Cigar City Hopped on the High Seas (Simcoe)

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 9

12oz can courtesy of Homer321 pours with a clear copper colored body that supports a dirty white head of foam. The modest aroma offers up citrus mixed with a bit of tropical fruitiness and then a razor thin edge of earthy tea. The taste isn’t nearly as modest as it floods the senses with a bunch of malt sweetened grapefruit and tangelo citrus hop flavor that only gets more and more bitter with hoppiness to midway. Toward the finish it picks up resiny hops, a faint mineral note and then a pleasing earthy tea that isn’t black tea leaves but somehow I’m getting an earthy red tea sort of thing. Nice one, lots of hops from flavor to bitter and plenty of depth and goodness. I dig it, regardless of what Geiger says.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

A cloudy yellow colored beer with a small, three fingered head rising above. Some hang time on the head. A thin ringlet is left behind. Intense grapefruit profile in nose and tasting. Sharp acidic hoppiness matches the sweetness of the grapefruit and malt. Light, effervescent.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

This was the 2nd batch (with Ahtanum hops). Their first batch release was with Simcoe. For Cigar City, this is a little disappointing. An apparent step down from Jai Alai. They are putting new labels and marketing with these new beers...but the quality seems to be dipping a bit. Mouthfeel is decent, smooth and refreshing. Flavor is tropical citrus, piney, and hoppy. Medium pale yellow appearance. I wish there was some more malt though. Good beer, but not one I'll regularly be drinking....vs. Torpedo, which is almost half the price and better IMO.