Daily Loaf

Ybor brewery Cigar City has rocked the beer world since its first release last year, with ratings on beer review sites that put some of its brews at the top of the heap, along with widespread critical acclaim. Now the local brewery can add another bauble to its trophy case.

In the annual Great American Beer Festival National Beer Competition, Cigar City’s Cedar-aged Humidor Series India Pale Ale took a gold medal for the Wood Aged Beer category. Here’s a quote from judge and UK beer writer Melissa Cole that sums up why: Read the rest of this entry »

What’s the buzz on the latest issues in the Green Community? Check out what you may have missed this last week:

Sustainable beer 101: A guide to growlers- Benefits of refillable beer jugs far exceed the lure of fresh tap beer.

Refresh your mind, body and spirit by reconnecting with nature- Living in such a busy world these days overloaded with technology leaves little time to get back to the basics and connect with the planet we live on. Take some time out of your busy schedule and reconnect with nature, which will balance you physically, mentally and spiritually.

Ronald McDonald gets a pie in the face from PETA protester- Ronald McDonald takes one in the kisser from a PETA protester who is against McDonald’s “controlled-atmosphere killing” of chickens.

St. Petersburg College and Tampa Bay green building chapter announce partnership- St Petersburg College’s Corporate Training Office announced a partnership with the Florida Gulf Coast Chapter (FGCC) of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to provide a comprehensive sustainable building operations training course based on the LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance rating system.
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There’s a new phenomenon spreading around town: the growler. It’s essentially a big jug that can be filled and refilled with beer. A common storage and fermentation accessory used by homebrewers, this awesome artifact of beer culture is beginning to enjoy greater visibility and mainstream relevance. We’ve all been faced with the dilemma – the party must go on, but either the pub is closing or you can’t drink any more and then safely drive home. In places that are licensed to sell package alcohol, growlers resolve these predicaments. Read the rest of this entry »

House of Beer, Dunedin’s newest beer bar reaches out to brew fanatics by hosting a Grand Opening shindig that lasts all weekend. Starting Friday, the event will feature special drink prices that continue through the weekend, a ribbon cutting ceremony with Dunedin mayor Dave Eggers Saturday at 6:30pm, followed by a mayoral guest bartending stint. All tips received by Mayor Eggers will be donated to local charities Dunedin Doggie Rescue and Raising Hope. Read the rest of this entry »

Cigar City Brewing is relentless; they refuse to stop making ridiculously great beer. RateBeer recognizes their Hunaphus Imperial Stout as one of the world’s ten best Imperial Stouts, and Big Sound Scotch Ale ranks among the top ten of its style. Then there’s Bolita Double Nut Brown Ale, which ranks #1 in the brown ale category on RateBeer – it’s the best brown ale currently produced on the planet as judged by a massive group of very critical beer nerds. Yep, in our own backyard, folks. This is truly beer history in the making.

The side of Bolita bottles reads:

Bolita was a type of lottery popular with the working class citizens of the Ybor City district of Tampa. Bolita means, ‘little ball’ but profits from the illegal (and often rigged) game were anything but little. In the 1920’s Tampa native Charlie Wall was the undisputed kingpin of the Bolita racket.

Our Bolita is a Double Northern English-style brown ale that has a complex malt forward character with notes of chocolate, toffee and hints of roasted nuts in the finish. Bolita pairs well with Baklava, Big Band music, cool evenings and robust cigars.

Sounds great. Now check out this variation — Bourbon Barrel Bolita. It begins with Cigar City’s Bolita Double Nut Brown. After three weeks of fermentation, the brew is transferred to Maker’s Mark barrels. Three months later, it hits the bottling line, where each bottle is filled by hand and then individually numbered. Since this batch of Bourbon Bolita only yielded 221 bottles, it is a pricey beer, but it’s completely worth it. Read the rest of this entry »

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Restaurant News
Noshpit, episode 16: Brian talks about his review of Ravioli Company and Taylor gushes about a blindfolded wine dinner she attended

Cooking & Recipes
Shrimp Slider recipe: Great for cookouts
Vietnamese Noodle (Bun) Salad
First corn of the season: Roasted corn and bacon salad
Making cake frosting: Buttercream basics

Drinks

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Big Sound Scotch Ale, the latest seasonal release from Cigar City Brewing, can be purchased in 25 ounce bottles at Whole Foods, Leukens, Kingdom Liquors, World of Beer Clearwater, and several Total Wine locations. But get it soon; bottles are going fast, and once they’re gone, there’ll be no more until next year.

Luckily enough, I was able to persuade Wayne Wambles, the head brewer and man with the beer plan, to score a bottle that we could split. So we sat down at the Oldsmar Tap House and proceeded to geek the hell out on a really great beer. Read the rest of this entry »

Break out your calendars, beer fans. Here’s the scoop on this week’s brew agenda –

Thursday, April 30th : Oldsmar Tap House welcomes Dan Gordon, co-founder and original brewmaster of Gordon Biersch Brewery. Come out for an evening of mingling – and drinking, of course. A variety of Gordon Biersch brews will be available on draught. 300 State Street East, Oldsmar

More after the break:

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I love a good microbrew, and the last decade has brought hundreds of exceptional contenders to the table. A lot of these operations are just a couple of guys in a basement experimenting with new flavors. Some of them are future Sam Adams, preparing to take a place amongst the big boys both in distribution and recognition.

Cigar City Brewing Company is the brainchild of Joey Redner, with Wayne Wambles as head brewer. After a year-long wait, they’re finally open for business. Cigar City put together a dozen new tastes for their launch party, held on Saturday at the Oldsmar Tap House (300 State St. E. #107, Oldsmar, FL 34677), drawing a crowd that packed the place with beer lovers of every form.

Many pics after the break:

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Cigar City Brewing Launch Party
Oldsmar Tap House
Saturday, March 28. Starts at 2pm
I am really excited about this event, not only because I will be serving as a guest bartender for the day, but I will also be surrounded by a mountain of Cigar City’s brewed delights. I’ve sampled these joyous concoctions several times at trade shows and beer nerd events, but not a collection this extensive and drool-worthy.

As far as the beer lineup, 16 ounce pints of Maduro Oatmeal Brown Ale and Jai Alai IPA will be available all day. Limited edition beers will be tapped on a schedule until the keg or cask runs dry.

Schedule and more info after the break:

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