So earlier in the year we took a trip to Tampa, Florida to taste the offerings brewed by the Cigar City Brewing Company. I have to say that at that time we were a bit less than impressed, but that may be because we were short on time and tried to taste as many beers as we could. Which beers did we try? Why their best selling mass market beers of course, and as with any brewery, for some reason, their best selling beers are typically the most underflavored because as we all know, the best selling beer in America is Bud Light. And we wouldn't want to shock the tastebuds of those who guzzle buckets of that swill, would we?
So our old friend Travis Kruger, their marketing and sales guru, challenged us to try some of their specialty beers. So off we went to Tampa to give them a second chance and I am forced to admit that I may have been hasty in my earlier judgement. The Good Gourd Imperial Pumpkin Ale is a delightful seasonal that I so much wish was available in Texas. I may be ... no, strike that ... it is definitely the finest seasonal ale that I tried this fall. The beer pours a cloudy orange-gold with a fluffy white head. The smell is of malts, pumpkin, nutmeg and gingerbread. Mmmmm .... yummy. The flavor? Thanksgiving in a bottle that tastes every bit as good as it smells. The malts, pumpkin and nutmeg are all there, vanilla, caramel and sweet bread make it a liquid dessert. Balanced, complex and magnificent. Bravo gentlemen.
I will suggest to you that later this winter, when you are tired of freezing your buns off, take a trip to the Florida sunshine and stop in Cigar City and have a few .... dozen ..... beers.
Cigar City Brewing
3924 W Spruce Street, Suite A
Tampa, Florida 33607
http://www.cigarcitybrewing.com/
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