I sure love Cigar City Jai Alai IPA. Chances are, you do too. It’s a big, juicy citrusy beauty of an IPA, and one you can really sink your teeth into. But did you know there is an oak-aged version of Jai Alai? There is! Cigar City Jai Ali India Pale Ale Aged on White Oak is the name, and hops and wood are the game.

Actually, the notion of an IPA aged on oak should not be surprising. The first India Pale Ales that sailed from Burton to Bombay most undoubtedly picked up some wood character from the barrels they were transported in. Certainly, today’s American IPAs (including Jai Alai) are a far cry from the earliest English IPAs of Bow Brewery, Allsopp, and Bass. But American brewers have sought to recreate authentic versions of them, including aging them on oak or adding an element of oak (witness Portland Woodstock IPA, the first such beer I can recall, from 1999).

From the can label:

This is an American oak aged version of Jai Alai. The oak adds smoothing notes of vanilla and slight hints of dill to the aroma and flavor profile. The finish is elegantly dry due to the light tannin notes from oak aging and though still loaded with hop flavor, hop bitterness is more restrained.

Cigar City Jai Ali India Pale Ale Aged on White Oak has an alcohol content of 7.5% by volume with 70 IBUs. It runs $10.99 a 4-pack at Total Wine, which does not seem all that extravagant in my opinion.

Cigar City Jai Ali India Pale Ale Aged on White Oak pours to a slightly hazy orange color with a thick rocky head and a bright juicy orange citrus nose laced with notes of wood. Taking a sip, the beer is juicy citric up front and I’m not getting the vanilla but definitely getting a little resin and the oaky, woody notes. They really come out in the finish, where the beer ends dry with tannins and bitter hops.

This is excellent indeed my friends. The wood really accents the hops here nicely, and I will try this again a little fresher. Cigar City says Drink Fresh! Do not age! On the can, so of course I did, though not overly long. My sample was canned on 1/09/17 and I drank it on August 13^th, a fine Sunday afternoon. I kept it constantly refrigerated of course. I’ll be on the lookout for this beauty again. Won’t you?

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled

(D)=Draft

Home