The Beer Critic

Beer reviews for beer enthusiasts.

Beers Tagged ‘ pine ’

Jai Alai IPA

April 10, 2011 | 5 Comments | Ales, North American

Brewery Website: http://www.cigarcitybrewing.com

Type of Beer: American IPA

Alcohol Content: 7.5%

Beer Review -

Appearance: This handsome IPA poured a bright copper color with perfect clarity. Head was about two-fingers of creamy goodness that settled to a thick film. The head lasted quite a while leaving behind some incredible lacing that covered the walls of the glass as if it was painted on.

Smell: Right off the bat the hops jump out at you with a mixture of citrus and fruit (grapefruit, orange and peaches) and a piney earthyness. Some caramel makes it’s way into the nose adding a nice sweet addition to the bouquet or hops. The smell of this one really gets the mouth watering.

Initial Taste: The flavor starts off with a caramel and toasted bready sweetness. This sweetness doens’t stick around long as the big hoppy backbone comes busting through with a big citrus and pine spiciness that leaves your tastebuds begging for more. This big hop profile finishes smooth with a subtle fruitiness that tastes like a mix of peaches and apricots. Aftertaste is dry and a little citrusy.

Thoughts: This is the flagship beer for Cigar City Brewing Company in Tampa Florida.  Jai Alai IPA (pronounced “high-lie”) pushes the boundaries of an American IPA with almost enough hops to push it into the Double ( or Imperial) IPA category. However when you try it you’ll notice that even though this is a hop monster its also beautifully balanced with a caramel sweetness that makes this one of the best IPA’s I’ve had the opportunity to try. The hop profile is professionally choreographed with flavors of citrus and piney bitterness that has fruity highlights of peaches and apricots. This is proof that the brew geeks over at CCB know how to make some pretty decent suds. If you haven’t tried this, or any CCB beer for that matter, don’t delay any longer. Get out there and try some of the best craft beer America has to offer. Cheers!

Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine Style Ale – 2010

February 28, 2010 | No Comments | Ales, Barleywine, North American, Specialty

Brewery Website: http://www.sierranevada.com

Type of Beer: American Barleywine

Alcohol Content: 9.6%

Beer Review -

Appearance: Dark copper color with thick two finger head that recedes very slowly leaving incredible lacing and nice foam peaks. Clarity is good with some sediment on the bottom.

Smell: Rich, bold smell. Hops are quite strong, floral and piney. Hop scents are rounded off a bit with some malty sweetness and dark fruits like figs and raisins. Alcohol esters are noticeable.

Initial Taste: Like the great Emeril once (or twice) said “BAM!”. The aggressive hops instantly dominate your palate – citrus, pine, leafy and earthy. After the initial wave of bittersweet hopiness the malts comes in to help smooth things out. The malts, while not as powerful as the hops, do give a welcome sweet caramel flavor that takes some of the bite off the hops.  The mouth feel is smooth and creamy with a dry and slightly alcohol warming finish.

Thoughts: Like most barleywines this is true to their nature with lots of flavor and tons of hop goodness. Bitter, oily,  sweet and earthy this Bigfoot is a beer to be sipped and enjoyed slowly. This being my first time trying this particular beer from Sierra Nevada I can’t comment on the differences from previous years. I will say that if you are a fan of hoppy barleywines you will be hard pressed to find one like Bigfoot. The recipe for this beer changes slightly every year so if like me you enjoy this make sure you grab a few. And with the high alcohol content it’s ok if you let it sit for a while….if you can. I highly recommend this to all hopheads and barleywiners out there. Cheers!

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