TAMPA, Fla. — Florida’s Cigar City Brewing has announced the release of Fancy Papers, a Hazy IPA brewed with Strata, Sabro and Idaho 7 hops, as a new addition to its line-up of seasonal releases. Named with Tampa’s cigar history in mind, the new offering will see distribution across Cigar City Brewing’s 41 state distribution network and in select international markets in kegs and 12 oz. cans.
Fancy Papers Hazy IPA represents Cigar City Brewing’s first foray into a wide-release Hazy IPA, one of the fastest growing styles in American craft beer. Fruit-forward and complex, Fancy Papers Hazy IPA eschews the bitterness often found in IPAs for a softness on the palate and a tropical hop expression imparted by a generous helping of hops. Sabro, Idaho 7 and Strata hops each are prized for their distinct fruity and light earthy qualities and are used generously in kettle and dry-hop additions throughout the brewing process. Fancy Papers Hazy IPA also utilizes an expressive English ale yeast that adds notes of peach and supports the style’s signature cloudiness. At 6.5% ABV and 60 IBUs, Fancy Papers Hazy IPA offers an IPA with an invitingly moderate bitterness and a tempered ABV for its style.
Cigar City Brewing’s Director of Brewing Operations Sean Sasscer says, “While we’ve used Sabro, Idaho 7 and Strata hops separately in several small-batch beers, we’ve been blown away by the flavors and aromas we’re getting in Fancy Papers Hazy IPA now that we’ve combined these expressive hops into one beer. The English ale yeast we use to ferment Fancy Papers helps round out the flavor and bitterness of the beer and strikes a great balance between hop expression and drinkability.”
The “fancy papers” evoked in the beer’s name are the papers used to print the intricate labels found inside the lids of boxes containing the finest cigars rolled in Tampa, Florida’s Ybor City and elsewhere during the heyday of hand-rolled tobacco. As cigar manufacturing exploded in the Tampa area in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, so too did the production of embossed plain or satin-finished paper labels glued inside cigar box lids that portrayed everything from exotic animals to historical figures to classic Americana iconography. These labels are still coveted by tobacciana collectors today and remain an important part of Tampa’s cigar history, a history that informs much of Cigar City Brewing’s branding.
Select markets around the U.S. began receiving deliveries of Fancy Papers Hazy IPA in January 2020. Fancy Papers Hazy IPA will be available in the nation’s finest grocery stores, package stores, liquor stores and independent craft beer stores through March.
Visit Cigar City Brewing’s website [www.cigarcitybrewing.com] for more information on Fancy Papers Hazy IPA and the rest of its dynamic line-up of craft ales and lagers. www.cigarcitybrewing.com
About Cigar City Brewing
Cigar City Brewing is Florida’s premier craft brewery company, delivering tropically-inspired handmade ales and lagers to beer lovers across the country. Led by its flagship, Jai Alai IPA, Cigar City Brewing has used beer to tell the story of the history and culture of Tampa, Florida, since its inception in 2009. The brewery currently produces over 180,000 barrels of beer annually, equating to over 2,000,000 cases of beer being sold across its entire footprint. Awards and accolades, including medals at the Great American Beer Festival and appearances on RateBeer.com’s Top 10 Brewers Worldwide seven times, have helped fuel the brewery’s rapid growth and expansion. Cigar City Brewing is a key partner in CANarchy, a craft brewing collective that represents the largest canned craft beer supplier in the country.