Cigar City Jai Alai Clone

[sbartelski]

Had my first taste of this beer a couple of days ago and was blown away. So I will have to take the recipe and adapt for my Picobrew.

 

[bigringking]

Just put my recipe together in iBrewMaster, trying to stay as close to the original as possible based on percentages and IBUs. Not exact but should be pretty damn close. Here's what I came up with:

Jai Alai #1

Style: American IPA. OG: 1.076
Type: All Grain FG: 1.019
ABV: 7.47 %
Calories: 248 IBU's: 71.18
Efficiency: 72 %. Boil Size: 7.00 Gal
Color: 11.7 SRM Batch Size: 5.50 Gal
Preboil OG: 1.065. Boil Time: 60 minutes

I've entered my version of this into BS2 and will be brewing this tomorrow after church. I'm hopeful it turns out like the original. I spent a lot of time travelling to south Florida for work (ugh) and the thought of this beer is one of the few things that made the trips bearable.

I *hope* to let you good folks know how it goes....I'll post my version of the recipe when its in the carbouy.

 

[bigringking]

Well, I did brew this and the brew went....meh.

When I originally entered the hop schedule off the recipes I had found, my IBUs were 130. I hadn't yet changed the amounts based on the Alpha Acids of my actual hops. Plus I realized that I needed to adjust the hop amounts to the net bittering amounts that were posted earlier in the thread. So I did that in Beer Smith and got the recipe really close to the target numbers (all of them - OG ABV IBU etc.)

Because there are a lot of hop additions, I wanted them measured out during the mash so I didn't have t mess with them during the boil. Well, I used my original amounts, the ones that put me at 130 IBUs, and didn't realize that until after the 60 min addition went in. Plus, I blended all my hops in cups for the additions so it wouldn't have been easy (or really possible) to accurately back them out to the correct numbers. So I went ahead with a 130 IBU brew and we'll see how it turns out.

I know that after a certain point the IBU number can become a diminishing return. What I don't know is if my beer will taste bad with all those hops. Like too much of a good thing.

I did use the Thames Valley yeast and it is bubbling away now. We'll see in a month or so how my super-hoppy IPA turns out.

 

[slsBrewing]

BassBeer, do you have notes on the final gravity from your 1/26/14 brew? How did it turn out?

All, I have not used wyeast 1968 London ESB Ale yeast and am wondering what kind of attenuation to expect on a 1.074 beer. (Not looking for what the wyeast website says for attenuation; interested in the observed attenuation from brewing this beer.)

 

[brandongaspard1777]

I wouldn't worry too much about it being too bitter. Every time I brew this it's a little maltier, a little darker, a little higher attenuation, and a little less hoppy than the real thing. I even adjusted my mash temp down and my IBUs up to compensate on my last batch. Still a delicious beer, actually 5/6 people preferred the clone to the real thing (I was the dissenting opinion).

I find that with cloning any beer, no matter which one I've tried, these recipes are never spot on to the original. You'll have to brew it a few times and dial in your recipe to fit your system and you use your senses to figure out which way to move. And personally I don't think the extra IBUs will hurt this beer very much. Good luck!

Well, I did brew this and the brew went....meh.

When I originally entered the hop schedule off the recipes I had found, my IBUs were 130. I hadn't yet changed the amounts based on the Alpha Acids of my actual hops. Plus I realized that I needed to adjust the hop amounts to the net bittering amounts that were posted earlier in the thread. So I did that in Beer Smith and got the recipe really close to the target numbers (all of them - OG ABV IBU etc.)

Because there are a lot of hop additions, I wanted them measured out during the mash so I didn't have t mess with them during the boil. Well, I used my original amounts, the ones that put me at 130 IBUs, and didn't realize that until after the 60 min addition went in. Plus, I blended all my hops in cups for the additions so it wouldn't have been easy (or really possible) to accurately back them out to the correct numbers. So I went ahead with a 130 IBU brew and we'll see how it turns out.

I know that after a certain point the IBU number can become a diminishing return. What I don't know is if my beer will taste bad with all those hops. Like too much of a good thing.

I did use the Thames Valley yeast and it is bubbling away now. We'll see in a month or so how my super-hoppy IPA turns out.

 

[BassBeer]

BassBeer, do you have notes on the final gravity from your 1/26/14 brew? How did it turn out?

All, I have not used wyeast 1968 London ESB Ale yeast and am wondering what kind of attenuation to expect on a 1.074 beer. (Not looking for what the wyeast website says for attenuation; interested in the observed attenuation from brewing this beer.)

Looks like mine finished at 1.016, for 7.73% abv. According to my notes this batch was delicious, great hop presence and malt backbone, but didn't taste much like Jai Alai. Still an excellent IPA! I'm sure yours will turn out great.

 

[brewski09]

I swear this brew had some mosaic hops in it (2015 version) when I tried it a few months back. Anyone else picking up those very characteristic flavors from mosaic? I guess I'll have to brew this and then brew with mosaic in the mix to find out.

 

[brewski09]

Wow thanks Jakeasaur. Good job with that taste test and all. I love Jai Alai and am definitely going to do this.

Has anyone thought about aging this to emulate their humidor series (aged on "spanish cedar" )or White Oak Aged Jai Alai?

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Home Brew mobile app

I'm going to get a white oak spiral and try this out sometime in the next few months. Have you gotten around to it? Or anyone else?

 

[passedpawn]

I'm going to get a white oak spiral and try this out sometime in the next few months. Have you gotten around to it? Or anyone else?

I've done it with spanish cedar. I loved it. SC is VERY aromatic, and will have a lot more effect on the beer than oak, so if you go forward with that, make sure you understand what you'll end up with.

[edit] sorry, just to clarify, I brewed my own clone, not the one(s) in this thread.

 

[eric19312]

Can somebody post a decent side by side photo? Maybe its the green and orange can but every time I pour a Jai Alai I am amazed by the color of the beer. I really need something back lit and would be nice to compare both color and clarity. Thanks in advance!

Edited to say "and very sorry Jakeasaur I did appreciate your pic 2 pages back but looking for something that really shows the color better...gave you a like anyway for first pic"

 

[BreezyBrew]

I don't know if this has been posted or not, but it's worth a shot. Saw this from a post on this site regarding Tocobaga from 2013.

 

[brewski09]

Interesting that invasion gets double the dry bopping than jai alai and it's only a pale ale instead of an IPA. I wonder if it's because you get more out of the hops with the higher gravity in jai alai (I notice better dry hop utilization rates with higher gravities in my beers)

 

[BreezyBrew]

Interesting that invasion gets double the dry bopping than jai alai and it's only a pale ale instead of an IPA. I wonder if it's because you get more out of the hops with the higher gravity in jai alai (I notice better dry hop utilization rates with higher gravities in my beers)

I'd venture to guess that since the gravity is lower they are relying on more dry bopping for the bop character. Since it's harder to pack in bop flavor to lower gravity beers during the boil because they become overly bitter.

 

[gotbags-10]

Just came home from Florida for fall break. I drank this beer all week. Sooo good! Must brew the clone. It is so smooth and has a soft mouthfeel to it. Also I'm surprised at all the bittering hops. It literally feels like the bittering addition is not there at all. Or just very small addition. The other thing that got me was the very fine carbonation possibly leading to the softer mouthfeel. Has a water profile been discussed? I'm sure that has a lot to do with it as well. I've been following the Hill Farmstead thread on HBT and it's dedicated to making a softer mouthfeel via lower chloride/sulfates and or oats. Since oats aren't used I'll maybe try lower sulfates/ chloride. Sorry if this has all Ben discussed I haven't read through the thread yet.

 

[tgmartin000]

Just came home from Florida for fall break. I drank this beer all week. Sooo good! Must brew the clone. It is so smooth and has a soft mouthfeel to it. Also I'm surprised at all the bittering hops. It literally feels like the bittering addition is not there at all. Or just very small addition. The other thing that got me was the very fine carbonation possibly leading to the softer mouthfeel. Has a water profile been discussed? I'm sure that has a lot to do with it as well. I've been following the Hill Farmstead thread on HBT and it's dedicated to making a softer mouthfeel via lower chloride/sulfates and or oats. Since oats aren't used I'll maybe try lower sulfates/ chloride. Sorry if this has all Ben discussed I haven't read through the thread yet.

When I made this clone, it was nearly identical to the real thing. Mine had a bit more malt flavor to it, but otherwise they were identical. I've also been experimenting with lower sulfate levels. Rather than the 300 ppm many people cite, I've been shooting for 150 ppm, which has resulted in a smoother bitterness.

 

[BreezyBrew]

I forget now if it was discussed in this thread or not now, but Cigar City uses extract for bittering. Might also be something to get you closer as well.

 

[arnobg]

I just tried this beer yesterday for the first time and was amazed! Has anyone tried this again recently and have any updates on hops used and dry hop amounts?

 

[tgmartin000]

I just tried this beer yesterday for the first time and was amazed! Has anyone tried this again recently and have any updates on hops used and dry hop amounts?

When I made it the clone was pretty much dead on.

 

[brewski09]

When I made it the clone was pretty much dead on.

The recipe in post 1?

 

[tgmartin000]

The recipe in post 1?

Yep!

Headed to Florida in 5 days, can't wait to drink some fresh Cigar City!

 

[hylander0]

I was in Orlando with the Family for vacation. I picked up a Sixer to enjoy in the hotel. Boy was it delicious. I am definitely brewing some of this since I don't think I can get it in the Cleveland area.

 

[MFWINZLOW]

I am going to try this recipe as well in a week or two - and being near CCB I will do a side by side with fresh Jai Alai. Last 6er of Jai Alia I had last week was (2) weeks in the can.

 

[sbartelski]

My experience is that the draught version is significantly better that the cans, so if you like the cans, try hard to find a bar/restaurant with "the real thing".

I was in Orlando with the Family for vacation. I picked up a Sixer to enjoy in the hotel. Boy was it delicious. I am definitely brewing some of this since I don't think I can get it in the Cleveland area.

 

[brewski09]

I was in Orlando with the Family for vacation. I picked up a Sixer to enjoy in the hotel. Boy was it delicious. I am definitely brewing some of this since I don't think I can get it in the Cleveland area.

I wish we had distro of CCB in Ohio

 

[Murphys_Law]

I brewed this last Friday. Used a decent size starter and it went crazy! Can't wait to get it in the keg.

 

[Hulud]

didnt know if anyone had a more up to date clone recipe as i just stumbled across this one

the new stats to jai alai are

ABV: 7.5%
OG: 18
IBU: 70
SRM: 17

so it got a bit darker from what it was at the beginning of this thread

 

[MMJfan]

I just had my first try of this beer while I'm on vaca here in Venice, FLA and I will be brewing up this recipe when I get home!

 

[BilliardGuy74]

I have friends that live in Tampa that brought me some up to Central PA to try. It's delicious, and I've found it locally in 6 packs and even on tap once! Sbartelski is correct, it's great on tap! Found out of can get it in a keg in Harrisburg too!

 

[derekcw83]

Spanish Cedar is an absolute must. It is the signature flavor and aroma you need to make a clone. I'm still trying to figure out how long to age it on it but I found a good source for spanish cedar chips and shavings. Obviously the spirals are the best, but I can't imagine a clone getting the twist it needs without the spanish cedar.

 

[beernbourbon]

I know that's been held out as a variant, however, when we were there last year, during very a very pointed Q & A, there was no mention whatsoever of this sitting on any type of wood. Not saying they don't do it, just saying there was no mention of it.