Otter Creek Black IPA + Cigar City needs our help!!!

Before I begin with today's review I have just  found out that Cigar City's tasting room in Tampa may be shut  down. This  would  mean no more special events, no  more special tastings, and no selling of  beer from the tasting room.  I, like  many beer drinkers out there, am completely blown away and shocked by this. This post from the Cigar City website goes into greater detail then I can : 

Last Thursday we went to get our temporary wet-zoning made permanent and to extend our hours of operation. Since we have operated for two years without incident this should have been a rubber stamp. But, due to politics, a willful lack of understanding and what I personally believe is just a downright embracing of unfair practices, we got a 3-3 vote (you need 4 yes votes) and had to reschedule.

Our next trip in front of the Tampa City Council will be December 2nd. My birthday. We need 4 votes at this meeting and a following one or we lose our wet-zoning on the 16th of December. This means no more Tasting Room, no more special events, no more limited release parties, no beer for sell, at all, at the Tasting Room.

We have had no incidents at the Tasting Room. There has never been a police call for the brewery. We have never been cited for any violations. In short, we have shown, through our actions not our words, that we are a responsible business and neighbor. And oh by the way, while the economy has been stumbling along we have gone from 2 employees to 22. And some of those employees are in danger of losing their jobs because some members on the city council lack leadership and critical reasoning skills.

I don't know if we can change any minds. Some bias runs too deep. But I am humbly asking of everyone that supports craft beer in the Bay Area to help us. If you ever wondered why Florida is often considered a beer wasteland, dealing with provincial politicians and unfair laws is one of the reasons.  And we have run headlong into that fact many times. This is just another iteration of the climate breweries have to operate in here.

This is what you can do to try to help. Contact ALL of the members of City Council. If you live in the city and vote, tell them so. If you live outside the city or the state, tell them Cigar City Brewing is one of the reasons you come into the city to spend money. In short, let the council know that Tampa having a craft beer scene is important to you. Handwritten letters (addresses are int he links) are always more personal, but if you simply do not have time there is an online contact for each member. And there is a phone # for each member as well. Feel free to call and let the members know that CCB and craft beer are important to you.

These are the three members of Council who voted against us.

Gwen Miller
Thomas Scott
Curtis Stokes

These are those Council members who voted for us, let them know that you appreciate that they looked at evidence and fact and were not swayed by unsubstantiated claims.

Mary Mulhern
Yvonne Yoli Capin
Joseph Caetano

Finally, the member who was absent. Let Charlie Miranda know you support CCB and craft beer and are counting on his yes vote on December 2nd.

Charlie Miranda


I want to thank everyone for their support. When I look back at the last two years and see the growth we have had it both amazes and humbles me. And I know that any success we have had is due to our loyal supporters who buy our beer and spread the word to others. We appreciate and value that support and regret that we must lean on you again, but we truly do need your help again desperately.

Cheers,
The CCB Staff and Joey Redner


If you care at all about Cigar City beer you help by writing to those council members and let them know how  you feel about this situation. 


Brewer : Otter Creek (Vermont)
Style : Black IPA
ABV : ?

I never really heard about, or tasted, any black IPA's until a month or so ago, but since that time I've had the chance to taste a few and I can't seem to get enough. They seem hold a lot of qualities that I love in beer. Creaminess, hoppiness, great aromas, and not to mention taste. 
This one was an extra from SFLpunk, who I've traded with a few times, and always comes through with some great local stuff. This one was a great way to start off my Friday night after a long day at work. From the first pour I got a good amount of roasted malts in the aroma, plus creamy coffee and hops. The body wasn't super heavy, but it wasn't wimpy either. The flavors were a combination of roasted coffee bean and bitter hops, with a touch of malty flavor in there as well. Since this was a 12oz bottle I entertained the idea of keeping it all to myself, but my brother walked into the room and  I had to share the wealth. Overall it was a great tasting beer. 

Grade A

 

Rock Art Imperial Pumpkin Spruce Stout

Brewer : Rock Art Brewery (Vermont)
Style : Imperial Stout
ABV : 8%

Pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkins. I can't seem to get  enough of them, especially in my beer. I was lucky enough to land a bottle  of this in a trade I made last week with SFLpunk. Most pumpkin beers that  I've tried this year have been somewhat hit or miss. My high has got  to be Midnight Sun TREAT, while unfortunately, this would have to be my low. 
This was another bottle that I shared with my brother and buddy Pat. After cracking the top on the bottle I didn't really catch any aromas straight from the bottle like I normally would  with a strong pumpkin beer. So far not so good. I poured three glasses and inspected mine a little closer. It was definitely dark, that's for sure, but not as dark as a imperial stout should look in my opinion. I stuck my nose in trying to find a hint of pumpkin, but sadly came up with nothing. My brother could see what  I was thinking and said "So how disappointed are you with this one?" How disappointed am I? Well if this were a typical brown ale I would be just fine with it, but since it bares the title of Pumpkin and Imperial stout I definitely was expecting more. 
I finished off the glass and was sort of reluctant to pour another,  but being one not to waste/drain a bottle I finished it off.

Grade C

 

Dogfish Wrath of Pecant

Brewer : Dogfish Head (Delaware)
Style : Brown Ale
ABV : 6%

I have to give mad props to The Ferm over at www.dosbeerigos.com for giving me this hard to find beer for my birthday. I've heard threw the grape vine that this beer has a bacon flavor to it. Now I've had a few brown ales in my time, but I can't say that bacon has really been prevalent in any beer that I've tried. So needless to say I was a bit skeptical, but I was sorely wrong. 
I split the bottle with my brother and buddy Pat Friday night. It seemed to be the right time since the first cold front of the year had come through. The windows of the apartment were open, the AC was turned off, and the breeze was flowing throughout the entire house. I had a pretty good feeling that I was about to be blown away by this beer. 
The aroma had bacon quality to it, but more like maple bacon. As if you were having a stack of pancakes and you have your bacon right next to them. You don't just get the pancakes drenched with syrup, you get the bacon as well. That's sort of the feeling I got. The color wasn't all that brown, in the tradition sense, but I could see plenty of dark browning tints to it. The flavors were sweet and malty, but once the again the maple bacon took center stage here. My brother and Pat were just as blown away by the maple bacon flavor as I was, which is always a good that I had a real winner on my hands with this one.

Grade A

#700!!! Doris The Destroyer

Brewer : Hoppin Frog (Ohio)
Style : Imperial Stout
ABV : 10.5%

Happy Friday everyone out there in cyberspace beer world. Well today's review is somewhat of a milestone in my drinking career. Anyone who reads this and isn't a drinker would probably think "drinking career, ummm, yeah he's an alcoholic". This is not true folks. I limit my intake of beer very strictly, it's how I keep my slim girlish figure. I've got to look good for the ladies, or just lady (Kim) really. Anyways I really enjoyed this beer for a few reasons. Short story. I was sitting around on Saturday waiting for a beer package to arrive and I wanted to get over to my buddy Pat's house to  watch the FL vs. GA game, which we, FL, ending up winning in overtime by a field goal. It was half an hour before kick off and my package arrived in safe condition. I grabbed a few bottles and headed over to his place to relax and crack this bad boy open. I mentioned to Pat that this was my 700th beer and thanks for sharing in on this occasion. He simply responded "700th beer, dude your a fag". That's the Pat I've know forever. Comical and quite condescending, but that's just  how he is. He means well in the long run. So we cracked open the bottle and I poured a round for myself, Pat and his dad. We had a great little talk about Yuengling beer and the  owner Dick Yuengling. Apparently Pat's dad is good friends with Dick and he informed me that he has a house in Fort Lauderdale. Maybe a possible meet and greet in the future, who knows. The beer was great and the conversations were good as well. I'm glad I had those two there to help me finish this bomber because it would have been really tough on my own. 

A few notes on the beer.....

A definite destroyer of the palate. This one is pretty big, so be warned. The aroma is big and robust, with a large amount of oatmeal, dark chocolate, and coffee aromas. The pour is super thick, almost like motor oil. Soft, brown, bubbly head with a good retention. The mouth feel is pretty heavy, but hey, man up. A very enjoyable. beer. Crack it open and share, don't be a greedy bastard. 

Grade A

 

Real Ale Sisyphus

Brewer : Real Ale Brewing Co. (Texas)
Style : Barley Wine
ABV : 11.5%

Like I've mentioned in the past I love trying different beers that I've never heard of, or random beers that have been sent to me as extra's in a trade. This beer was an extra I got not too long ago, so far so good. The only thing that sort of let me down was that it was a barley wine. I'm warming up to barley wine's one bottle at a time, but they aren't my go to beer style of choice. I suppose they're a lot like DIPA's, which I love, but with a bigger malty flavor to it.  I don't know, I guess I just haven't had one yet that has blown me away. On with the review.

Definitely a big boy beer that's for sure. The aroma is hoppy swiftly followed by malts. The hops attack the palate first, somewhat heavy but nothing a pro can’t handle. Has faint citrus notes, but nothing too intense. A nice color of orange with brown tints. Good fluffy head which leaves a nice oily lacing. I actually enjoyed sipping this beer. The ABV is more on the bigger side, so it took me a little bit to finish this beer. 

Grade B

 

 

Mikkeller From/To

Brewer : Mikkeller (Denmark)
Style : Imperial/Strong Porter
ABV : 8%

So I didn't post anything yesterday, but I had good reason. My computer was getting worked on. The CD drive on it seems to not be reading anything and I had some new guitar software that I wanted to install. Long story short, I got the software installed but didn't get the CD drive fixed. Oh well, I'm not complaining.  So today I have a day off from  work, even though I don't really consider teaching guitar work,  I do enjoy it, and even more so, getting paid for it. But it gives me time to get back on with the blog and get some much needed/overdue guitar practice time in. 
So with today's blog I went with yet another Mikkeller beer. Now a majority of the beer that I've  had from them have been IPA's, so I was pretty excited to get a hold of From/To,  which happens to be a porter. Porters and stouts are probably two of my favorite styles to drink, I suppose it  has to do with the love of the  barley,  the thickness, and the sweet aroma. To each his own my friend. 

Has a dark brown pour with a thin head. Has somewhat of spicy aroma with a sweet sugar backing to it. It leaves a nice oily lacing around the rim as well. The flavor has a lot of dark chocolate in there, along with malts and possibly some coffee bean. Has a good amount of carbonation, but the head retention is somewhat minimal. It’s a great beer and incredibly smooth. Not the best porter I've had, but definitely one of the better ones. I was lucky enough to share this with some good friends at the Funky Buddha and everyone seemed to enjoy it. 


Grade B+

La Parcela

Brewer : Jolly Pumpkin (Michigan)
Style : Pumpkin Ale
ABV : 5.9%

Now that it's November 1st and Halloween is over, should we put away with the pumpkin beers and move on to Christmas beers? Hell no!!! As far as I'm concerned pumpkin beers don't stop until the day after Thanksgiving, when the Christmas tree lots open their doors and the trees are up for sale. That to me is when the Christmas season truly begins. 
With this past weekend being the Halloween weekend I figured it would only be in good fashion to have a pumpkin beer, since I know longer go door to door and trick or treat. I do that at the age of 27 and my neighbors will have me arrested. So I decided to crack this baby open, which got here just in for Halloween. 

Now I have been told that Jolly Pumpkin is primarily a sour/wild type beer producer, with the type of yeast they use in a majority of their batches, but I was hoping that the pumpkin flavor would prevail on this one. Well sadly it didn't. It was much like a sour beer, which I love, but I was hoping for much more of pumpkin/spice presence. The aroma and taste were dominated by the sour flavors and I was only able to get a little bit of pumpkin on the back end. But I can't say that I was too surprised though, as Mike from mikelovesbeer.com had told me a few days  prior that he had recently tried this one was not impressed with the pumpkin balance, and he doesn't even like pumpkin beers. So I guess I was a little disappointed but I was glad that I got the chance to try it. 

Grade C