Cigar City Brewing Dials Down the Calories and abv with Jai Low IPA

Cigar City Brewing is popular for many reasons. Its beers are a huge hit with craft beer fans and probably the most beloved of them all is Jai Alai IPA, a fruit- forward IPA that ranks among the best selling beers of its style. Now, Cigar City Brewing is thrilled to announce the release of a new Jai Alai influenced beer that emphasizes similar flavors but lower alcohol, calories, and carbs. The new brew is Jai Low, a 4% alcohol by volume beer designed for those who love the taste of Jai Alai but want something less.

Every craft beer fan is aware of Jai Alai IPA and many rank it among their favorite American IPA. It’s a bold, fruity IPA containing 7.5 percent alcohol by volume and given its popularity, some might wonder why Cigar City Brewing decided to brew a lower abv version. According to Brewmaster Wayne Wambles’, it was all about consumer choice.

“British ordinary bitter was an inspiration for me,” says Wambles. “These lower ABV, flavorful beers create nice balance.”

Jai Low IPA is exactly that. It’s a session- oriented beer much like a traditional English ale but with the ramped- up hop character common to American IPA. Creating a session IPA that tastes flavorful and satisfying isn’t easy, but Cigar City Brewing found a way to make it work, as Wambles explains.

“The primary challenge was preserving the body of the beer”, Wambles said. “Our goal was to create a lower ABV beer that still had adequate mouthfeel. We devoted more time to exploring the composition of the grain bill than some other components of the recipe.”

The original test batch of Jai Low contained 100 calories per 12 oz. serving and while a caloric count this low would certainly be welcome news to those watching their waistlines, Cigar City Brewing team members felt the recipe needed to be tweaked slightly because it lacked body, as Brewer Manager Sean Sasscer explains.

“Though the first batch of the beer was flavorful and delicious, it didn’t carry the same balance and intensity that consumers expect from Jai Alai IPA.  Our goal with this beer is flavor, and our second pilot batch that measured at 120 calories achieved that goal much more successfully,” said Sasscer.

With only 120 calories and reduced alcohol content, Jai Low offers the best of both worlds: The great taste of Jai Lai IPA in reduced form. Look for this new version of Cigar City Brewing’s beloved IPA on store shelves beginning this Fall.