Cigar City

Traditional throughout Latin America, the guayabera shirt combines style, functionality, form and tradition in it’s four-pocketed design. We at Cigar City feel the same reverence and appreciation for the guayabera that we do for the Citra hop varietal, an ingredient that imparts notes of tangerine, lime and berries to this traditional American Pale Ale. The exclusive use of Citra hops in this beer creates a flavor that’s at once unique and recognizable, while it’s dry, crisp character and moderate alcohol make it as refreshing and functional as a crisp linen guayabera.

The people of Tampa Bay have fallen prey to Pirate invasion every year for well over 100 years. After more than a century of failing to repel these seafaring raiders in their anachronistic wooden ships, despite access to modern sea, land and air arsenals that ostensibly should make short work of wind powered vessels equipped with naught but cast iron cannons and raging scurvy, it occurred to the folks of Cigar City Brewing that if you can’t beat them start saying Arrrr Matey! And so we have brewed Invasion Pale Ale, a citrusy and tropical session beer brewed for those long days of marauding, pillaging and pirating. Cheers!

Jai Alai, a game native to the Basque region of Spain, is played on a court called a fronton. Jai Alai players attempt to catch a ball using a curved mitt whilst the ball travels at speeds up to 188mph! Proving they have a sense of humor the Spanish dubbed this game, with its ball traveling at race car speeds, “the merry game.” Tampa was once home to a bustling Jai Alai fronton but sadly all that remains of Jai Alai in the Tampa Bay area is this India Pale Ale that we brew in tribute to the merry game. The India Pale Ale style of beer has its roots in the ales sent from England to thirsty British troops in India during the 18th century. Pair Jai Alai India Pale Ale with beef empanadas, deviled crabs, and other spicy dishes.

Bold, strong and dark, traditional caffe americano is made by adding water to espresso. Bold, strong and dark, Cigar City Brewing’s Caffe Americano is made by adding vanilla and Tampa-roasted espresso beans to a formidable Double Stout base.

The Tocobaga people lived off the bounty of Tampa Bay hundreds of years before the arrival of the Spanish in the 1500’s. They were potters, tool makers and the only Florida natives to grow maize. These original Tampanians are celebrated with Tocobaga Red IPA, an assertive but balanced ale that marries the pine and citrus qualities of Citra hops with an assertive bitterness from Summit hops and malt flavors of caramel and bread crust.

Maduro is a Northern English-style brown ale with some American affectations. Maduro is higher in alcohol than the common English brown ale and features flaked oats in the malt bill which imparts a silky body and works to mesh the roasted, toasted and chocolate components together in Maduro’s complex malt profile. The end result is a remarkably full-flavored yet approachable and sessionable brown ale that pairs well with mild to medium cigars.

Florida Cracker White Ale brewed with unmalted wheat, orange peel and coriander and then fermented with a Belgian yeast strain to give it a spicy and dry finish. Perfect for a warm day on the Palmetto Prairie.

The genesis of the beer you’re holding in your hand was pretty simple.  We asked ourselves, “What if a beer tasted like an oatmeal raisin cookie?”  The answer to our rhetorical question was to add raisins, lactose and cinnamon to Maduro, our English-style Brown Ale, a beer that showcases flavors of caramel, toffee and chocolate.  The combination of the base beer and the additional ingredients resulted in a beer that tastes like it was baked in Grandma’s oven.

The world needs heroes, and in our home state of Florida only a very special hero will do. A hero with a shark tooth around his neck, a Grim Reaper tattoo on his arm, and a rap sheet longer than his mama’s mustache. A hero who’s forgotten more about amateur taxidermy and alligator rasslin’ than you’ll ever know. What better way to pay tribute to our beloved Florida Man than with a big ol’ Double India Pale Ale brewed with a nearly-criminal amount of hops and a moderate bitterness that just about matches Florida Man’s general disposition. This hopped-up whopper of a beer is big in character and guaranteed to sear itself into your memory, just like “the world’s worst superhero,” Florida Man. 

Just as handsome designs printed on fancy papers and applied to cigar boxes are used to entice cigar lovers, we use Strata, Sabro, and Idaho 7 hops to draw in lovers of fruit-forward Hazy IPAs. 

Throw on your Hawaiian shirt and your lederhosen and meet Cigar City Brewing at the intersection of traditional German brewing and tropical relaxation. We’ve taken our German-style Gose, an ancient style of low alcohol beer brewed with salt, and given it the Jimmy Buffett treatment by adding orange peel and lime essence to create the perfect warm weather ale.

So, what you’ve got here is a high gravity porter brewed with lactose. It tastes like “finding a $20 bill in your coat pocket” complemented by notes of “catching a foul ball at a baseball game,” while the finish is pure “that satisfying feeling of popping bubble wrap.” It’s good.