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?
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?
... OK, this is hilarious! I was up there Friday also, earlier in the day. In fact, when I introduced myself to Joey, he said, "Oh, I read a blog post that mentioned a Kat in Sarasota, is that you?" So I was going to tell you that he was apparently reading your blog, or at least the entries about his beer.
ReplyDeleteWere they still waxing the bourbon 110K+OT when you got there?
I drank my Jai Alai last night. It was delicious.
Sarasota representing at Cigar City! I'm not sure what they were doing when I was there. Joey and Wayne were working on some equipment (bottling?) by the large cooler. I didn't want to bother them and left them alone.
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