spanish cedar | Brewerianimelogs (Anime and Beer Lore)

Rating: 4.8/5

Humidor Series India Pale Ale by Cigar City brewing is a 7.5% ABV India Pale Ale aged in Spanish Cedar.

Label:
An unfiltered India Pale Ale brewed in the Cigar City of Tampa Florida and aged on Spanish Cedar. Pairs well with spice food and medium robust cigars.
___

This is Cigar City’s flagship beer which is essentially the Jai-alai beer just aged in cedar. I have never tried Jai-alai but I hear it is good. This must be great too as it is aged in cedar. Let’s test this one out shall we?

Aromas:
Upon opening, Old sweet and matured mango, oak cedar, matured oranges, grapefruit, citrus, pine and grassy hops, biscuit bread, caramel, papaya, kiwi, dragon fruit, passion fruit, peaches, apricot, brown sugar and herbs.

Flavors:
Old orange, grapefruit, mango, cedar oak, biscuit bread, caramel, passion fruit, floral, herbal, earthy and piney hops, papaya, dragon fruit, kiwi, pineapple, vanilla, tangerines, brown sugar, mild rye and peaches.

Aftertaste:
Finishing dry with some hop resin and earthyness still there with some very faint tropical fruit and caramel flavors. No alcohol in the taste. Easy to moderate drinkability.

Overall:
A damn good IPA. I know this was gonna be awesome as soon as I smelled that mango. I love tropical IPA and to put it in Spanish cedar gives I very nice character which I have no seen in many IPAs. This is freaking great and definitely recommended if you can find it. Now to find Jai-Alai…

Anime Corner:
Welcome to Cigar City! Or at leas in the pairing of this original art piece by emperpep. Mimi and the Black bunny sit in front of the burning flames of Cigar City. Not to say the city is destroyed or anything like that, its just that I wanted to get the colors of the label and the Spanish Cedar oak to pair with Cigar City and Mimi the bunny. Cigars are fancy, that is why Mimi is wearing fancy clothing which pairs greatly. The Black Bunny? Well, I will leave that for you to decide.

Rating: 3.45/5

Lips of Faith Series Cigar City and New Belgium Collaboration is an 8.5% ABV Chile beer brewed with Anaheim and Marash Chiles aged in Spanish Cedar

Label:
We’re about to light up Florida with this Cigar City collaborative brew. Our Belgian yeast tangos with Anaheim and Marash peppers along with loads of citrusy hops to create an ale full of spice. Aged on Spanish cedar to salute our mutual love for wood!
___

The beer with literally no name, other than the fact that it was collaborated with New Belgium and the awesome Cigar City. Lips of faith series is a good series and has been a hit or miss in some instances. The beers have ranged from Good to Very good and some even Great in the past years. I am not sure if there one I truly disliked or found average (Pluot lol) they came together to brew a beer made with chiles.

Aromas:
Sweet Honey dew melon, kiwi, apricot, mango hints, mild pepper notes, lemon, oranges, grapefruit and citrus hops, pear, hints of cedar, caramel and biscuit bread

Flavors:
Apricot, pepper notes but no heat, citrus, grapefruit hops,hone dew notes, orange peels, biscuit bread, lemon, grapefruit peel, mild spiciness, tangerine notes, butterscotch, pears, cedar wood and light plum hints

Aftertaste:
This beer finishes off with lots of grapefruit skins, citrus, grassy bitterness and a bit of pepper notes. No alcohol present in the taste with a moderate drinkability.

Overall:
A good beer but nothing super intensive. It is more on the hoppy, bitter and a bit fruitier side than anything. The least heat intensive chile beer I have ever tried. The balance to bitterness and what would like to be chili heat doesn’t seem to meld well. On a good note, the aromas are much better than the flavors. Could have been more but hey, at least is a good beer. I feel it is better than Pluot for sure.

Anime Corner:
Sakura Haruno and Kushina Uzumaki from the Naruto series are used in this pairing to represent a pairing of 2 hot heads unleashing the rage which is supposed to be the peppers used in this beer. While the beer may not be hot at all, the intent for the artwork and for what it was supposed to represent was at least done creatively. Sakura has a bad temper at times and has this crazy super strength that comes from her inner being. Kushina on the other hand, nicked named the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero, would become an actually deadly beast. Even before she had the 9 tailed fox embedded in here, she was still a demon in disguise. That crazy attitude, mother of Naruto, is most likely the where the guts to never give up comes from. Some of the colors of the artwork match the label a bit but the nick name and the tempers they have was the intent for a collaboration Chile beer, Sakura being New Belgium and Kushina Cigar city.