Cigar City Beer Dinner

[KeyWestBrewing]

I got home a few hours ago from a Cigar City beer dinner at a local restaurant and it was amazing. They brewed a 5 gallon batch of a Strawberry Saison exclusively for this dinner and had one of their beers on tap that they've never served on draft before only by the bottle... It was their ESB if I remember correctly. Either way it was cool being in a group of the first people to have one of CC's beers on tap. The reps were friendly and knew their beer down to being able to talk about the Saison's grain bill when I mentioned the taste of the biscuit malt in the finish. The BBQ sauce paired damn well with the spices of the Sugar Plum. Same with the second course. At first I didn't know if they would compliment each other but when I tried it out the combination became much bigger than the sum of its parts. The bisque had an incredible toffee like flavor on the front palate that transitioned amazingly to the spiciness of the chorizo and Key West Pink shrimp. The filet was on point though it was the potatoes that I couldn't get enough of. To top it off the dessert was possibly the best course. The pomegranate seeds added an awesome balance to the texture and flavor that played perfectly with the apple and spice of the tweaked Jai Alai IPA. I had a hell of a time so I had to share. Here's a pic of the menu....

 

[TopherM]

Nice! I'm lucky enough to live about 15 minutes from the Cigar City brewery and tasting room, so I do my food pairings at home with growlers

I try to tell everyone outside of their distribution area that Cigar City is definitely one of the top breweries in the country when it comes to quality brews, if not the top one or two.

 

[joshbhs04]

I got home a few hours ago from a Cigar City beer dinner at a local restaurant and it was amazing. They brewed a 5 gallon batch of a Strawberry Saison exclusively for this dinner and had one of their beers on tap that they've never served on draft before only by the bottle... It was their ESB if I remember correctly. Either way it was cool being in a group of the first people to have one of CC's beers on tap. The reps were friendly and knew their beer down to being able to talk about the Saison's grain bill when I mentioned the taste of the biscuit malt in the finish. The BBQ sauce paired damn well with the spices of the Sugar Plum. Same with the second course. At first I didn't know if they would compliment each other but when I tried it out the combination became much bigger than the sum of its parts. The bisque had an incredible toffee like flavor on the front palate that transitioned amazingly to the spiciness of the chorizo and Key West Pink shrimp. The filet was on point though it was the potatoes that I couldn't get enough of. To top it off the dessert was possibly the best course. The pomegranate seeds added an awesome balance to the texture and flavor that played perfectly with the apple and spice of the tweaked Jai Alai IPA. I had a hell of a time so I had to share. Here's a pic of the menu....



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Your killing me bro! I miss living 45 min from the brewery..

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

Lol sorry about that. And I totally agree I think Cigar City is one of the best breweries out there. Beer after beer everything they make is awesome, and they are a great group of down to earth people.

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

Just got back from another Cigar City beer dinner. I got to try their second pilot batch of Cucumber Lager and another test batch of Apple Cinnamon Brown Ale. Overall the beer and dinner was amazing. My favorite beer there had to be the Peach White Oak Aged Jai Lai. Nice peach aroma, peach flavor was there but complimentary beside the oak. As usual I got to pick the reps brain a good bit on the breweries process and things to come. They've apparently outgrown the brewery they just added, which was intended to hold things down for 5 years, in about 4 months and are already planning another expansion. Anyway here's a list of the courses...