Cigar City Brewing Jai Alai India Pale Ale

Good evening all. After the wonderful IPA I had yesterday, I've decided to continue the trend with another hoppy beast, Jai Alai  from Cigar City Brewing. As I can't really think of anything to pad out tonight's introduction, let's get straight onto the beer....

Jai Alai (7.5% ABV) pours an amber colour with a fairly lively head that settles down to a patchy foam on the surface of the beer. The aroma is very resinous and sweet, with a slight citrus character in the background and a boozy aspect that supports the components well. The first time I stuck my nose into the glass was fantastic, as the oily hops hit me with a great intensity- marvellous stuff! The taste is fairly bitter, both during drinking and in the finish, with a rich piney flavour accompanied by a background sweetness. The mouthfeel is slightly thick with moderate carbonation. This is a big, full-bodied IPA that delivers rich flavours and a bitterness that would please any hophead. It reminds me of Hardcore IPA (BrewDog) a lot, so any fans of that beer or resinous IPAs in general would no doubt love this. I do like this beer, but I wouldn't deliberately seek it out or make it part of my regular rotation.

Until next time....