January 11, 2017: CIGAR CITY BREWING AND PERRIN BREWING ANNOUNCE ONE-TIME JAI ALAI IPA RELEASE IN MICHIGAN
Comstock Park, MI and Tampa, FL: Perrin Brewing Company and Cigar City Brewing today announced that the Tampa brewery's popular "Jai Alai" IPA will be served for the first time in Michigan. Cigar City's Brewmaster Wayne Wambles travelled to Perrin's Comstock Park facility in January to brew the famed IPA with John Stewart, Perrin's Director of Brewing Operations. The first - and only - Michigan-brewed batch of the IPA will be released on draft January 28 at Perrin's Ice Jam Winter Festival, as well as in Perrin's onsite pub. Thereafter, the limited 30-barrel batch will only be available at the Perrin Pub. This marks the first time that Cigar City has served its beer in Michigan.
According to a Cigar City press release and a news story on the Perrin website, Wambles "meticulously recreated Tampa’s mineral-rich water profile using Perrin's reverse-osmosis water system," and "sent lot-specific hops from Cigar City Brewing’s Tampa facility to Perrin to match every facet of his citrus-forward ale." Following the brew, Wambles noted that he "feel[s] really good about the results." Further, "[a]fter seeing the pH of the mash and kettle and the color post-boil, I think we hit this brew out of the park. Beer lovers in Michigan will be able to enjoy Jai Alai as fresh as they would if they were in Tampa. John and his team are superbly talented brewers and I’ve been excited to work alongside them.” The breweries cited "partnership, innovation and collaboration" in describing the creative project.
Perrin Brewing, established in 2012, announced in March 2015 that it had been acquired by Oskar Blues/Fireman Capital Partners. The two breweries had collaborated in 2014, releasing "Cornlaboration," a corn lager. The Oskar Blues group subsequently acquired Cigar City Brewing in 2016. Through the Oskar Blues-Perrin-Cigar City ownership venture, Perrin expected to brew over 26,000 barrels of beer in 2016, representing a 70% increase over 2015 production levels. Cigar City produced over 65,000 barrels in 2016. The partnership with Colorado-based Oskar Blues signals continued growth and new market reach.
Cheers,
Linda Johnson,
Certified Cicerone®