Jai Alai IPA - Cedar Aged (Humidor Series)
Thanks to Gabor the primo Penn Station beer man for this nugget which I can't find around here. Poured cold from a capped 750 into a pint glass. A-Mostly clear bright copper with a thick creamy eggshell head. Enticing looking brew. S-Wow...the cedar really packs a punch in the nose, think of raw cut cedar and you get the idea. Caramel malts and some earthy hops are also present in the nose. T-Intitial sweet caramel malts immediately give way to robust citrus hops that are utterly infused with cedar. Now I have no idea what cedar tastes like, but I'm tasting the smell for sure. The cedar seems to flatten the citric nature of the hops and adds its own unique lingering finish, with the bittering hops lasting well through the end of the tongue numbing palate. Some fellow BA's have tried this and say the cedar is overpowering, and I can sort of get that, but to me, it adds a refreshing level of complexity to an IPA (and admittedly, I've never tried the regular Jai Alai) that I find both refreshing and delicious. M-Well balanced carbonation, and creamy for the style. Spot on. D-A standout in a field where it is really hard to produce something wonderful and unique. I will buy this again any time I can find it.