Cigar City Brewing (Tampa, Florida) has officially announced that Fancy Papers Hazy IPA is rolling out now as the brewery’s “first foray into a wide-release Hazy IPA.”

With a name inspired by the “handsome designs printed on fancy papers and applied to cigar boxes . . . to entice cigar lovers,” Fancy Papers is a Hazy/Juicy India Pale Ale that “eschews the bitterness often found in IPAs for a softness on the palate and a tropical hop expression imparted by a generous helping of . . . Sabro, Idaho 7 and Strata hops.”  To round out the recipe, Cigar City Brewing used an “expressive English ale yeast that adds notes of peach and supports the style’s signature cloudiness.” Coming in at just 6.5% ABV and 60 IBUs, Fancy Papers Hazy IPA offers “an invitingly moderate bitterness and a tempered ABV for its style.”

“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.”

 

– Sean Sasscer, Cigar City Brewing’s Director of Brewing Operations

Fancy Papers Hazy IPA started rolling out in January and will be available through March 2020.  You can expect to find this new Seasonal offering available in 6-packs of 12 oz. cans and on draft at select craft beer-friendly establishments located in Alabama, Florida and throughout the rest of Cigar City’s 41-state distribution area.  Prost!

Vital Information for Fancy Papers Hazy IPA from Cigar City Brewing

Release – Seasonal; January – March 2020
Style – Hazy/Juicy India Pale Ale
ABV – 6.5%
IBUs – 60
Featured Hops – Strata, Sabro & Idaho 7
Fun Fact – “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.”
Availability – 6-packs of 12 oz. cans & draft
Beer Finder – https://www.cigarcitybrewing.com/beer-finder/