Dear Cigar City Jai Alai IPA,<\/p>\n
Happy Anniversary.<\/p>\n
Though I often think of the first time we met, the good robots of Facebook Memories reminded me this morning of exactly when it was with the following post. <\/p>\n Ten years ago.<\/p>\n I had no idea we were going to meet Noticing a crew setting up something \u201cWe\u2019re setting up a beer festival,\u201d My interest was piqued. It was called \u201cHow would y\u2019all like to spend a few No arms were twisted. <\/p>\n Let\u2019s back up in my life a little. But my beverage of choice at the So the idea of trying a variety of But back to you, Jai Alai. <\/p>\n That beer geeks on my team at my day Little did I know that my chance would come that spring day I tried the Maduro first. Loved it. And oh, Jai Alai, how I As I wrote in a comment on that original post: \u201cMany It was more than your taste, though, \nhttp:\/\/www.fla-gaming.com\/jai-alai-2\/\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n Though in my lifetime, I could count Back to the beer.<\/p>\n Needless to say, my palate soon Then in 2012 you made it into cans, During this time, I started blogging Usually their next words were, \u201cAh, Your reputation preceded you.<\/p>\n Over the years, for various reasons, Your label changed, but it still paid In 2016, I was honored to moderate a panel on \u201cThe Beer Industry in Tampa and Florida\u201d <\/a> at the Beer Now Conference in Tampa (then known as the Beer Bloggers and Writer Conference). <\/p>\n On that panel was Cigar City Brewing I then asked the audience \u2013 about 150 \u201cIf you could go to your local Everyone raised a hand.<\/p>\n Not long before that, Cigar City Soon, Cigar City\u2019s offerings made their way to other states, led by you, Jai Alai. In October, it was announced that Jai Alai is \u201cthe third fastest growing top 50 craft brand in the U.S.\u201d according to Brewbound.com. <\/a><\/p>\n You\u2019re even in 12-packs!<\/p>\n I\u2019m happy for your success, Jai Alai. But I hope you\u2019ll I\u2019ll never forget.<\/p>\n Love,<\/p>\n Gerard<\/p>\n P.S. Want to meet me outside on the patio?<\/p>\n P.P.S. Any of you have Jai Alai stories you want to share? \n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/beerinflorida.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/fb-post-1.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n
\nthat day, Jai Alai. My then-wife and my daughter \u2013 5 years old at the time \u2013
\ndecided to spend the weekend in Central Florida, and they had some shopping to
\ndo. We ended up at Waterford Lakes Town Center in East Orlando. While they
\nperused shoe stores and clothing shops on a beautiful spring morning, I scouted
\nout a place where we could have lunch. <\/p>\n
\nin an area of the expansive parking lot, I wandered over to ask a worker what
\nwas going on.<\/p>\n
\nhe said. <\/p>\n
\nthe East Orlando Beer Festival. I found out the details and when it would
\nstart. I called my wife and told her where we would meet for lunch. Once she
\nand my daughter arrived there, I had one question for her.<\/p>\n
\nmore hours here shopping?\u201d<\/p>\n
\nWe were living in Sarasota at the time, and though I had been \u201cinto\u201d craft beer
\nfor a while, it was far from a big part of my life. I had visited a few
\nbreweries here and there and learned a bit about it, and leaned toward drinking
\nit when it was available. Some of the guys at work were far geekier about it,
\nand I learned a lot from them.<\/p>\n
\ntime was, I believe, Corona Light. With a twist of lime, of course. <\/p>\n
\ncraft beers from around the country and a few from Florida certainly appealed
\nto me. And that\u2019s what I did that afternoon.<\/p>\n
\njob had mentioned the buzz they had been hearing about the new \u201cCigar City\u201d
\nbrewery in Tampa. Being a Tampa native, the name appealed to me. I was looking
\nforward to trying it out.<\/p>\n
\na decade ago, for as I turned down a row, there was table bearing a Cigar City
\nBrewing banner. I immediately made for it. Two dudes were behind the table
\nserving samples of two beers: Maduro Brown Ale and, of course, Jai Alai.<\/p>\n
\nwish I could say it was love at first sip. But it wasn\u2019t. I wasn\u2019t used to such
\nbitterness and floral flavors and citrus and caramel all at once. Don\u2019t get me
\nwrong. I was intrigued. But not enamored.<\/p>\n
\nmicrobrews,2-3 ozs. at a time. Impressed w\/ offerings from new cigar city
\nbrewery, esp. jai-alai IPA.\u201d <\/p>\n
\nJai Alai. I loved your name, described on your can as so: \u201cThe merry game of
\njai alai provides inspiration.\u201d<\/p>\n
\non one hand the times I visited the Tampa Jai Alai Fronton to watch the players
\nwhip that ball against the wall using the wicker cestas strapped to their arms,
\nit was not so with my father. He went pretty much every Friday night, and when
\nhe hit a trifecta, he returned with a crisp $5 bill for each of us kids who
\nwere still living at home at the time.<\/p>\n
\nadjusted to the joy that is you, Jai Alai, and eventually I made it to that new
\nbrewery in Tampa. Before long, you were being bottled and I started finding you
\nin the darndest places across the state.<\/p>\n
\nand I made it a point to swing by the brewery to grab a sixer of that first
\nrun. I still have the (empty) cans on a shelf in my kitchen.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/beerinflorida.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/can-shot-1024x768.jpg\")
\nand writing about craft beer, and sometimes found myself attending various
\nfestivals, conferences and events across the country. When someone asked where
\nI was from, I told them \u201cFlorida.\u201d <\/p>\n
\nCigar City,\u201d and often followed by \u201cJai Alai.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nyour recipe was tweaked, but under the guidance of Cigar City Brewmaster Wayne
\nWambles, it would only be noticeable to the most refined of palates.<\/p>\n
\nhomage to \u201cthe merry game\u201d and your roots. <\/p>\n
\nfounder Joey Redner. At one point, someone asked him about expanding
\ndistribution throughout the country. His response, to paraphrase, would be that
\nit\u2019s difficult because first they would have to ensure that there would be representation
\nnot just in specialty beer stores and such, but also on supermarket shelves in
\norder to make it worthwhile.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/beerinflorida.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Panel-photo.jpg\")
\nor so beer bloggers, writers, social media influencers and communicators from
\nacross the country and around the world \u2013 this question: <\/p>\n
\ngrocery store and buy Cigar City beer, would you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\nbecame part of a new partnership with Oskar Blues Brewing \u2013 a consortium with a
\nfew other breweries that became the Canarchy Craft Brewery Collective. <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/beerinflorida.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/12pack-shot-768x1024.jpg\")
\nalways remember our first meeting, 10 years ago today.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/beerinflorida.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/patio-shot-1024x768.jpg\")
\nYou can add them in the comments. <\/p>\n