Cigar City's Hunahpu's Day

I was honored to represent Cosmo's Beer Blog in the fantastical world that is Cigar City at this years' Hunahpu's Day.  Still being a little wet behind the ears as a beer guy I didn't know what to expect.  The only beer festivals I have visited in the past were a handful of Octoberfests that didn't excite me too much and Three Floyd's 35th Anniversary and Dark Lord Day 2011, which did excite me very much.

Three Floyds makes some of the best beer in the world (in my humble newbie opinion), but they still have a little bit to learn about how to throw a festival.  Be prepared to wait in long long long....long lines. 

So how did Cigar City's Hunahpu's Day compare to Three Floyd's Dark Lord Days?  It was amazing.  We arrived around 9:45 am waiting for the gates to open at 11:00...not too early, not too late.  The line was fairly long, but wasn't too scary yet.  While standing in line some new friends explained what was going to happen; a crew of Cigar City employees are working their way up the line checking IDs and giving us a wrist band.  After them will come a second crew of Cigar City employees giving us a second wrist band...a gold one, to be able to purchase Hunahpu's beer at 3:30pm that day.  Once the clock struck 11:00 am, the gate opened and we flooded into Cigar City's showcase of fun.  Amazing.

Armed with a map of the terrain, also provided by the crew from Cigar City, it was time to navigate to one of the many stations and acquire a beverage.  All of the stations provided Hunahpu's (genius) as well as their own special varieties in addition to the event beer; mixing it up while providing variety...again; genius.  So many amazing breweries were represented.  Check out tweets @cosmosbeerblog for some other pics and comments.

Also, check out the quick video of the adventure at Hunahpu's Day.  If you were there you might just see yourself :)



Broma Theon "food of the Gods"

-Charles

Cedar Aged Jai Alai

Cedar Aged Jai Alai by Cigar City Brewing
Style / abv: American IPA / 7.5%
Source / Temp: Bottle / 50 deg
Glass: Small Snifter

Appearance: Medium golden peach brew with a fizzy white head.

Aroma: From the instant that I brought the glass to my nose, it was apparent that this would be another interesting brew by Cigar City. This beer has a big cedar aroma with marmalade, grapefruit, and a touch of spiciness.

Taste: Wow, what an interesting beer! The sweet citrusy front is followed by a slight marmalade middle and then a fairly strong dry cedar finish that bites the tongue.

Drinkability: This beer is quite drinkable in part because of the watery, medium carbonated body and in part because of the enticing flavor.

Notes:
I was skeptical that cedar could offer anything to Jai Alai. To be completely honest, I was skeptical that cedar could improve any beer. I was wrong. This is one of the most interesting beers that I've ever had and one that I greatly look forward to having again. As with Hunahpuh's and Marshal Zhukov's, I find that between the amazing aroma and delicious taste, I can hardly set my glass down. A buddy of mine once said that everything Cigar City brews is awesome. I'm only five brews in, but so far I am very impressed.

Thanks to Charles for sending me this for my birthday!

I give Cedar Aged Jai Alai 9 out of 10.

Eis Igian,
Randall

Cigar City

Just visited the lovely Cigar City brewery in Tampa, FL. I will post a review of what they had on tap soon. I'll just briefly state that their offerings to us crazy micro beer fiends was quite the beertopia. Looking forward to doing a video blog of their infamous Hunahpu's day this March.

-Charles

Marshal Zhukov's Imperial Stout

Last September, a good friend shared a bottle of Hunahpuh's with most of the bloggers here. We were all blown away by that amazing stout and ever since then, I have been very interested to try the base stout that Cigar City Brewing uses to create their Mayan inspired Hunahpuh's. Recently, the same friend was kind enough to share this foundation:

Marshal Zhukov's Imperial Stout by Cigar City Brewing
Style / abv: Russian Imperial Stout / 11.5%
Source / Temp: bottle / ?
Glass: Large Wine Glass

Appearance: Completely black ale with a thick mocha brown head.

Aroma: The aroma is both appealing and unusual. I smell cocoa powder, molasses, soy sauce, and I detect just a hint of alcohol.

Taste: I taste creamy molasses, dark cocoa powder, and a medium roasty finish. This is a very sweet brew, but the roasted malt finish balances the taste nicely.

Drinkability: Despite Zhukov's being an extremely thick brew with only medium carbonation, I find it to be surprisingly drinkable. Not drinkable like a glass of pilsner after mowing the yard in the hot summer sun, but rather drinkable like a cup of hot chocolate that you just can't put down on a cold winter's day.

Notes:
As Zhukov's warms, I notice more roastiness in the finish to the point that it actually tastes a bit smokey.

Some aspects of this beer feel like they contradict one another: good and strange aroma, sweet and roasty taste, thick and drinkable body, highly alcoholic with almost no evidence in the taste or aroma. Yet somehow they all work together for an extremely enjoyable beer and one that I will seek out again.

I give Marshal Zhukov's 9 out of 10.

Eis Igian,
Randall