Store-bought Citra hopped beers

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seymour
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Store-bought Citra hopped beers

Post by seymour » Mon Nov 17, 2014 7:06 pm

In another thread, Hanglow asked which Citra beers I had tasted. The short answer is LOTS. Here are some of them. I LOVE the unique lemongrass & lime leave flavours of Citra, this hop variety is a "go-to" whenever I want to intentionally emphasize new-fangled American hoppy traits, offering more complexity than standard Cascade/Centennial grapefruitiness. I have other favourites too: Simcoe, El Dorado, Amarillo, Sorachi Ace, etc...but Citra is pretty cool even by itself. You can give your APA recipe an edge over the competition simply by adding lots of late Citra hops.

The following were all-Citra hops brews, but weren't exactly masterpieces in their own rights (as always, my personal opinion, many people disagree.)

Three Floyds Zombie Dust from my Ratebeer rating
Aroma: 7 out of 10, Appearance: 3 out of 5, Taste: 7 out of 10, Palate: 3 out of 5, Overall: 14 out of 20
Total score: 3.4 out of 5
Tasted at Jason’s anti-Homebrew-Club gathering in a nonic half-pint glass, thanks for sharing! It poured a mostly clear golden colour, some chill-haze, with thin but persistent white foam and lace. Non-descript maltbill overpowered by intensely citrusy American hop bitterness, flavour, and aroma. Light-medium body, average carbonation, hoppy aftertaste. Good but not great. Having hoped so long for a chance to try it, perhaps I was bound to be a bit underwhelmed.
Alpha Citra Pale Ale from my Ratebeer rating
Aroma: 7 out of 10, Appearance: 3 out of 5, Taste: 7 out of 10, Palate: 3 out of 5, Overall: 14 out of 20
Total score: 3.4 out of 5
Tasted on tap at Alpha and brought a growler home. It poured a clear golden amber colour with weak off-white foam. Next in their series of single-hop brews. The grainbill possessed familiar soft sweetness, hint of caramel but otherwise lacking complexity in the malt and mouthfeel departments. Citra, however, is such a delicious hop as to make up for the shortcomings: orange zest, tangerine wedges, lemon drop candies, juicy fruit gum, hint of mango and passionfruit. Light-medium body, low carbonation, slight oxidation, hoppy aftertaste. Not flawless, but certainly tasty anyway.
Of course, many Jim's Beer Kit members are familiar with my own Seymour Citra Gold and Seymour Citra Dark. My Seymour El Rey APA took 2nd Place in a contest a few weeks back.

The following store-bought beers use a blend of hops including Citra:

Boulevard Dark Truth Stout from my Ratebeer rating
Aroma: 7 out of 10, Appearance: 4 out of 5, Taste: 8 out of 10, Palate: 4 out of 5, Overall: 17 out of 20
Total score: 4 out of 5
Thanks Scott & Tommy at Pearl Cafe! Tasted from fresh 12oz bottle into a tulip glass. It poured an opaque, very dark brown color with moderate beige head, alcohol legs when swirled, and lasting lace. Aromas and flavors presented "the essential truth" of an Irish Stout: brown bread, roasted barley, slight grain bitterness, and a tart, dry finish. But add to that nicer body and head retention from diverse unmalted multi-grains, blend of perfumey German noble with American Citra hops, and Belgian yeast esters and phenols. It had faint hints of coffee and chocolate but otherwise lacked the extreme stereotypical barrel-aged Russian Imperial Stout characteristics, which was fine for a change. Great stuff.
Boulevard Pop-Up Session IPA from my Ratebeer rating
Aroma: 7 out of 10, Appearance: 4 out of 5, Taste: 8 out of 10, Palate: 3 out of 5, Overall: 16 out of 20
Total score: 3.8 out of 5
Sampled at a Shop & Save event, oddly. It poured a clear golden colour with nice white foam. Subtle grainy maltbill with a definite hops-forward balance. Intense American hoppy flavours and aromas, but not overwhelmingly bitter: grapefruit, orange peel, lemongrass, black pepper, black currant, pine resin. Light body, spritzy carbonation. Crisp, dry finish. Very drinkable and refreshing, an excellent "Session IPA" along the lines of Founders All Day IPA. Well-crafted and tasty.
Firestone Walker Wookey Jack Black Rye IPA from my Ratebeer rating
Aroma: 7 out of 10, Appearance: 5 out of 5, Taste: 7 out of 10, Palate: 3 out of 5, Overall: 15 out of 20
Total score: 3.7 out of 5
Tasted from tall brown bottle into a nonic pint glass, thanks gregwilsonstl. It poured an opaque dark reddish brown color with everlasting foam, lots of lace. The American C-hops aroma overwhelmed all other flavours. A real grapefruit bomb, with muted malty and roasty notes underneath. Signs of nice fruitiness, rye spice and kettle caramelization. Medium body, round mouthfeel, strong carbonation, a bit more malt complexity appeared as it warmed, lingering bittersweet aftertaste. A great representative Black IPA.
Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye from my Ratebeer rating
Aroma: 9 out of 10, Appearance: 5 out of 5, Taste: 7 out of 10, Palate: 4 out of 5, Overall: 18 out of 20
Total score: 4.3 out of 5
Tasted from bottle into a nucleated pint glass. Poured an absolutely beautiful reddish brown color with tall off-white head of tiny bubbles, moderately long-lasting with nice Belgian lace. Aromas of brown bread, rising dough, toffee, uniquely perfumy hops, citrus zest, lemongrass, fruity ale yeast esters. Citrus appears much more in the strong hops bitterness. Somewhat less strong amber malt sweetness: bready, creamy, caramelly, like fresh-baked biscuits with butter and marmalade. Just a hint of rye bite. Heavy body, spritzy carbonation nonetheless, lingering tangy aftertaste. An exquisite, powerful IPA.

daf

Re: Store-bought Citra hopped beers

Post by daf » Mon Nov 17, 2014 7:17 pm

I recently made a Citra SMaSH using all maris otter, and 100g of Citra pellet hops during the stages. It's lush.

faeyd

Re: Store-bought Citra hopped beers

Post by faeyd » Fri Jan 02, 2015 5:43 pm

Tried Oakham's Citra?

Uncle Joshua
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Re: Store-bought Citra hopped beers

Post by Uncle Joshua » Sat Mar 28, 2020 2:42 pm

faeyd wrote:
Fri Jan 02, 2015 5:43 pm
Tried Oakham's Citra?
That is a fantastic beer.

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