S1P20 - Beer Review - Golden Ale

The Beer

Cigar City Brewing Golden Ale

• American Golden Ale 
• ABV 4.5%, IBU 28
• Built for the warmer months (of which Florida has plenty), Cigar City Brewing’s Golden Ale is brewed with American Willamette hops and pale wheat malt to create a low-alcohol American Golden Ale that balances bread-like malt flavors with herbaceous hops and a vibrant carbonation.
• Enjoy Cigar City Brewing’s Golden Ale wherever the sunshine takes you!
• Tasting Notes -Fresh baked bread, red apple and herbaceous hop aromas present themselves subtly on the nose while flavors of crackers and light pear-like fruitiness are punctuated by floral hop flavors and lively carbonation to create a crisp, quaffable Golden Ale.

The Brewery

Cigar City Brewing

• Founded in 2007, first beers 2009
• About 60,000 bbls a year. Over 6,000 different beers since 2009
• 3924 W. Spruce St, Tampa, FL 33607 - north of 275 west of Dale Mabry. Northwest Tampa not far from the airport
• Tasting room open Sunday-Thursday 11:00 to 23:00, Friday & Saturday 11:00 to 1:00am
• A location also in the airport
• Distribution originally in FL, GA, AL, PA & NY. Now 27 states

Since 2010, Cigar City has released Hunahpu's Imperial Stout every March with a large beer festival to celebrate the release. Each year over 5,000 beer fans attend and brewers from all over the world have poured their beer at the festival. Attending the Hunahpu's Day Festival is the only way to acquire bottles of Hunahpu's Imperial Stout.

Hunahpu's: Imperial Stout, 12% ABV. Named in honor of a hero in Mayan mythology, the stout is brewed with ancho and pasilla chile peppers, vanilla, cacao, and cinnamon.

• Other Beers -
• Jai Alai - IPA
• Guayabera - Citra Pale Ale (APA)
• Florida Cracker - Belgian style white ale with coriander & orange peel
• Lager
• Invasion - Tropical pale ale
• Tocobaga - Red IPA
• Maduro - Brown ale
• Cucumber Saison - Tropical ale & cucumber 

As of March 2016, Cigar City has partnered with Longmont, Colorado-based Oskar Blues Brewery to form Oskar Blues Holding Company which includes Oskar Blues, Cigar City, Perrin Brewing and the Utah Brewers Cooperative outfit that includes the Wasatch and Squatters brands.

The Review

This is a version of an IPA. In this case, called Golden, which it indeed is, but could just as easily be called an American pale ale or even a Tampa pale ale. It did not have much of a head nor did it lace the glass. In fact, it seemed to have lower than normal carbonation. 

This beer is marketed as a warm weather sessionable beer. The lower ABV lends itself to that. I find it hard to drink more than a couple of IPA type beers in a session. While this is not an overly hopped beer, there is enough bitterness to add up over time. That is just my preference. In general, I am not a huge IPA fan. This beer would be just fine with a meal. Also, the hops in this beer are not floral, citrusy or very aromatic. 

This is the fourth selection from Cigar City Brewing that I have reviewed. It is by far my least favorite. Nothing terrible, nothing outstanding. I rate Golden Ale a two (2) out of five (5). Try one of their other beers first. Guayabera, Jai Alai, and Lager are all better choices.

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