Cigar City has problems with a batch

Tampa's Cigar City Brewing's founder, Joey Redner, posted on his brewery's blog that there is a problem with bottles of their excellent Bolita Brown. They are apparently infected with brettanomyces yeast, which gives them a slight sour, funky flavor. It's not a safety issue, rather it's an issue of quality. The Bolita won't taste like Cigar City intended.

Redner writes that he believes the yeast was on their bottling equipment from a previous batch of beer, Guava Grove, that used brettanomyces. He writes:

What this means is the Bolita that went out just fine in its bottles, is now very much not as was intended. If you like brett or bretty oud bruins I suspect you are going to be really tickled about this and want to lay some down for a year. But if, like me, you prefer Bolita the way it was intended I sincerely aplogize. This is my nightmare and the simple fact is we failed on this batch of beer.

Redner is very apologetic about the issue and offers to give everyone who brings a bottle of the beer (all bottles of Bolita are affected*) to the brewery a $10 credit, no questions asked. He continues:

Again, I sincerely do apologize. I know these things happen to the best of breweries, much less our ragtag operation, but it doesn't make me feel any better. I take the quality and integrity of our beer very seriously and this batch ended up with a noticeable infection. You have our promise we will work to remedy the situation as best we can.

This issue does happen to all breweries, and I think Cigar City is handling it really well. As a former homebrewer I know how tricky brewing and quality control is.

You can read their full blog post here.

Ever the creative brewery, Redner writes that they will make lemonade from lemons and take the returned Bolita, put it "in a barrel, add lots of additional bugs, some fruit and whatever else we think we need to add and make a small batch of some very tart and funky beer that started life as Bolita. Think of it as reform school for a beer gone bad. Only the idea is to make the beer go even worse to the point that it is good again!" That sounds like something I'd love to try, as I'm building up a taste for beers with wild yeasts.

*I didn't notice any funky or sour flavors in the bottle of Bolita I had in late August.

Cigar City's apocalyptic Mayan-inspired stout

Cigar City Brewing, which has some very creatively named beers,* occasionally brews a beer called Hunahpu's Imperial Stout, which is named -- according to that dubious source Wikipedia -- after a character out of Mayan mythology. Cigar City calls it a Mayan chocolate imperial stout "brewed with Peruvian cacao, Ancho and Pasilla chiles, cinamon and vanilla beans with a nod toward the frothy cacao drink consumed by the ancient Mayans."

The 12 people who have reviewed this beer on BeerAdvocate give it an average A+ grade. I only hope it's better than Dogfish Head's disastrous Theobroma, which is also inspired by pre-Columbian beers and brewed with chilies. I hope it is more like Rogue's wonderful Chocolate Stout.**

Anyway, Cigar City blogs that they are asked weekly about this beer and have set a release date for 750 mL bottles. It's Friday, March 12, 2010 at 7 p.m. at the brewery. The bottles will cost $20 each, which is certainly expensive but not outrageous. I paid that much for a bottle of Brooklyn Brewery's Black Ops.

Mark your calendars.***

*For example, Marshal Zhukov Imperial Stout and Warmer Winter Winter Warmer

**Ego note: Rogue pulled a blurb -- "Each time I have it I chuckle because it's so good" -- from my BeerAdvocate review for their newsletter way back in 2003.

***Cigar City -- as a joke -- has previously said that Hunahpu's Imperial Stout will be released in 2013 because some people believe that the Mayan calendar predicts the world will end in 2012.

Cigar City weekly draft lineup

I'm a day late posting this, but Sebastien Jadot with Cigar City Brewing e-mailed* me the beers they will be selling this week at the Tampa brewery:

Regular draft lineup
Maduro Oatmeal Brown Ale
Jai Alai IPA

One-off drafts
Maduro Oatmeal Raisin, which is Maduro with a hint of raisin and cookie spice. I've tried this beer at the brewery and I can tell you that Cigar City wields a subtle hand with the spices. This is not a sweet beer like other spiced beers.

Humidor series

Cigar City has a rotating offering of beers which have been aged on cedar. As I've written before, they won a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival for their cedar-aged Jai Alai IPA.

This week Cigar City is offering Humidor Maduro for $7 and Humidor Marshal Zhukov (their Russian Imperial Stout) for $10. Sebastien writes that the beers will be put in 750 mL bottles and capped as each customer places his or her order.

Too bad I can't get up to Tampa this week, because I know the Humidor series beer will sell out fast.

*Read my earlier post on how to get on Cigar City's mailing list.

Review: Marshal Zhukov's Imperial Stout

One of Cigar City Brewing's seasonal beers is a Russian imperial stout* named after Georgy Zhukov, whom Encyclopedia Britannica calls "the most important Soviet military commander during World War II." If you are a student of history, I suggest you read about his fascinating history at your local library.

I bought a 750 mL bottle of this beer, which they release in August, at the brewery during a recent visit. They charged $10, which is cheaper than you would pay at a store and all the money goes to the brewery.

Cigar City suggests you age the beer a few months and drink it during the cooler temperatures of winter, although in Florida "cold" is a relative term. But I couldn't wait until winter to drink this beer, so here's the early review.

The review

It pours very black with a deep brown head and smells of roasted malt with hints of molasses and alcohol. This is a rich Russian imperial stout, but it's not cloying. Flavors mix to make a typical complex taste. The body is wonderfully slick.

Overall this is a fine RIS and another good beer from Cigar City. It's a seasonal release, so get one while you can.

I should have bought a second bottle of this fine beer. Perhaps I'll be able to find one here in Sarasota?

*As I've written before, imperial stouts were originally brewed in England and shipped to the Russian court. They are a lot stronger than regular stouts.

Cigar City now takes credit cards

I was in the Tampa area today and stopped by Cigar City Brewing to refill my two growlers with the world-class Jai Alai IPA, which I'm drinking right now.

They now take major credit cards, which is convenient and allows you to spend a lot more there than you planned.

Sebastien Jadot, Cigar City's Tampa area sales and events coordinator, was working there again and was very friendly and helpful. He answered all of my dumb questions and said if anyone is interested in brewery updates, including what they have on tap, e-mail him at sebastien@cigarcitybrewing.com and he will put you on a mailing list.

Sebastien says they are hoping to eventually produce more 750 mL bottles and are even trying to open up a bar next door, but that depends on approval from the city of Tampa, so don't hold your breath.

World of Beer first impressions

I stopped by the newly opened World of Beer on the border of Sarasota and Manatee counties after work on Friday night. I got there about 11:00. I only lasted five seconds.

The place was packed and they had a band playing in their loft with the sound set to concert levels. I turned on my heels and left. It's tough for a place to be more repellent than having smoking, but brain-breaking loud music is worse.

But I didn't want to give up on the place; after all, I went on a Friday night.

I went back on Tuesday evening and got there just before 7:00 to take advantage of their happy hour $1-off draft specials.

A good number of people were there, but there was still plenty of space. No bands, and the piped-in music was much softer than Friday night. It was a bit too loud for my tastes, but the sound wasn't in the danger level.*

I was welcomed by a server right after arriving and sat at the bar, where Josh tended to me. Nice guy. They were out of Cigar City's Jai Alai IPA, which was only a mild disappointment because I'm hoping to get up to the brewery on Wednesday. Josh suggested Hercules Double IPA, a great double IPA from Great Divide Brewing in Colorado, but the keg ran out. He then gave me a sample of Weyerbacher Double Simcoe IPA, another good, bitter beer. I had a glass of that, which was $5 with the happy hour special.

Some friends have called World of Beer a corporate place. I must be a corporate shill, because I liked it. Brick and dark wood with a wall of beer in coolers divided by about 30 taps. They have a covered lanai where patrons can smoke. It's connected to the bar by a big open doorway, so if you're really sensitive to smoke you'll need to keep clear.

This is a good bar. I will be returning to the World of Beer and suggest you check it out for yourself, just get their earlier when the music isn't so loud.

*I'm the guy who wears earplugs to concerts. My father had profound hearing loss and if the same thing happens to me, at least I'll know I didn't do it to myself.

Review: Maduro Oatmeal Brown Ale

I bought a 32-ounce growler of Cigar City's Maduro Oatmeal Brown Ale at the brewery when I visited it on Oct. 2. I drank the beer several days ago.

The review

It pours a deep brown in color with a large sticky head. The smell is of toasted and roasted grain: coffee, molasses and chocolate notes.

The roasted smell carries over to the taste. Bread flavors mix with light tastes of chocolate and espresso.

The body is nice and creamy, probably thanks to the oatmeal.

This is another good beer from Cigar City and one that's the most approachable and balanced. Jai Alai IPA is my favorite Cigar City beer, closely followed by Improvicasion.

As far as I know this beer is only sold in kegs. They told me at the brewery that since they bottle in 750 mL bottles only, they would not be able to price this beer low enough for it to sell, considering it's their most "normal" beer.

A visit to Cigar City Brewing

On Friday I drove to Tampa to visit Cigar City Brewing. The brewery is open for tours, tastings and sales Wednesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. I got there a little after 4.

Like most breweries, it's a utilitarian place (no air conditioning) designed for brewing, not hanging out. The tasting room is a cordoned-off area of the warehouse.

They are a friendly bunch and were very willing to talk about the brewing process and their beers. They were very happy about winning a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival -- especially so because they have been in business for just seven months.

They had two beers available that day: Jai Alai IPA and Maduro brown ale. I had a (free!) sample of both of them and bought a growler of each. A growler is a to-go container that's filled with draft beer. Typical growlers in other states are 64 ounces. But, Florida law being what it is, Cigar City can only sell growlers that are 32 ounces (a quart) or less or 128 ounces (a gallon) or more. I bought two 32-ounce growlers.

You can bring empty growlers back to the brewery for refills. New 32-ounce growlers cost $4. Filling them with either Jai Alai or Maduro costs an extra $6. Refills are $5. New gallon growlers are $7 and filling them with Jai Alai or Maduro costs $18. Speciality beers cost a bit more. They also sell kegs.

Beer in growlers does not keep very long once you have opened it. I would suggest drinking it all within a day, otherwise it will be flat and the oxygen in the air will dull the flavor.

Cigar City photo gallery

Hover your cursor over each picture to read the cutline. I'd prefer to have cutlines appear beneath the photos but I haven't figured out a way to do that that doesn't look bad. Any ideas?

Review: Jai Alai IPA

Cigar City winning a gold medal for its barrel-aged Jai Alai IPA made me want to try its draft-only cousin. I've only heard good things about it and as a hophead I was feeling the urge after reading Cigar City's description:

Jai Alai IPA is a monster interpretation of an American IPA. In fact, it is so big that it equals the alcohol of some double IPAs on the market. Our IPA uses 6 different hop varietals, with Simcoe hops only being used for dry hopping. The rest of the hop additions are blended at different IBU's (International Bittering Units) in groups of three hops per addition in order to create more hop complexity.

The ever-helpful Kat told me that the Cock & Bull Pub had it. So I headed over there on Tuesday night and it was still available. Cock & Bull publican Howie Hochberg tells me that Jai Alai is only sold in 5-gallon kegs (compared to 15.5 gallon "regular" kegs). So it can sell out quickly.

From my notes:

It's orange -- almost red -- in color without much of a head and an intense hop aroma. The taste is great. Hops, hops and more hops. The hop flavor is almost juicy and fruity. This really reminds me of IPAs from San Diego. The body is light.

This is a wonderful beer and the best of the four Cigar City beer's I've had. I can't really do justice describing its hoppy flavor: You just have to try a sample to see what I mean.

I can see why its barrel-aged cousin won that gold medal.

And Cigar City, I have a two-word request regarding Jai Alai IPA: bottle it.

P.S. The Cock & Bull also had Cigar City's Maduro brown ale (another brew I haven't had) on tap, but since I was driving I didn't want to have a second beer. Next time, Maduro, next time ...

A judicial opinion on Cigar City's IPA

Melissa Cole, a judge at the Great American Beer Festival, blogged about the beer that made the biggest impression on her at the festival, and it was Cigar City's gold-medal-winning Humidor Series Jai Alai IPA:

The stand-out beer for me that I judged, in terms of innovation, was the winner of the gold category in wood-aged beers, the Humidor Series IPA, Cigar City Brewing, Tampa, FL. It is aged on the wood of cigar boxes, which is called cigar cedar but is actually from the mahogony family, and the spice and aroma it imparts to the beer is absolutely incredible. The base beer IPA itself was technically flawless and the pepper, sandalwood, vanilla, cinnamon, cedar, leather and tobacco notes that poured off it were more akin to a rum descriptor than a beer but still incredible nonetheless.

As Johnny Carson might say, wild stuff.

My super-helpful newspaper colleague and fellow BeerAdvocate member Kat tells me that the Cock & Bull Pub has had the regular, non-Humidor Jai Alai IPA on tap recently. But since Cigar City's beers sell quick, you might want to call the pub before making a special trip.

Cigar City and The Bruery to collaborate

Tampa's Cigar City Brewing will work with Orange County, California's The Bruery to create a beer made with two unannounced fruits that will be aged in barrels. They haven't announced what the style of beer with be, but Cigar City's Joey Redner posted the following on BeerAdvocate:

So without confirming anything, maybe the idea is to use fruits cultivated in Florida/California rather than specifically native to California. Or maybe not. Personally I think they are going to try to beat Sam Calgione to the punch and recreate one of the few traditional beverages left he has yet to attempt: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_drink

They plan to brew it in October or November in California and don't expect it to be released until July or August of 2010.

I've read good things about The Bruery and their unique ales. Their beers aren't sold in Florida yet.

Cigar City IPA wins a gold medal

Cigar City Brewing in Tampa won a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver.

Their Humidor Series Jai Alai IPA took first place in the wood- and barrel-aged beer category, beating 32 other entries. The GABF is one of the largest beer festivals in the world and this medal is a big deal, especially for such a new brewery.

Here's what Cigar City says about their Humidor Series:

The Humidor Series is a rotating offering of Cigar City Brewing beer aged on cedar. We change the offering for every release so that more of our beers get to luxuriate in cigar box cedar.

Cedar has a more subtle effect on beer than more traditional woods like oak. But, we think that once you taste it you'll agree that cedar deserves a place along side oak in the brewer's wood-aging toolbox. Humidor series beers will vary due to style, but are always a good option for pairing with a fine cigar.

I haven't had their IPA, let alone its Humidor Series cousin. Now I'm even more excited about trying this beer.

Review: Improvicasion

Cigar City likes to make interesting beers. Their creativity reminds me of Dogfish Head.

They call Improvicasion an "oatmeal rye India-style brown ale." OK, I haven't had one of those before.

Oatmeal makes beer creamy and adds slickness to the body. Rye, according to Brewingtechniques.com, adds further complexity to beer's malt flavor. It doesn't make beer taste like rye unless a good amount is used. And the India part makes me think they've used more hops than you would normally use in a brown ale.

Here are my notes:

Pours almost totally black with a big frothy brown head. The hoppy aroma was surprising for a beer this dark. It's quite floral. The taste is also all about the hops, with big citrus notes that mix with a chocolate malt flavor. It's bitter and malty and very nice. The body is creamy and works great with the chocolate flavors from the malt.

This one is for hopheads and brown ale fans. Think of it as a brown ale mixed with an India Pale Ale.

This is another great beer from Cigar City. I've had three of their dark beers; I need to try a pale one now.

Review: Bolita Brown

When I see Cigar City beers in stock at a store, I pick one up: They bottle in very limited amounts and when something's gone, it's gone.

I picked up a 750 mL bottle of Bolita Brown, one of Cigar City's seasonal beers, for $10 at my go-to beer store, Total Wine & More. I find myself going there a lot more than to Whole Foods, even though that store is right near where I work. For one, Total Wine's prices are usually better than Whole Foods and they have a larger selection, though Whole Foods frequently has beers Total Wine doesn't.

According to the label, the name of this beer was decided by a contest and refers to the old Ybor City lottery game called bolita, or little ball. The illegal game was often fixed, they say.

Back to the beer. From my notes:

Almost black, this beer lets just a bit of deep ruby light through. It has a nice light brown head. A big aroma of roasted malt: coffee, toffee, caramel and chocolate. The taste is super creamy, like a nutty, roasted malt-coffee shake, but not as sweet as that sounds. It's just really good. The high alcohol level is almost totally hidden. A wonderful body: glassy and slick.

The second Cigar City beer I've had. This one is excellent. I enjoyed it a bit more than their 110K+OT. I'm looking forward to drinking my bottle of Improvicasion, which Cigar City calls an oatmeal rye India-style brown ale.

Waiting for World of Beer

I drove by the soon-to-open World of Beer off University Parkway in southern Manatee County today after visiting Total Wine & More.*

Looks like they still have a ways to go; I didn't notice much progress since my last visit a couple of weeks ago.

And a source within Sarasota's craft beer community tells me that World of Beer may allow smoking inside if they can't get approval for their patio. Let's hope the place can be nonsmoking: A nonsmoking beer bar will be a big hit with all the beer fans who would never go to a smoky bar. Perhaps one day Florida will follow other states and ban smoking in all businesses.

*I went there to buy my wife some Saranac Root Beer, a great root beer that she loves. I told myself I wasn't going to buy any beer, since two weeks ago I spent almost $80 on a few 22-ounce bottles (see my post on Hoppin' Frog).

I decided to walk past the beer shelves to see what was new so I could blog about it. Well, they had a new Cigar City beer, Improvicasion ($9.99), and Dogfish Head's Sah'tea ($13.99), which was the beer they brewed while being visited for an article by the New Yorker.

So my willpower snapped and I bought a bottle of each and hope the Dogfish Head Sah'tea is better than their Theobroma.

And I see that my footnote is now longer than the main post. Great.

Beer haul: Cigar City, Stone, Hoppin' Frog and Bell's

After being alerted on BeerAdvocate that Stone's 13th Anniversary ale was in stock at Total Wine & More, I had to get some. (Remember, Stone calls this the "hoppiest beer we've ever brewed.") Sure enough, a phone call confirmed that they had 22-ounce bottles in stock for $7 each. So I headed over on today.

Not only did they have the anniversary ale, they also had Stone's Cali-Belgique ($6), their take on a Belgian IPA.

I also picked up a new Cigar City beer: Bolita Brown ($10 for a 750 mL), their double English brown ale that's 9 percent alcohol. Cigar City beers sell fast, so get them while you can at your favorite beer store.

I also bought three bottles of Hoppin Frog, an Ohio brewery that's a new arrival here. Pricey stuff for 22-ounce bottles: I hope they're good. The three: B.O.R.I.S. the Crusher Oatmeal Imperial Stout ($10), Hoppin' to Heaven IPA ($9) and Mean Manalishi Double IPA ($12!).

Finally I bought a 12-ounce bottle of Bell's Sparkling Ale, a Belgian triple that they compare to champagne. And no, we're not talking about Miller High Life.

All these are new beers for me. Exciting stuff.

Cigar city draft lineup for 7/31

I'm late with this news, but Cigar City Brewing in Tampa is having a release party tonight for their Barrel Aged Big Sound Scotch Ale. In addition to Big Sound bottles, they will be offering a very cool draft lineup of some limited beers:

Coco Loco: Bolita Double Nut Brown Ale aged on Cuban espresso beans, coconut flakes and Peruvian cacao nibs. 9% ABV 

Barrel Aged 110K+OT Batch #2: An Imperial Stout dry hopped with Mt. Rainier hops and lightly aged on toasted Spanish Cedar then further matured in former bourbon oak barrels. 11.5% ABV 

Mocha Cubano: Our Maduro Oatmeal Brown Ale aged on Cuban espresso beans and Peruvian cacao. 5.5% ABV

East India Trader: Bolita Double Nut Brown Ale aged on flaked coconut and chai spices. 9% ABV

Coconut Bolita: Bolita Double Nut Brown Ale aged on flaked coconut. 9% ABV

Jai Alai India Pale Ale: An American style India Pale Ale brewed in homage to the original extreme sport, Jai Alai. 7.5% ABV

Maduro Oatmeal Brown Ale: An English style brown ale. Lots of flavor yet nice and sessionable. 5.5% ABV

And this time they will be offering growlers of the above beers, but only after 9 p.m.

Their tasting room is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. today.

Cigar City releases barrel-aged Bolita today

Just a reminder that Cigar City Brewing Co. will be having a special release of their Bourbon Barrel Aged Bolita today from 6 to 10 p.m. They are selling 170 bottles ($20 each, limit 3) of this brown ale that they aged for five months in a Maker's Mark bourbon barrel.

They will also have some surprise beers available on tap, as well as food.

More info is on Cigar City's blog.

Cigar City special event

Cigar City Brewing Co. will be having a special release of their Bourbon Barrel Aged Bolita on Friday, June 26, from 6 to 10 p.m. They are selling 170 bottles ($20 each, limit 3) of this brown ale that they aged for five months in a Maker's Mark bourbon barrel. Sounds extreme, indeed.

They plan to hand out placeholder tickets at 6. The sale itself starts at 8. They said they're using tickets because they weren't sure what the demand would be like.

They will also have some surprise beers available on tap, as well as food.

More info is on Cigar City's blog.

Review: 110K+OT (2009)

This is my first beer from Cigar City Brewing Co. It has a strange name, 110K+OT. They plan to change it each year: same name, different beer. This time it's a modified Imperial Russian Stout (they're calling it an India Russian Imperial Stout because they've used a lot of hops), a strong stout that was originally brewed in England and shipped to the Russian court.

On to the review:

Pours super black with a head like chocolate milk.

It has a roasted, smoky aroma with big chocolate notes and a hint of hops.

The taste is all about roasted malt flavors. It's smoky and coffee-like with bits of burnt toast thrown in. I'm not getting the extra hops, but that's probably because I've blown my palate on double IPAs. The very high alcohol level is almost totally hidden.

The body is thick and creamy, almost like a milkshake. This is one of the thickest beers I've had.

For an extreme beer, this is under control. It's much more drinkable than, say, Brooklyn's Black OPS. Nonetheless, I'm only drinking half of the bottle tonight. I'm not risking another hangover.

I must say that I'm just a tiny bit let down by this beer after reading all the raves about Cigar City on BeerAdvocate. I must have had my hopes set too high, though, because there's nothing wrong with this beer. Must be like what happened to a lot of people with the "Star Wars" prequels.