Beer is great. Beer is awesome. Not a lot of bad talk comes from drinking beers unless you overdue it, which at times, happens. When I graduated college and got a job, I started to make enough money to actually buy GOOD beer. Everyone’s definition of GOOD is different. Good to some people is a nice (shitty) tasting bud light where it feels like more water than beer. Those are for the people that like to feel a teeny tiny buzz and ride that out for the rest of the day/night. Then we have the complete other side of the spectrum of GOOD which is the IPA good. That type of beer is my definition of GOOD beer.

Luckily, I had some guidance along the way to get my pallet situated on the IPA side of beer. I was called a certain type of cat (the mean word for cat) until I started to drink a “manly” beer. The first beer I was introduced to was the lovely IPA of Jai Alai. To this day, that is still the one beer that, if I see it while i’m out beer shopping, I will 100% gently place it in my cart. Jai Alai is actually some sort of game that was made popular in Spain. I actually didn’t know that until I started to drink the beer and my small brain didn’t even comprehend what it was until my dad actually told me. In 2010 and 2011, it actually won the gold and silver medals at the Best Florida Beer Championship. But, to me, I taste a very flavorful beer that is a little bit bitter, but also has the taste of a little orange and tangerine. If you’re a person trying to get onto the bandwagon of the IPA’s I highly recommend this beer. The bitterness isn’t too strong and in my opinion there is a little bit of fruitiness taste to it to kind of balance out that.

Since they are a brewing company, obviously there are many beers for all types of Pallets.  They have their Tampa style lager which is part of their regular releases. The lager, which has a 4.5% alcohol level with an IBU (internal bitterness unit) of 22, meaning the bitterness isn’t very high, that I would compare the taste to a Budweiser or something comparable to that. Either way it’s just like your everyday beer except made with different ingredients specialized by Cigar City..

If i’m outside kayaking, hiking or just playing some corn hole, AKA getting some free vitamin D, the beer I go for from Cigar City is the Florida Cracker. In my opinion it’s the 2.0 version of the lager. This beer has a 5.5% alcohol level and an IBU of 18, so it is a little less than the lager. This beer has tastes and aromas that make you want a second, third and fourth. With more of a citrus flavor with some hints of lime in it, it is definitely more on the flavorful side. Highly recommended for beer drinkers that are trying to get a little taste other than the malt in your regular domestic beers. The Florida Cracker also is on Cigar Cities Regular releases so it should be available almost everywhere you go in Tampa.

Next time you go out and get yourself a beer in the great area of Tampa Bay, make sure you stop at your local liquor store or grocery store and search the aisles for Cigar City, you will not be disappointed!