Tag Archives: cigarcitybeer

Cigar City’s beer selected as most refreshing

Cigar City’s Cucumber Saison recently competed in a head-to-head tasting competition put on by the Brewing News publication.

The competition, called the Global Warming Open, convenes every year to select from a field of 64 beers drafted to compete for the title of “Most Refreshing Beer in America.” 64 beers are selected and tasted by a panel of brewers and half of the entrants are eliminated in a series of rounds beginning in mid-June and ending in mid-July.

After every one of the 64 beers is tasted and judged, they are then eliminated based on criteria of the judges, and one winner is left standing. 2013’s Global Warming Open winner was Tampa’s Cigar City Brewing’s Cucumber Saison, a sessionable Saison infused with cucumber. Cuke Saison defeated runner-up Widmer Brothers’ Hopside Down India Pale Lager to win the GBO crown. This win produced no bitterness, since the two breweries are coming off of a recent collaboration beer that brewed at the Portland, Oregon Widmer Brothers Brewing called The Gentlemen’s Club which should be hitting Florida shelves this week.

See the other entrants at the Global Warming Open website.

When asked about the GWO win, Cigar City owner and founder Joey Redner said in typcial tongue-in-cheek style, “That is pretty damn cool! Which is perfect since it is pretty damn hot out.”

Congratulations to Cigar City for their latest accolades.

Cigar City starts El Catador reserve society

Tampa- With the birth of Cigar City Brewing’s new reserve society, El Catador Club, Tampa’s largest craft brewery has taken another Florida first: they are the first brewery in Florida to start a reserve society.

What is a reserve society? A reserve society is an exclusive club whose membership guarantees access to beers before the general public. The reserve society idea says that if someone invests money in joining a brewery’s club before certain beers are even brewed, then that person will get those beers before nonmembers. This idea began with Placentia, California’s The Bruery who began the first craft beer reserve society around 2010. The idea soared in popularity and spread to other craft breweries around the United States. Now this idea has taken root in Florida with Cigar City Brewing.

El Catador Club has benefits beyond just beer, and the joining price is $120 if paid in cash, or $126 if purchased by a credit card.

That joining fee earns members:

*One bottle of five different barrel-aged beers, released throughout an indefinite membership period. One of those bottles will be a Barrel-aged Hunahpu.
*The right of first refusal of next year’s membership (if you want to join for a second year, then you can renew before the general public gets to join)
*The opportunity to buy more bottles of club-exclusive beers, depending on batch yields.
*Advance notice of beer releases and opportunity to buy bottles before non-club members.
*A Catador Club T-Shirt
*10% off on tasting room purchases
*Possible advance tickets to Cigar City Brewing events
*Possible access to members-only beers on tap or in a growler at the CCB Tasting Room.

While the brewery is not allowed to ship beer to anyone, there will be an opportunity to appoint a trustee for people who do not live within the boundaries of Tampa.

While $120 is a fair amount of money for some beer enthusiasts to spend on beer at one time, Cigar City’s choice of this price point for entry into a reserve society is very competitive considering that many reserve societies around the U.S. begin around $300, topping off with The Bruery’s Hoarders Society whose membership costs in excess of $700.

Editor’s Note: While it has been pointed out by close readers that Funky Buddha in Oakland Park has a similar situation with their Founders’ Snifter Club, it can be noted that Cigar City’s reserve society differs in name and in their invitation to non-local craft beer enthusiasts to still be a part of the club. This is not to discount the hard work or ideas of Funky Buddha, merely to note the differences between the two. They two clubs are similar in function but seemingly different in purpose.

Cigar City Brewpub collaborates

Tampa- The Cigar City Brewpub brewer Tim Ogden has announced two new collaborations coming down the hopper.

The first collaboration is with Miami’s up-and-coming new brewery Gravity Brewlab. Citing both brewers’ love of puns and classic rap, this beer will be dubbed “Gin and Juice. Single malt single hop ale fermented with the house strain, fermenting at room temp, destined for a gin barrel and to be aged with passion fruit and mango. Laid back.”

Gravity Brewlab is based in Miami, but has been pouring their beers at festivals around the state of Florida in order to gain momentum toward an opening day of Fall 2013.

The second collaboration is closer to home with Cigar City Cider and Mead. While both companies share the same name, and founder Joey Redner, they are run by separate people, so a cross-brand collaboration becomes not only possible but imminent. Today’s post by the Cigar City Brewpub only indicates that a meeting of the minds has taken place. Considering Cigar City Cider and Mead’s name, there are several possible styles of beer the two could make, namely an apple ale, a braggot (a hybrid style of beer and mead combined), or a gruit (a beer made without hops using native ingredients). This is only conjecture, and more information will be posted as it becomes available.

Cigar City Cider and Mead is a venture that originated with Cigar City Brewing and the desire to spread out beyond simply brewing beer while following Florida’s stringent laws concerning wine and beer being made on the same premisses. CCC&M’s batches of hard cider and toppel cider (a more tart cider) have been developed over the course of several months and batches poured at several spots around Tampa.