This will be the final blog post here, folks. We're moving onto greener pastures! This has been a great time and there's been a lot of amazing things we've discovered over the years. 305 blog entries later and we're still learning about what it takes to open up--and maintain--a great brewery in Florida.

What do we do with those barrels we use that make the beer taste so yummy when we are done with them?? Actually, the answer up to this point is really nothing.. 

These are the same barrels that have held Hunaphu's, Marshal Zhukov, and Big Sound. There's plenty of use left to them and  they would make great planters, rain barrels, even tables or more if you are a little handy and imaginative. We would do this ourselves, but we're just too busy making beer!

Want one, two, or a few for yourself? Here is your chance. We now have these gently used barrels for sale for $50 a piece from the brewery pick up only. (You will need a larger vehicle to accommodate these barrels, they're pretty big!)

If you would like to purchase one please get in touch with Charlie our tasting room manager and will be able to assist you. Charlie can be reached here at the brewery at (813)348-6363 or via email: charlie@cigarcitybrewing.com.

Cheers!
The CCB Crew

Sure it's the day after the holiday today, but by next week you know you will be recharged and ready to go again! Check out this night of great beer and food pairings.

It's going to be an evening of culinary adventure in North Pinellas county! Join us next Tuesday (Sept. 13th) at 7pm for a delicious meeting of the minds in Dunedin. The chefs from the Dunedin Smokehouse have come up with 5 courses of amazing food that we have paired with our own local ales.

The night is sure to be a very tasty one!
Here is a peek at the menu:

The largest beer festival in the world is once again taking place in Denver, Colorado this year. September 29th-October 1st is the Great American Beer Festival. If you don't already have your ticket, you're out of luck; the event sold out in record time!

Saturday, September 24th, 2011

Saturday, September 24th we are selling three different bottled barrel-aged variations of Hunahpu's Imperial Stout, only at the brewery. 
* Bourbon Barrel-aged Hunahpu's* Rum Barrel-aged Hunahpu's
* Whiskey Barrel-aged Hunahpu's

Each beer will be sold at a separate location in the brewery and tasting room. There is a one bottle limit per person for each beer. 
In addition, we will also be selling growlers of Virgin Oak Barrel-aged Hunahpu's at a separate location in the brewery. There is also a one growler limit per person for this beer.
The bottles and growlers are both priced at $25.
We will have several special now-growlered beers on tap for the event as well, to be announced soon.
The tasting room will open at 11am as always, but the sales for the bottles will start at 1:00PM.
We hope to see everyone there. It'll be a great time.

Fruit in the Room is THIS Saturday (August 20^th) there are still some tickets available in the Tasting Room or by emailing Toni@cigarcitybrewing.com. Advance tickets are $40 and they are limited, if there are any left the day of the event they will be $45. There will be somewhere around 30 beers available, 20 of them being our own creations and the others being from our friends at other breweries. The event will run from 4-7pm in the tasting room and ticket holders will be able to sample as much as they would like. Alternatively there will be an option for non-ticket holders to purchase the beers on tap for the event at $5 a pint.

 

Next week, some of the Cigar City crew will be headed down to have some fun in South Florida, so if you live in South Florida be sure to come out and have a pint or two with us! Here is some info about the events:

Join Fresh Beer and Tampa's own Cigar City Brewing as we take over the taps in August all across South Florida!

The fun beings on August 23, 24, and 25 at six different venues in Broward, Dade, and Palm Beach counties. Some of the rarer and more interesting brews from Cigar City will be on draft, including the GABF Gold Medal-winning Humidor IPA, White Oak Aged Jai Alai IPA, and Cucumber Saison. Check out the event list below for more information!

Many thanks to all who came out the celebrate the second annual release of Marshal Zhukov's Imperial Stout this past Saturday. We still have plenty of bottles available in the tasting room and they should also be finding their way to accounts though out our distribution footprint beginning this week.

Last week we put the Smoked Jalapeno Red Ale on tap in the tasting room. This was a collaboration with Tommy Orr, a member of Special Hoperations Homebrew Club of Tampa. His is the first of 4 very special beers we will be releasing in the next few months all brewed with members of local homebrewing clubs.

Here's how it all started:
This past March we chose a beer from each local homebrew club that participated in the events of this year's Hunuphu's Day party and we've been working together with the brewers of those beers to brew them. Each will be on tap in the coming months in the tasting room for you to try. Once they have all been on tap individually we will put them all on tap together and offer samplers of all 4 so we can get your opinion for a People's Choice vote. From there we will factor your opinions as we perform our own judging and choose one of the beers to be brewed in a full sized 15BBL batch to be served and to be submitted in the 2012 Great American Beer Festival's Pro Am Competition. We had hoped to have this ready to go for this year's competition, but with all that has been going on here at the brewery it has taken longer than we expected so we will be ready to go by next year's GABF.

The beers and their brewer's are:

Smoked Jalapeno Ale- Tommy Orr from Special Hoperations

Kumquat Amarillo Wheat Ale- Mark Stober from Tampa Bay BEERS

Belgian Strong Dark Ale- Dave Kmietek from Dunedin Brewer's Guild

Where's my Lips Double IPA- Bob Bridges from Pinellas Urban Brewer's Guild

Look for these beers to be on tap in the coming months and be sure to let us know what you think! When we are ready to put them all on tap together we will update you with another blog post so you can come try them all and give us your official vote.


Cheers!
The CCB Crew

We have sponsored a party this weekend in Orlando going to a very great charity educating people of all ages about animals of all kinds that are native to Florida. If you are in the Orlando area, stop by and have a few!


To help preserve the Earth's diversity with the use of "hands-on" education, enlightenment and entertainment. We hope to show our fellow man, and generations to come, that unless we become more concerned with providing immediate protection for the many endangered and threatened species of the world, we too are in grave danger of becoming a scarce and possibly extinct species ourselves.  *We will have LIVE GATORS on display at Wills along with lots of other wildlife. You can see and feel the animals we are trying to help!

We are asking for a minimum $5 donation

*Animals will be in a non smoking/music outdoor covered area


Cheers!
The CCB Crew

Join us today (Friday July 29th) as we release Black Whole brew that pays homage to the El Chupa Cobras, a band from Alabama very dear to the heart of Wayne Wambles our very own rock star on the brewing platform. This liquid delight; is a porter/dubbel hybrid with a big chocolate expression, mod­erate caramel and toasted biscuit notes, rounded out by hints of clove and black lico­rice.

Sales will be limited to Alabama and in our own tasting room where you can pick up bottles and try it on draft. Also released today to go along with the beer release is the El Chupa Cobras song "Black Whole" which can be downloaded free here: elchupacobras.band­camp.com

In addition to releasing this very musical beer, we will also be tapping a very interesting firkin. By now, especially if you like our Oatmeal Raisin Cookie you are used to drinking your baked goods so how's about Pecan Pie? At noon we will tap a fresh firkin of our latest creation.. Pecan Pie Brown Ale. What is it about us and baked goods? Who knows, but the beer will definitely be interesting! Come and have a few, it won't last long.

On tap in the Tasting Room:

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For all you South Florida CCB fans, on Thursday August 4th we will be hosting a beer dinner at Padrino's Cuban Cuisine in Plantation. This will be a special 5 course meal, each paired with an offering from us.

Here is a look at the menu and pairings: