Name – Jai Alai IPA – White Oak Aged
Country – United States
Type – American IPA

Down here Cigar City’s Jai Alai is quickly getting a reputation as a great go to IPA.  It’s very citrus and tropical characteristics really tie in the Florida connection with the brew.  And Cigar City has done many treatments of the beer as well including the two time GABF medal winning Humidor Series version.  Which I must say the most recent batch of it has gotten the cedar just right and not too in your face.  It’s a must try.

But a few months ago on a trip to Cigar City for the Double Barrel Aged Marshal Zhukov release I had a new treatment.  It was Jai Alai aged on white oak.  It was awesome off tap to say the least.  Then when word came out that they would be bottling the beer I needed to get some.

Of course on that already mentioned trip to Sarasota I picked up a number of the 12 oz bottles that we don’t see down south.  And White Oak was one of them.

I poured the brew into my Funky Buddha pint glass (I don’t have a Cigar City one so I’ll rep another Florida brewery) and it came out a cloudy orangish color.  The head was a nice fluffy white head that left some lacing on the glass.

The nose is incredible.  Scents all over the place with oak, white pepper, pine and other citrus.  An extremely complex smell on this one.

And the taste is no different.  It attacks your taste buds with so much different stuff.  Lots of tropical fruit like pineapple and a little passion fruit.  Citrus and pine like hops come in to play as well.  Then it has a bold oak flavor that is unlike any other wood aged beer I have tried.  Then you have a nice malt backing to it that evens things out.

I am a big fan of the regular Jai Alai.  If I want a refreshing IPA I can always count on that beer.  And the White Oak version is just divine.  The complexity of the beer is just incredible but it still remains very easy to drink.  But at 7.5% ABV is is pretty high for a single IPA so be careful.

It’s beers like this one that make me extremely proud of Cigar City.  Sure people talk all about Hunahpu’s and Marshal Zhukov’s, and they rightfully should, but this beer is something completely different.  Aging their already unique IPA on wood that isn’t commonly used in brewing is a great idea.  They did it with cedar and white oak.  They also made a red oak version that was only available on tap at the brewery.  They are taking brewing to a new level.

Ah okay end rant on how awesome the are.  If you enjoy Jai Alai then you need to try the White Oak version.  If you haven’t had Jai Alai and like beers that push boundaries then you too need to try this beer.  It seems to be pretty easily available in the central and west Florida markets.

Grade – A