Jai Alai Cedar Aged IPA

This one is still in queue but I had the real deal while in Tampa last week. What a terrific beer. Way more wood in the flavor than I expected. Delicious.

Cheers,
Bob

Got some Spanish cedar spirals from Wayne Wambles at Cigar City. Man, you just wouldn't believe how aromatic, spicey cedar-y this wood is. I dropped it into an IPA that's been sitting on dry hops. Can't wait.

It smells EXACTLY like the Humidor Series IPA. I love that beer. I dream about it.

passedpawn said:

Got some Spanish cedar spirals from Wayne Wambles at Cigar City. Man, you just wouldn't believe how aromatic, spicey cedar-y this wood is. I dropped it into an IPA that's been sitting on dry hops. Can't wait.

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Wow that's awesome! Did you email him or just ask while you were at the brewery?

I'm gonna be there in February and would love to score some as well.

bovineblitz said:

Wow that's awesome! Did you email him or just ask while you were at the brewery?

I'm gonna be there in February and would love to score some as well.

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I've talked to Wayne about it previously (I see him about town occasionally). I was at the brewery to meet Charlie Papazian, and saw Wayne and he got them for me.

He is a supremely nice guy. If you can find him at the brewery, I'm sure he'll hook you up. (He's the head brewer)

Bring two large baggies. This stuff will stink up everything. The smell goes right through one baggie.

Nice..I wonder where he gets them from? Are spirals specifically made for brewing or do they have any other purpose?

cercueil said:

Nice..I wonder where he gets them from? Are spirals specifically made for brewing or do they have any other purpose?

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No idea. I should have asked.

They are made for this specifically. They have no other application.

the cedar does smell awesome. i bought a board last yr and made my own version of a spiral.. cut it roughly 1"x1"x8" then used my chop saw to cut slits every 1/2" allmost all the way threw the wood. it is not round but does have alot of surface area...

i did a search on the web about spirals they are mostly used in wine and one of the websites went on to explain why they are cut spiral...

Awesome, I'll send an email inquiring a few weeks before I'm headed there. Can't hurt

I looove the cedar J'ai Alai

how long does this sit on the cedar? I see the OP says 2 weeks, but curious what people have done with experience.

Where have people sourced this locally? Wondering if a specialty shop of any kind is likely to have this.

Nice watch Flavor Flav. Maybe you can sweet talk him into distributing more beers out to us Atlantic coasters.

Jewrican said:

how long does this sit on the cedar? I see the OP says 2 weeks, but curious what people have done with experience.

Where have people sourced this locally? Wondering if a specialty shop of any kind is likely to have this.

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Hey Jew,
Try your local Woodcraft store. They sell spanish cedar planks for woodworking. Cut them into small chunks with a chop saw and dose your beer for 2 weeks.

I made an IPA with spanish cedar, won a couple medals. Great beer.

Just an fyi, i called barrell mill and they want 7.75 or something for two spanish cedar spirals.

Nice. I never saw them on their site. Good that you called.

Jewrican said:

how long does this sit on the cedar? I see the OP says 2 weeks, but curious what people have done with experience.

Where have people sourced this locally? Wondering if a specialty shop of any kind is likely to have this.

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7 days according to cigar city. I did 7 days and the cedar is quite pronounced. When you smell the wood you'll see why. I used spirals. (btw, my local Woodcraft did have Spanish cedar, per a phone call)

No comments on how the recipe compares to the original. Is the recipe that bad?

I probably missed this somewhere but what makes cedar different from the other softwoods? I've read a lot about refraining from using softwoods in beer for one reason or another.

nduetime said:

I probably missed this somewhere but what makes cedar different from the other softwoods? I've read a lot about refraining from using softwoods in beer for one reason or another.

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Spanish Cedar is actually part of the mahogany family, so it's a hardwood. Don't know what that actually means though.

I added this wood to an IPA and it was phenomenal. Clone? I don't think so, but stunningly unique. I've got some more spanish cedar for my next IPA - can't wait!

passedpawn said:

Spanish Cedar is actually part of the mahogany family, so it's a hardwood. Don't know what that actually means though.

I added this wood to an IPA and it was phenomenal. Clone? I don't think so, but stunningly unique. I've got some more spanish cedar for my next IPA - can't wait!

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passedpawn - Any comments as to how taste differs? Opinions appreciated.

TrubHead said:

passedpawn - Any comments as to how taste differs? Opinions appreciated.

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Sorry, I didn't make the recipe in the OP. I added this wood to an IPA of my own. Sorry if something I posted above was misleading.

passedpawn said:

Sorry, I didn't make the recipe in the OP. I added this wood to an IPA of my own. Sorry if something I posted above was misleading.

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Thanks for the reply. I wasn't sure who brewed this recipe so no harm done.

Hope Debby didn't overdo it with rain in your neck of the woods.

TrubHead said:

Thanks for the reply. I wasn't sure who brewed this recipe so no harm done.

Hope Debby didn't overdo it with rain in your neck of the woods.

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Oh yea Debby did us good. Tons of flash floods, but it cleared up pretty fast once the rain stopped. I sat on my covered back patio and cleaned kegs and smoked a couple of pork butts. I enjoyed the day really.

passedpawn said:

Oh yea Debby did us good. Tons of flash floods, but it cleared up pretty fast once the rain stopped. I sat on my covered back patio and cleaned kegs and smoked a couple of pork butts. I enjoyed the day really.

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Kudos for staying productive. I'm into the smoking thing too. Lately have a hankering for grass fed brisket to smoke.

I'm going to have to try this recipe since I really like their Humidor IPA.

BlakeL said:

I'm going to have to try this recipe since I really like their Humidor IPA.

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Don't expect it to be similar since there are no indicating comments.

Gonna try this recipe today with the Cali ale yeast starter since that is what I have at the moment and if it's any good, I will use the correct yeast next time

Wanted to bump this and see how the clones are turning out. I just had one without wood and thought it was exceptional.

I have a couple of these at the house, but not a big fan of the Humidors. I went to the LHBS and got the grains, so I will update everyone in about a month or so.

Did anyone else brew this? How close is it and does it make a nice beer? I have never had the real thing, but would love to give this recipe a whirl if people think it is close.

Just finished off my keg last night, the color is a little off but the taste is on the money. Will be brewing again.

You brewed the original recipe in the OP? Someone mentioned dry-hopping with citra and simcoe.

I haven't tried the humidor or white oak series, but I think the white oak will be more along my lines. I love me a tropical beer.

I need to make this. I never really liked IPAs all the much until I tried Jai Alai last year. I promised the wife a hefe next, but maybe I can squeeze this in.

The Cigar City guys opened a brew pub just down the street from my house in North Tampa. I got to meet Wayne briefly the other day, he was busy doing the first batch in the pub micro brewery. I have a new favorite stop. I do like supporting quality local brewers like this.

I didn't use any cedar, but the beer is about spot on.

Ok... when I plug this into Beersmith, I'm getting an IBU of 120.

That seems a little coocoo for an IPA. I don't remember this beer being that bitter. I could see that level of IBUs being great in an aged IPA, since the bitterness fades/mellows after a while, but I'm not looking to make an aged IPA, just want to make the regular Jai Alai. :S

Hey guys, check out my thread on the jai alai clone. It should be very close, all the info I took straight from an interview with Wayne on a podcast. As far as getting some spanish cedar I'm pretty clueless myself. He said in the interview that most lumber yards carry it and you should have the outsides shaved off to keep out gunk and that you want a 12-15 inch spiral for a 5gal batch. Cheers.

Finally made the non-humidor version of this, yesterday. I did something horribly wrong with my water calculations, and ended up putting in an extra 2 gallons in the mash, so I'm going to end up with 7 gallons of 6.5% beer vs. 5 gallons 7.5%.

Checked the ferm chamber this morning and there's a huge amount of krausen on the rise... so awesome! Didn't even take 8 hours to jump into active fermentation!

FG on this was 1.014, which is exactly in range for Cigar City's 3-3.5P completion

Dry hopped w/ 2.5oz Simcoe and dropped it in the keezer @ 3C (37.4F) for the next 12 days.

From what I heard in the podcast, I believe that the grist percentages and hop IBU levels are more important to this beer than amounts as in the OP. Also the fermentation schedule is quite important.

Here's the recipe I built for 5.5 gallons of Jai Alai from the podcast:

OG: 1.075
FG: 1.015
ABV: 7.8%
IBU: 72
Efficiency: 77%

13.75lbs Rahr 2-Row (90%)
.75lbs Crystal 60 (4.8%)
.75lbs Weyermann Munich 1 (4.8%)
1oz Victory (0.4%)

As for the hops, this is what I did:

Tinseth Calculation:

FWH (set as ten minute, IBU is just a guesstimate):

Columbus 14% .5oz 7 IBU
Ahtanum 6% .5oz 3 IBU

Bittering: 60min

Amarillo 10% .72oz 18 IBU
Ahtanum 6% .71oz 10.7 IBU
Columbus 14% .30 oz 10.5 IBU

Flavor: 15min

Cascade 6% .75oz 5.6 IBU
Columbus 14% .38oz 5.7 IBU
Centennial 10% .40oz 5 IBU

Aroma: 6min

Cascade 6% .85oz 3 IBU
Amarillo 10% .30oz 1.8 IBU
Ahtanun 6% .62oz 2.2 IBU

Dry Hop:

3oz Simcoe

(Or as some have suggested, 50/50 with Citra)

Thames Valley 1275 or 1968 London ESB

Ferment at 66 for 7 days, then on day 8 drop to 64 and rack to secondary. Add dry hops once temp has stabilized then drop the temp 10 degrees every day until you reach 34, then leave it at that temp for a total of two weeks contact time.

If you're adding wood, add it at the same time you add the dry hops.

Remember, you will have to adjust your hop additions based on your alpha acid percentage to get the correct IBU level. Cheers!

A little resurrection... for subbing, and also (more importantly) I am curious if others have cloned this. Any other recipes out there?

For those still interested in cloning Humidor IPA, the latest issue of Zymurgy (May/June 2014, p. 7) has the recipe supplied by Wayne Wambles himself.