Jai Alai India Pale Ale
Jai Alai India Pale Ale 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. Jai
Alai IPA uses 6 different hop varietals, with Simcoe hopes being used only for
dry hopping. The rest of the hop additions are blended at different IBU's in
groups of three hops per addition in order to create more hop complexity. Cigar
City loves hops but also feels that balance is important for IPAs. So Jai Alai
features a sturday caramel malt component which helps to create the desired
balance and stave off undesirable hop astringency. Ultimately, Jai Alai is a
very strong interpretation of a single American IPA. Cigar City hopes that it
makes Tampa Bay area natives happy because this is head brewer Wayne Wamble's
favorite Cigar City beer and he'd love to brew more so he can share one with
you. ABV: 7.5%. Website
Brewery
Cigar City Brewing is comprised of a 15 barrel (one barrel is 31 gallons)
brewhouse occupying 6,600 sq. ft. of warehouse space in the Carver City-Lincoln
Gardens neighborhood of Tampa. Six fermenters, also 15 bbl, are used to ferment
the beer for packaging and kegging.
We package using a 6 head PPM filler which allows us to adjust to many bottle
formats and we keg in 50 liter and 5 gallon kegs. We use the highest quality
ingredients we can lay our hands on and that is not just marketing jargon. If it
makes better beer, we use it. We also strive to use local ingredients when and
where we can. Not only do fresh local ingredients help us to make better beer,
it helps us to make beer that reflects the culture and heritage of Tampa Bay.
Founder
A Tampa native with a thing for beer, Joey Redner has owned a bar, sold beer at
both the retail, brewery and import level and written about beer for several
publications. A free spirit by nature Joey tends to shun things like recipes,
temperature gauges and gravity readings in favor of "flavor readings." While
this keeps him happy in his home brewing pursuits it doesn't always produce a
consistent product at the commercial level. This is why Joey is happy to be
working with Wayne Wambles, a man who grounds unfettered enthusiasm in the
foundation of sound brewing practices. In addition to beer Joey is passionate
about Cuban food and the colorful history of the City of Tampa.
