Criterium Ale (2012) | Cigar City Brewing
Brewed by:
Cigar City Brewing
Florida, United States
cigarcitybrewing.com
Style: American Pale Wheat Ale
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 5.00%
Availability: Limited (brewed once)
Notes / Commercial Description:
Criterium Ale is a beer that we plan to change every year for the Cigar City Brewing Criterium & Street Festival. This year's Criterium Ale is an American wheat ale with bitter curacao peel added.
Added by shand on 02-17-2012
This beer is retired; no longer brewed.
HISTOGRAM
View: Beers | Place Reviews
Ratings: 60 | Reviews: 22
3.13/5 rDev -14.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
A - Nicely golden and hazy with a finger of white head and great lacing
S - Sweet and wheat are the main things I got out of the nose
T - From the taste was more like the nose it was just a really clean beer with grains of wheat in the taste. Just not a lot really going on in this beer.
M - Perfect carbonation, Light in body.
O- Overall, Not impressed by this CCB beer and CCB is one of my favorite breweries. I think the main reason why I wasn't impressed was because they make so many great beers and I don't get them in my area so I have to trade for them and this one was just really boring. I don't need to try this one again.
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look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
A - Nicely golden and hazy with a finger of white head and great lacing
S - Sweet and wheat are the main things I got out of the nose
T - From the taste was more like the nose it was just a really clean beer with grains of wheat in the taste. Just not a lot really going on in this beer.
M - Perfect carbonation, Light in body.
O- Overall, Not impressed by this CCB beer and CCB is one of my favorite breweries. I think the main reason why I wasn't impressed was because they make so many great beers and I don't get them in my area so I have to trade for them and this one was just really boring. I don't need to try this one again.
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3.17/5 rDev -13.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
A - Pours a hazy orange/golden brown with almost three fingers of dense off-white head. Head has great retention and leaves lots of lacing.
S - Not quite sure what to make of the smell. Smell is somewhat musty with a bit of citrus zest.
T - Taste starts off with a bitter punch, with citrus coming through once the bitterness fades. Taking a small sip really brings out the must and bitterness. A bigger drink reveals some nice fruitiness and wheat with the bitterness just coming in at the end. Not that I want to gulp my way through a 750.
M - Relatively light mouthfeel with good carbonation. Finished quite bit, which I normally like, but it doesn't really work here.
O - This didn't exactly taste skunked, but it didn't necessarily seem to be the intended flavor either. There was definitely some nice flavors in here, but overall this is a bit of a miss for me.
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look: 4.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
A - Pours a hazy orange/golden brown with almost three fingers of dense off-white head. Head has great retention and leaves lots of lacing.
S - Not quite sure what to make of the smell. Smell is somewhat musty with a bit of citrus zest.
T - Taste starts off with a bitter punch, with citrus coming through once the bitterness fades. Taking a small sip really brings out the must and bitterness. A bigger drink reveals some nice fruitiness and wheat with the bitterness just coming in at the end. Not that I want to gulp my way through a 750.
M - Relatively light mouthfeel with good carbonation. Finished quite bit, which I normally like, but it doesn't really work here.
O - This didn't exactly taste skunked, but it didn't necessarily seem to be the intended flavor either. There was definitely some nice flavors in here, but overall this is a bit of a miss for me.
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3.22/5 rDev -12.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Arrives clear and bright, a nice amber color with an off-white headsotting on top. Head looks artificial somehow. Dissipation is fairly quick but some lace remains.
Smell is malt, citrus, cardboard and hops.
Taste is malty, hoppier than expected and grapefruit.
Medium bodied with a mild effervescence. Slight drying aspect after the swallow. Reminiscent of a pale ale. A good brew but missing the sweetness I expected.
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look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Arrives clear and bright, a nice amber color with an off-white headsotting on top. Head looks artificial somehow. Dissipation is fairly quick but some lace remains.
Smell is malt, citrus, cardboard and hops.
Taste is malty, hoppier than expected and grapefruit.
Medium bodied with a mild effervescence. Slight drying aspect after the swallow. Reminiscent of a pale ale. A good brew but missing the sweetness I expected.
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3.35/5 rDev -8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
Must. Tick. Cigar City. Non-stop.
This beer pours a light oldies, hazy honey gold in color with a two finger soapy white head. The nose is interesting. It's almost like Hefe yeast and citrus rhine. It's harmless enough. The flavors are very light. It has some pale wheat yeast then an odd, almost stale bitterness and fades into bitter citrus. It actually kind of tastes like a stale IPA because of the citrus character. That's not the greatest endorsement. It really does leave that taste in your mouth. Stale citrusy hops through and through. It drinks light in body but the bitterness is pretty prevalent and the citrus isn't strong enough to mask the unfortunate stale IPA flavor present. This was an odd one, and one of the few Cigar City beers that I haven't liked.
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look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
Must. Tick. Cigar City. Non-stop.
This beer pours a light oldies, hazy honey gold in color with a two finger soapy white head. The nose is interesting. It's almost like Hefe yeast and citrus rhine. It's harmless enough. The flavors are very light. It has some pale wheat yeast then an odd, almost stale bitterness and fades into bitter citrus. It actually kind of tastes like a stale IPA because of the citrus character. That's not the greatest endorsement. It really does leave that taste in your mouth. Stale citrusy hops through and through. It drinks light in body but the bitterness is pretty prevalent and the citrus isn't strong enough to mask the unfortunate stale IPA flavor present. This was an odd one, and one of the few Cigar City beers that I haven't liked.
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3.4/5 rDev -7.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5
Poured from a bottle into a tulip glass.
Appearance: Pours a cloudy amber with a golden tint. The beer has a finger of fluffy off white head that fades to a ring around the edge of the glass.
Smell: Light and crisp. A mild hoppy note along with some citrus fruit. There are some herbal notes mixed in as well.
Taste: This beer is light but very bitter. Light malt, but not much sweetness. The finish is quite bitter, citrus peel hop notes dominate.
Mouthfeel: The body is a bit on the heavy side given the flavor. There is some mild, smooth carbonation and a slick finish.
Overall: I had this beer with bbq chicken and it was perfect for that . Light overall, it could have been a touch less bitter to let some of the other flavors play. Still a good beer.
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look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5
Poured from a bottle into a tulip glass.
Appearance: Pours a cloudy amber with a golden tint. The beer has a finger of fluffy off white head that fades to a ring around the edge of the glass.
Smell: Light and crisp. A mild hoppy note along with some citrus fruit. There are some herbal notes mixed in as well.
Taste: This beer is light but very bitter. Light malt, but not much sweetness. The finish is quite bitter, citrus peel hop notes dominate.
Mouthfeel: The body is a bit on the heavy side given the flavor. There is some mild, smooth carbonation and a slick finish.
Overall: I had this beer with bbq chicken and it was perfect for that . Light overall, it could have been a touch less bitter to let some of the other flavors play. Still a good beer.
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3.51/5 rDev -4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
A - pale yellow with a stiff white head that laces well
S - grain with a sweet fruity component and a subtle spicy note
T - surprisingly bitter with more hops that expected given the nose, nothing over the top, just more than most wheat beers, orange notes, very crisp
M - medium, heavier than most wheat beers
O - a well integrated beer that hits the notes it is aiming for, this is nothing spectacular, a wheat with more punch and flavor than normal, but also not typical of the wheat style
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look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
A - pale yellow with a stiff white head that laces well
S - grain with a sweet fruity component and a subtle spicy note
T - surprisingly bitter with more hops that expected given the nose, nothing over the top, just more than most wheat beers, orange notes, very crisp
M - medium, heavier than most wheat beers
O - a well integrated beer that hits the notes it is aiming for, this is nothing spectacular, a wheat with more punch and flavor than normal, but also not typical of the wheat style
496 characters
3.6/5 rDev -1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
From notes. Poured from a 750 mL bottle into a tulip.
My pour is a golden orange color, slightly hazy, with a gentle white froth that leaves a bit of lace down the glass.
The wheat and grains in the aroma are cut by the bitter curacao and mellowed with a bit of fruity orange zest.
There is definitely a bitterness here that I do not usually get out of wheat beers. It starts out with a basic wheat flavor, with the usual associated sweetness enhanced by a nice orangey zest. The bitterness that comes in has a grassy character to it, and there is a pithy citrus rind flavor at the end.
The curacao peel definitely adds a bit of flavor in an interesting way, and it also adds some oiliness to the mouthfeel. The carbonation is mellow and smooth.
Overall this is a nice beer, one that I could consume in quantity if handed to me.
834 characters
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
From notes. Poured from a 750 mL bottle into a tulip.
My pour is a golden orange color, slightly hazy, with a gentle white froth that leaves a bit of lace down the glass.
The wheat and grains in the aroma are cut by the bitter curacao and mellowed with a bit of fruity orange zest.
There is definitely a bitterness here that I do not usually get out of wheat beers. It starts out with a basic wheat flavor, with the usual associated sweetness enhanced by a nice orangey zest. The bitterness that comes in has a grassy character to it, and there is a pithy citrus rind flavor at the end.
The curacao peel definitely adds a bit of flavor in an interesting way, and it also adds some oiliness to the mouthfeel. The carbonation is mellow and smooth.
Overall this is a nice beer, one that I could consume in quantity if handed to me.
834 characters
Criterium Ale (2012) from Cigar City Brewing
Beer rating:
3.67 out of
5 with
60 ratings
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