12 November 2017 - Best Beer HQ
Cigar City Tampa-style Lager Review
I had a can of Cigar City Brewing’s Tampa-style lager at an awesome eatery in Miami called Big Pink, a retro-hipster American-diner-style joint. I highly recommend it if you’re ever there. The portions are gigantic, and it’s obviously got cold craft beer in the fridge, which brings us to this week’s beer review…
ABV: 4.5%
IBU: 22
Blurb about the beer: Inspired by traditional German lagers, our Tampa-style Lager is brewed with German malted barley, Hallertauer hops and an authentic Bavarian lager yeast. We combine these ingredients to create a style that’s quite unique to our hometown of Tampa, Florida but will find admirers wherever a crisp, dry and flavorful lager is called for.
Taste test: I really hate reviewing lagers, to be honest with you. Good ones are so clean, crisp, and deceptively simple, which doesn’t leave me a heck of a lot to talk about. What colour is it? Well, it’s pale, yellow, straw-like, just like the overwhelming majority of lagers out there. Is it refreshing? You’re damn right it is.
Cigar City Brewing’s Tampa-style lager is also relatively thin (not like me, after the big burger I’ve just eaten), well carbonated, and bloody good in Miami’s oppressive summer heat.
The verdict: It ticks all the boxes, but my favourite Cigar City brew remains the Jai Alai IPA, which was next-level good (I realise it’s a bit unfair comparing a lager to an IPA, but just go check that beer out – you will not be sorry).
Beer/movie combination: In honour of Big Pink, the Miami diner where I drank this beer, I’m going to recommend Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs.
Take it away Mr Pink…
P.S. Unlike Mr Pink, I definitely DID leave a tip 😉