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Perfect Beer to Pair with a Cigar?

PuroFreakPuroFreak Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 4,132
I'm sure someone has already posted this, but a friend emailed it to me and I got a bit excited!

TAMPA, Florida - When a friend gave Joey Redner a taste of a beer that had been aged with Spanish cedar - the wood used to wrap and box cigars - he knew it was an idea worth stealing. The aroma and flavor instantly reminded the then avid home brewer of his hometown's historic Ybor City and the hand-rolled cigars Tampa is famous for. And he knew that if he ever owned a brewery, his beer needed to evoke the same memories.

"It just blew me away because when I smelled it, it was like waking down 7th Avenue in Ybor City, walking past a cigar shop," said Redner, who now owns Cigar City Brewing. "It was a win/win. It was good and it really pinpointed it on the map as coming from my city."

Plenty of brewers name their beers for the regions where they are made. But Cigar City takes it further, using ingredients such as Spanish cedar, guava, Cuban espresso and citrus woods to craft beers that also taste of Tampa's heritage.

Doing so also has helped prop up the craft beer industry in a state once mocked for its offerings. Cigar City has become the most visible brewer in a suddenly hot Florida beer industry.

"Cigar City led the way and said, "We're going to make big beer, we're going to make hoppy beers, we're going to have sour beers and funky oak-aged spiced beers" and the response has been amazing for them," said Ben Davis, the owner and brewer at Jacksonville's Intuition Ale Works, which opened last fall. "They're the best brewery in the state of Florida. They're definitely bringing credibility to our entire state.." ...

Comments

  • JudoChinXJudoChinX Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 775
    I'm heading to Florida this Fall and the wife mentioned this brewery. I must check it out!
  • stephen_hannibalstephen_hannibal Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 4,317
    Once I drink down the massive amounts of beer I have I'll have to try this out.

  • mfotismfotis Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 720
    stephen_hannibal:
    Once I drink down the massive amounts of beer I have I'll have to try this out.

    if you ever need a hand drinking that beer, I'm here for ya brother..........
  • VulchorVulchor Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 4,176
    Had cigar city many a times----not bad at all, and Im a picky one with my beer-----Im lucky enough (or cursed enough) to be an hour from Tampa/Ybor, so getting the good local brews (and localy handmandes) is never a problem------though my wallet will often disagree.
  • stephen_hannibalstephen_hannibal Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 4,317
    Vulchor:
    Had cigar city many a times----not bad at all, and Im a picky one with my beer-----Im lucky enough (or cursed enough) to be an hour from Tampa/Ybor, so getting the good local brews (and localy handmandes) is never a problem------though my wallet will often disagree.
    So anytime you wanna toss a few my way I'm game... Just saying.

  • grannejagranneja Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 382
    Sounds interesting. I wonder if they distribute in my neck of the woods.
  • PuroFreakPuroFreak Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 4,132
    Vulchor:
    Had cigar city many a times----not bad at all, and Im a picky one with my beer-----Im lucky enough (or cursed enough) to be an hour from Tampa/Ybor, so getting the good local brews (and localy handmandes) is never a problem------though my wallet will often disagree.
    My cousin and my grandmother are both in St. Pete, so I may have to get one of them to pick me up some and bring it back this way when my grandmother comes back to TX in a month or two. Sounds interesting to me!
  • roland_7707roland_7707 Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 2,647
  • xmacroxmacro Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 3,402
    Heh, I live in Tampa, and this place is only a few minutes from me; been there once - wasn't bad, I liked it, though for whatever reason, the Maduro brew didnt' taste quite right

    Fun fact for those out of towners - Ybor city is a great place to grab cigars or beer, but it's got a high crime rate; if you come, don't go to any ATM's after dark and watch yourself. It's a fun town, but gets kinda freaky.

  • gaberoxgaberox Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 824
    xmacro:
    Heh, I live in Tampa, and this place is only a few minutes from me; been there once - wasn't bad, I liked it, though for whatever reason, the Maduro brew didnt' taste quite right

    Fun fact for those out of towners - Ybor city is a great place to grab cigars or beer, but it's got a high crime rate; if you come, don't go to any ATM's after dark and watch yourself. It's a fun town, but gets kinda freaky.



    Oh man these threads make me so homesick. Cigar City Brewery used to be blocks from my old work. I was one of the 1st to fill a growler there and Joey gifted me 2 local cigars. Great guy. The espresso maduro brown is amazing. The Jai Alai IPA also.

    Ybor can be shady but I used to go there all the time with no problems. My favorite time to be there was in the day though hangin at The King Corona. Man I miss Tampa.
  • LasabarLasabar Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 4,457
    stephen_hannibal:
    Once I drink down the massive amounts of beer I have I'll have to try this out.

    I have that same problem every night... And then, like magic, the next morning the problem is fixed!!!
  • MephistoMephisto Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 508
    No problem! Just pass a round out to the BORKs! We'll help a brother drown his sorrows. ;)
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