even as the head settles from a firm pour to a chunky island and ring.
Smell is of good strength and reasonable balance with hops somewhat stronger than the malt. Resinous but not biting, there is a citrus note hiding in there as well.
Taste is as expected with piney hops leading the malt and a mild grain/cereal note and some citrus. Balanced properly.
A bit thin, coming up to almost medium bodied, lighter effervescence. Decently smooth for the style but leaves a solid film to coat the palate and tongue. Pretty sticky. Somewhat drying in the middle. A good beer that needs some body to it.

Serving type: growler

01-13-2013 03:21:33 | More by PorterLambic

macrosmatic

Florida

4/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Reviewed from notes. Poured from a freshly-filled quart CCB growler into a Russian River pint glass.

A: Hazy, medium gold, with a thin white head atop big bubbles of carbonation.

S: Big citrus and cracker malt. Simple, but enticing.

T: Starts off following the nose, but more bitter, piney, and citrus rind hop flavors. It is a bit more grainy tasting than I would want.

M: Light bodied, lower carbonation sensation than expected but I think the hop tingle substitutes adequately. Essentially no alcohol presence.

O: Not bad, but nothing outstanding in a crowded class. The grainy aspect to the flavor was my biggest complaint here. That said, if they canned this, it would be perfect for the golf course.

Serving type: growler

01-07-2013 04:09:10 | More by macrosmatic

Finatic

Florida

4.58/5  rDev +14.2%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On-Tap at the brewery on 12-29-12.

A: Pours a cloudy, hazy yellowish color, nice white head that coats the glass. It leaves an almost spiderweb of lacing.

S: Man this beer might be the best smelling beer I have ever smelled. Rivals the Hill Farmstead Edward IMHO. Tons of tropical fruit, pineapple, mango, orange are at the forefront.

T: Just like it smells. A very balanced beer and lighter than Jai Alai without losing any of the tropical notes.

M: Real smooth and it seems CCB has hit the nail on the head with the carbonation.

O: Great job again by CCB and I really hope this becomes one of their staple beers it's that good. I have never been a big APA guy, but I will drink this one whenever I get a chance.

Serving type: on-tap

12-30-2012 12:41:23 | More by Finatic

RossCain

Florida

4.48/5  rDev +11.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 128 oz. growler into a CCB tulip. The bartender let us know that the beer was less than 3 days old at the time of the growler fill.

A: Pours an opaque, hazy, golden-straw color with a big, fluffy off-white head. The head snatches at the sides of the glass upon each sip, producing rings and webs that are quite attractive.

S: Big on citrus notes such as lemon zest, tangerine peel, and grapefruit juice (in that order). Remarkably zesty and fresh in the nose.

T: The taste is spot on the nose: big notes of fresh, citrusy hops highlighting sweet lemon and grapefruit. These notes are married with a supple crystalized malt sweetness that makes for a very refreshing and balanced profile. Finishes crisp and clean.

M: Creamy, smooth, with the right amount of carbonation. Crisp and very refreshing on the palate.

O: The freshness of this APA was remarkable. I downed two glasses of this with such ease and was really itching for more. I'll be going back for this one.

Serving type: growler

12-27-2012 23:02:27 | More by RossCain

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

4.15/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Thanks to Josh (toofdoc) for the share!

Golden-orange pour, hazy, with a solid white head that receded to a thin layer, and left a bit of lacing on the glass. Nice hoppy aroma, almost more indicative of an IPA than an APA, citrusy and floral. Taste was very fruity and woody, orange peel and orange blossom, grapefruit pith, wildflowers, crackery pale malts, dry woody finish. Body was about medium, quite appropriate for the style, carbonation moderate, drinkability high. Overall a very tasty brew from Cigar City.

Serving type: growler

12-27-2012 21:39:24 | More by Rifugium