After recently visiting a nearby brewery called Peace River Beer Company, we decided to head out a bit farther. So we took the 90 minute drive to Ybor City which is in Tampa, Florida. We spent the day wandering around Ybor. After we had our fair share of walking, we headed over to Cigar City Cider & Mead on 15th Street. We had parked that morning in one of the lots that you pay by hour in Ybor. Cigar City Cider & Mead was an easy walk from that area. It’s actually around the corner from the large Scientology Center.
Now, the hubby and I are big fans of cider. Nothing fancy, but we enjoy a Strongbow or Angry Orchard.. see I said we’re not fancy! But neither of us have tried mead. I was particularly excited about the mead but not for any specific reason, just to try something new! Hey, it’s the little things that put a smile on my face! Nelson, Bella and I walk in and it’s not a super large place. Though on a Saturday afternoon around 5:00, there were only 3 other groups in there so there was plenty of room. There were also a few tables outside.
We stroll up to the bar to see what selections are currently on tap. The bartender, who may have been the owner, was helpful with explaining the sweetness of mead and answering our questions. He also made a couple suggestions that were helpful! We went with a flight so we could try a variety. Armed with our rack of four beers, we relax at a table by the window. Because, well…. It is Ybor and so people watching for the win!
Cigar City had a decent selections of games from Go Fish to Cards Against Humanity. Bella felt comfortable there but again this was during the late afternoon, so evenings may be a different story. As far as being dog friendly, there were a few tables outside however there’s no waitress so as long as you are more than a party of one, I don’t see it being a problem to bring along your pup.
Now to the beers, well cider and mead! The selection size was decent in my opinion yet as you know we are new to the craft beer scene so it doesn’t take much to impress us. There were four meads, eleven ciders and four beers available. You have the option of getting a growler to take home for ciders. Growlers were not available for beer or mead, I believe this was due to a law. Though I’m not sure if it was a county or state law.
I know you’re dying to know what ciders and mead we chose. I won’t keep you in suspense any longer! Our four choices were: Soursop, Strawberry & Banana, Passionfruit and Zombie Killer. The first three were ciders. Zombie Killer was a cherry honey mead. Based on that afternoon alone, I am a much bigger fan of cider than mead. To be fair, the Zombie Killer Mead is the only mead to have crossed these lips, so it wouldn’t be fair to have my opinion made by one lonely mead. Therefore, I will continue on in my pursuit of tasting..errr I mean educating myself on Mead! I found the Zombie Killer to leave me wanting more flavor. It wasn’t very sweet nor did I get a honey taste. Nelson considered it to have a smoother taste. The mead didn’t have any carbonation either. For the pour size of this that came in the flight, it cost $8.00. Keep in mind that because these are flight pours they are smaller than your regular pour. I’m guessing that Mead is more expensive due to the honey that is used to make it. Which is what mead is, fermented honey with water. Of course, other flavors are also added but the honey is what separates it from beer or wine.
Now on to the ciders. Spoiler alert, the ciders are where it’s at! Each cider we tried on the flight was $2.50 a pour. That’s a big difference compared to $8.00 for the same size pour of mead. First up was the Soursop. Now soursop is a fruit that is grown on trees in tropical areas. We have run across soursop at fruit stands in Homestead, Florida. This particular cider didn’t pack the flavor punch that I was hoping for. And with so many ciders out there, I’m not wasting time on one that’s not screaming with flavor.
Next up was the Strawberry & Banana cider. Semi-sweet is how I would describe this cider. It was good. But that’s all, just good. If someone placed one in front of me, would I drink it? Ummm Yes I would. Would I order it again and pull out my wallet to pay for it? Nah. Like Goldilocks, we are onto number three (of the ciders). And also like Goldilocks, I found the cider that was just right!! The Passionfruit cider!! That one was the winner of the afternoon! It was sweet and very refreshing! The flavor profile was right on point. That is one that I will pay for again! It was pretty close to our true love that we call Key Lime Cider from 3 Daughters!
One thing that I really liked about Cigar City Cider & Mead was the events that they offered. There were $10 brewery tours on Saturday afternoons. But the one that stole my attention was their upcoming Cider and Cheese Tasting. If I can’t make it back up there for it, I may have to use Pinterest to create my own cider and cheese tasting at home.
We had a pleasant day roaming around Ybor and Cigar City Cider & Mead was a great way to end it. It was a great place to hang for a couple hours while trying out some different ciders and playing some board games. There was no food offerings but there was a pizza place across the street. If you’re in the area, you should pop in and try the Passionfruit Cider!
