Florida wasn’t on most craft beer maps in 2009 when Cigar City Brewing opened in Tampa. Wayne Wambles changed that with beers like Jai Alai — a big, flavorful IPA named after the Cuban sport popular in South Florida — that proved warm-weather states could brew cold-weather serious beer.Jai Alai pours amber-gold with a thick white head. The aroma is immediately tropical and citrusy: orange peel, tangerine, a light pine note underneath. It smells like Florida in the best possible way. The flavor is bold — orange and grapefruit up front, substantial malt providing support, a bitter finish that dries out the sweetness cleanly. At 7.5% ABV with 70 IBUs, it has presence without being a challenge.The tropical hop profile makes Jai Alai feel like a bridge between old-school American IPAs and the hazy/tropical beers that came after it. It’s not soft or hazy — it’s clear, clean, classically built — but the flavor palate anticipates where the craft world was heading. That’s a credit to Wambles’ formulation.Wide distribution in the Southeast, and increasingly national. Cans are more common than bottles now, which suits an IPA that benefits from oxygen exclusion. Buy it as fresh as you can find — the tropical notes fade first.🍺 Style: American IPA📊 ABV: 7.5% · IBU: 70🏭 Brewery: Cigar City Brewing — Tampa, FL★ Rating: 4.3/5One of the IPAs that put Florida on the craft beer map. Still one of the best things coming out of Tampa.
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