Cigar City Brewing Company- Jai Alai

One of the coolest thing about visiting breweries when you kinda have an inside connection (and I use that term very loosely, as starting a beer blog hardly qualifies as having any clout in the beer industry), one of the coolest perks is snagging a beer fresh off the line. Trust me, it makes a huge difference.

I’ve been privileged enough to try freshly packaged beers at three different breweries. First at New Belgium, where if they’re bottling while you’re on your tour, it’s likely that you too can try a 15-minute-old Fat Tire. At Avery, I was able to try an Out of Bounds Stout that was seconds removed from being bottled and on my recent trip to Cigar City, I had the great fortune to try a newborn canned Jai Aliai IPA.

Jai Alai, one of Cigar City’s flagship beers is now one of four beers that Cigar City has begun canning. It boasts a strongly sweet citrus flavor that made this sampling taste a bit like Orange Crush. Who loves Orange Soda? Tristan loves Orange Soda, especially beer that tastes like orange soda. Jai Alai is extremely easy to drink with that sweet aftertaste following through the last sip.