Tocobaga Red Ale | Cigar City Brewing
Brewed by:
Cigar City Brewing
Florida, United States
cigarcitybrewing.com
Style: American Amber / Red Ale
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 7.40%
Availability: Year-round
Notes / Commercial Description:
Pours amber in color with notes of citrus and caramel. Citrus hop bitterness upfront with notes of caramel and an Amish bread sweetness. Citrus hop bitterness returns at the end for a long dry finish.
75 IBU
Added by tpd975 on 09-15-2010
View: Beers | Place Reviews | Events
Ratings: 1,420 | Reviews: 238
3.5/5 rDev -15.3%
IdrinkGas, May 14, 2012
4.15/5 rDev +0.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4.26/5 rDev +3.1%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
On tap at the brewpub. From notes.
A - Dark gold/copper sorta colour with a one finger beige head. Bright. Great long drapes of lace and a one finger retention.
S - Bready, lot's of citrus, juicy, nice.
T - Lot's of citrus, good malt backbone, juicy, pineapple.
M - Good carbonation, full body, nice bitterness.
O/D - A nice strong, hoppy red. Drinkable and flavourful. Enjoyed the amped up balance. Good stuff.
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look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
On tap at the brewpub. From notes.
A - Dark gold/copper sorta colour with a one finger beige head. Bright. Great long drapes of lace and a one finger retention.
S - Bready, lot's of citrus, juicy, nice.
T - Lot's of citrus, good malt backbone, juicy, pineapple.
M - Good carbonation, full body, nice bitterness.
O/D - A nice strong, hoppy red. Drinkable and flavourful. Enjoyed the amped up balance. Good stuff.
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4.25/5 rDev +2.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.28/5 rDev +3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5
Thanks to moose3285 for yet another bottle of Cigar City, as I wind my way slowly through their entire bottle population. Mostly thanks to the mooseguy. I like moose. I've seen a few out of a canoe. They're big enough to be scary & intimidating. The animal, not moose3285. 750 ML bottle poured into a pair of pint glasses.
Pour is red squirrel amber, deep, vibrant, but quieter. An uncouth pour results in an overabundance of head in the first glass; more caution is exercised for the second. Smell is typical sweet malts, but cut nicely with citrus; but the smell vanishes quickly. Odd.
Tocobaga Red Ale is deep into the red. The malts are beautiful, racing from sweetly smiling to slightly toasted to caramel. Citrusy hops are mild, sensed more in the nose & aftertaste than the foreground. Underlying earthiness doesn't detract, but adds a nice layer. Crisp for a red, & as my wife put it, 'chuggable'. 750ML of this red wouldn't be hard to sip through a crazy straw.
One of the best straight-up reds I've had, this brew has a fantastic layering & depth that's lacking in the majority of the style. Excellent beer.
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look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5
Thanks to moose3285 for yet another bottle of Cigar City, as I wind my way slowly through their entire bottle population. Mostly thanks to the mooseguy. I like moose. I've seen a few out of a canoe. They're big enough to be scary & intimidating. The animal, not moose3285. 750 ML bottle poured into a pair of pint glasses.
Pour is red squirrel amber, deep, vibrant, but quieter. An uncouth pour results in an overabundance of head in the first glass; more caution is exercised for the second. Smell is typical sweet malts, but cut nicely with citrus; but the smell vanishes quickly. Odd.
Tocobaga Red Ale is deep into the red. The malts are beautiful, racing from sweetly smiling to slightly toasted to caramel. Citrusy hops are mild, sensed more in the nose & aftertaste than the foreground. Underlying earthiness doesn't detract, but adds a nice layer. Crisp for a red, & as my wife put it, 'chuggable'. 750ML of this red wouldn't be hard to sip through a crazy straw.
One of the best straight-up reds I've had, this brew has a fantastic layering & depth that's lacking in the majority of the style. Excellent beer.
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3.34/5 rDev -19.1%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
Opened on 5.16.12.
A - A very cloudy, dark amber body with a small yellow-tan head. Decent Retention.
S - Sweet fruity malt, almost cherry-like, some hops.
T - Bitter dark fruit, mostly raisin up-front, then some sweet bready malt.
D - Medium carbonation and body. A bitter bite that lingers.
O - Smelled really nice, but taste didn't quite deliver for me.
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look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
Opened on 5.16.12.
A - A very cloudy, dark amber body with a small yellow-tan head. Decent Retention.
S - Sweet fruity malt, almost cherry-like, some hops.
T - Bitter dark fruit, mostly raisin up-front, then some sweet bready malt.
D - Medium carbonation and body. A bitter bite that lingers.
O - Smelled really nice, but taste didn't quite deliver for me.
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3.9/5 rDev -5.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
12oz bottle. thanks billyshears!!! you da man, great to see you again.
a - opened the bottle and filled my E snifter...brew poured a transparent brown which settled a dark brown with a full finger of bright white frothy bubbly head. lacing was chunky and clingy. to the light, the beer is a murky red...amber. looks really classy for an amber.
s - nicely balanced hoppy red. citric blast...tropical fruit basket. very ipa. possibly even nicer than jai alai.
t - wow, a fight between bittering hops and caramel malts of an amber. a bit of a battle for supremacy.
m - bitter and biting.
o - overall, a very interesting take on the amber style. the hoppy ipa in there seems to clash with the red a bit, but makes for an interesting blend of flavoring. certainly worth a taste or a few...probably pretty polarizing. amazing for the hop heads, but a bit of an identity crisis for the style police.
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look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
12oz bottle. thanks billyshears!!! you da man, great to see you again.
a - opened the bottle and filled my E snifter...brew poured a transparent brown which settled a dark brown with a full finger of bright white frothy bubbly head. lacing was chunky and clingy. to the light, the beer is a murky red...amber. looks really classy for an amber.
s - nicely balanced hoppy red. citric blast...tropical fruit basket. very ipa. possibly even nicer than jai alai.
t - wow, a fight between bittering hops and caramel malts of an amber. a bit of a battle for supremacy.
m - bitter and biting.
o - overall, a very interesting take on the amber style. the hoppy ipa in there seems to clash with the red a bit, but makes for an interesting blend of flavoring. certainly worth a taste or a few...probably pretty polarizing. amazing for the hop heads, but a bit of an identity crisis for the style police.
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4.28/5 rDev +3.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Pours is a medium red/amber color with a light/translucent cloudiness; it has a huge head of white foam then towers over the top of the glass and quickly coats the sides and leaves a ton of lacing. Is this the prettiest beer I have ever seen, it just might be. Aromas are definitely intense and complex. It begins with a toasty and caramel maltiness with an underlying pine hop character. A nice earthiness is the background as well.
The tastes begin with a nice nutty and caramel maltiness but is immediately counter-acted with an aggressive amount of resiny/piney hop flavor. Smooth but huge hops and a rich, semi-sweet flavors and creamy feel; the balance of hop flavor with a big malt presence is perfectly executed here. Not at all bitter or palate wrecking; hooray for late/flavor/aroma-hopping! Mouthfeel finished nice and dry from the ample hopping, a little sticky, quite full bodied and amply carbonated, this all adds up to YUM!
Overall, yeah, great. So, so, so much flavor packed into an "average" ABV IPA, this is crazy
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look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Pours is a medium red/amber color with a light/translucent cloudiness; it has a huge head of white foam then towers over the top of the glass and quickly coats the sides and leaves a ton of lacing. Is this the prettiest beer I have ever seen, it just might be. Aromas are definitely intense and complex. It begins with a toasty and caramel maltiness with an underlying pine hop character. A nice earthiness is the background as well.
The tastes begin with a nice nutty and caramel maltiness but is immediately counter-acted with an aggressive amount of resiny/piney hop flavor. Smooth but huge hops and a rich, semi-sweet flavors and creamy feel; the balance of hop flavor with a big malt presence is perfectly executed here. Not at all bitter or palate wrecking; hooray for late/flavor/aroma-hopping! Mouthfeel finished nice and dry from the ample hopping, a little sticky, quite full bodied and amply carbonated, this all adds up to YUM!
Overall, yeah, great. So, so, so much flavor packed into an "average" ABV IPA, this is crazy
1,032 characters
4.08/5 rDev -1.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A-Deep clear ruby in the glass, one finger off white head with some lacing.
S-Great balance, lots of malt and caramel. But then it has a good deal of earthy grassy hops.
T-Quite malty, caramel, earthy grass dirt. Then ends with a nice bitterness.
M-Light not much carbonation.
O-A great red ale. One of the better ones produced the balance is very good with just enough hops to provide a nice kick to the malt base.
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look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A-Deep clear ruby in the glass, one finger off white head with some lacing.
S-Great balance, lots of malt and caramel. But then it has a good deal of earthy grassy hops.
T-Quite malty, caramel, earthy grass dirt. Then ends with a nice bitterness.
M-Light not much carbonation.
O-A great red ale. One of the better ones produced the balance is very good with just enough hops to provide a nice kick to the malt base.
419 characters
4.37/5 rDev +5.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
Pours dark red with a creamy off white head and lots of lacing as it recedes. Smell of hops and more hops. Plenty of grassy, earthy pine and some notes of caramel and bread malt in the background. even a good bit of citrus here. Flavor is pine hops and a bit of candy sweet flavor, more pine and sweet citrus fruits. Very much reminds me of a DIPA, which I was not expecting. Lighter mouthfeel for that style though and finishes nice and dry and clean. Fantastic. New favorite red ale for me, but keep in mind that comes from a hop head. This is a world class brew and arguably the best thing that CCB makes relative to the style. Wow.
Interestingly I had this right after a Bell's Goes to 11 the first time I had it and they are very similar beers (which I was not expecting). I think I enjoyed this one a bit more with plenty more complexity that coats the palate with flavor that goes on forever. So so good.
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look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
Pours dark red with a creamy off white head and lots of lacing as it recedes. Smell of hops and more hops. Plenty of grassy, earthy pine and some notes of caramel and bread malt in the background. even a good bit of citrus here. Flavor is pine hops and a bit of candy sweet flavor, more pine and sweet citrus fruits. Very much reminds me of a DIPA, which I was not expecting. Lighter mouthfeel for that style though and finishes nice and dry and clean. Fantastic. New favorite red ale for me, but keep in mind that comes from a hop head. This is a world class brew and arguably the best thing that CCB makes relative to the style. Wow.
Interestingly I had this right after a Bell's Goes to 11 the first time I had it and they are very similar beers (which I was not expecting). I think I enjoyed this one a bit more with plenty more complexity that coats the palate with flavor that goes on forever. So so good.
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3.53/5 rDev -14.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
A: Pours a deep amber with with hints of brown around the edges. There is about one full finger of off white head that sit top the beer. There some, but not much, lacing as it drinks.
S: I'm picking up berry, citrus, pine, and aluminum. It has a definite berry twang to it.
T: The taste follows the nose. Berries, citrus, pine, canned beer, tin, and weird metals. I'm not diggin' it.
M: Medium bodied beer. There is nothing special about this beer. Nothing cloying, not too thin, not too crisp, not too sweet, not too anything.
O: Not a huge fan of this beer. Something about the taste is off. I've had this many times, a bunch of different batches, and it's always the same. Pretty disappointing. I'll never seek this out again.
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look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
A: Pours a deep amber with with hints of brown around the edges. There is about one full finger of off white head that sit top the beer. There some, but not much, lacing as it drinks.
S: I'm picking up berry, citrus, pine, and aluminum. It has a definite berry twang to it.
T: The taste follows the nose. Berries, citrus, pine, canned beer, tin, and weird metals. I'm not diggin' it.
M: Medium bodied beer. There is nothing special about this beer. Nothing cloying, not too thin, not too crisp, not too sweet, not too anything.
O: Not a huge fan of this beer. Something about the taste is off. I've had this many times, a bunch of different batches, and it's always the same. Pretty disappointing. I'll never seek this out again.
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Tocobaga Red Ale from Cigar City Brewing
4.13
out of 5
based on 1,420 ratings.