Citra Slicker Wet Hop IPA
Bale Breaker Brewing Company

Citra Slicker Wet Hop IPACitra Slicker Wet Hop IPA
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From:
Bale Breaker Brewing Company
 
Washington, United States
Style:
American IPA
Ranked #249
ABV:
6%
Score:
92
Ranked #4,905
Avg:
4.17 | pDev: 7.67%
Reviews:
20
Ratings:
60
Status:
Active
Rated:
Nov 10, 2023
Added:
Oct 02, 2014
Wants:
  2
Gots:
  1
Collaboration with Cloudburst Brewing

Each hop harvest, the big city brewers from Cloudburst Brewing make the trek from downtown Seattle over the Cascades to team up with the farm brewers from Bale Breaker to brew Citra® Slicker Wet Hop IPA, a fresh hop beer that was first brewed in 2014 with then-owner of Elysian Brewing, Dick Cantwell. While it takes the Cloudburst team over two hours to get to Bale Breaker, the hundreds of pounds of wet Citra® hops picked fresh from the fields travel just four minutes from farm to kettle. Heavily dry-hopped, while light in color and body, this beer is all about these fresh, farm-grown hops!
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by VashonGuy:

  None found.

Photo of Reidrover
Reviewed by Reidrover from Oregon

4.34/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Pint at the Westside Taphouse in West Salem Oregon.
$7.00.
Getting to the end of Fresh Hop Season.
Pours a clear golden body with a small white frothy head. Fantastic lace.
Great aromas of floral and mild citrus hops.
Taste follows the nose. Heavily hoppy...but never overwhelmed.
Great crisp, well carbonated mouth feel.
A lovely FH. That is still good mid November.
Nov 10, 2023
More User Ratings:
Photo of NickSMpls
Reviewed by NickSMpls from Washington

4.24/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Lovely floral aromas waft up from a frothy head riding on top of a golden amber. First sip is a taste treat of hop bitterness and smooth, tasty fresh hops. The wet, fresh hops just 'pop' up on the taste buds, something many brewers never quite master for fresh hop / wet hop beers. The ABV of 6.2% is right on.
Oct 30, 2023
 
Rated: 4.16 by shelby415 from Oregon

Oct 15, 2023
Photo of woemad
Reviewed by woemad from Washington

4.24/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
16oz can purchased at Huckleberry's in Spokane, WA, for $3.99.

Poured into a the glass, this was a clear golden amber color, with a thick and creamy looking off-white head. Lots of lace.

Tropical fruits and grapefruit-like hop aromas.

Slightly bitter grapefruity flavor up front, followed almost immediately by bright mango, peach and melon flavors. Lightly dry at the swallow, where a tart, spicy, rhindy bitterness returns.

Medium bodied, with a oily, resiny mouth feel.

Nice Citra hopped freshie. Old school WCIPA with a comparatively new school hop. I could drink this all day.
Oct 30, 2022
Photo of mactrail
Reviewed by mactrail from Washington

3.37/5  rDev -19.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3
Clear golden amber brew with piles of fine-grained foam in the big Stout glass. Inviting slushy carbonation on the tongue. Modest aroma is more herbal with a whiff of evergreens. Starts with a touch of malty sweetness, and a mix of fruit and pine.

Resiny bitter aftertaste, and it does trail off into stemmy astringency. This would be an interesting hoppy brew if it wasn't so austere and just plain bitter without more aromatic rewards.. From the 16 oz can. Dated SEPT 28 21 and maybe the fresh hops just evaporated.
Dec 29, 2021
 
Rated: 4.27 by DOCRW from Kentucky

Nov 19, 2021
Photo of WunderLlama
Reviewed by WunderLlama from Massachusetts

4.02/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pint canned on 9.28.21, opened 10.31.21-Halloween!


Brewers notes: Each hop harvest, the big city brewers from Cloudburst Brewing make the trek from downtown Seattle over the Cascades to team up with the farm brewers from Bale Breaker to brew Citra® Slicker Wet Hop IPA, a fresh hop beer that was first brewed in 2014 with then-owner of Elysian Brewing, Dick Cantwell. While it takes the Cloudburst team over two hours to get to Bale Breaker, the hundreds of pounds of wet Citra® hops picked fresh from the fields travel just four minutes from farm to kettle. Heavily dry-hopped, while light in color and body, this beer is all about these fresh, farm-grown hops!


Can received by and poured into a teku from @snaotheus associated with Bif14

Clear golden liquid , active carbonation streams , one finger frothy white foam cap , settles to a pencil thick layer

Aroma is citrus orange

Taste is fresh, wet hop, orange citrus, earthy, pine finish

Sudsy mouthfeel , gentle hop bitterness nibbles on the finish

Good beer
Oct 31, 2021
Photo of DefenCorps
Reviewed by DefenCorps from Oregon

4.06/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Can from Uptown Market.

A clear light orange with a dense off-white head with excellent retention and lacing this looks great. The nose is bright and hoppy, with citrus, perfumey, floral hops, with a moderate gooseberry character. Minimal malt. The palate opens bright, clean, soft and redolent, with a blend of citrus, floral notes, gooseberry and mild melon. Shockingly, there's not a ton of fresh hop character. Drying, light , bitter on the finish.
Oct 16, 2021
Photo of ovaltine
Reviewed by ovaltine from Indiana

4.44/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
This beer pours a beautiful clear golden orange color with a creamy white head that provides ample lacing. Literally the definition of a WCIPA by its appearance in the glass. The nose is packed with Dan citrus notes, primarily ripe tangerine and a bit of grapefruit rind for bitterness.

The tangerine leads the taste, very dank and juicy, and the grapefruit rind is prominent on the finish, providing a welcome bitterness that works really well with the tangerine. Delicious beer.

The mouthfeel is medium and very dry. This is, for me, just about a perfect wet hop WCIPA. Fantastic stuff.
Oct 14, 2021
 
Rated: 4.05 by Scotchboy from Idaho

Oct 11, 2021
 
Rated: 3.77 by jason_nwx from Oregon

Oct 10, 2021
Photo of snaotheus
Reviewed by snaotheus from Washington

3.78/5  rDev -9.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
2021-10-05
16oz can served in a big snifter. Packaged SEP2821.

Pours a clear brassy gold with a medium sized head and a small amount of active carbonation. Smell is dank, honeysuckle, wet greens.

Taste is also dank, dark fruity, maybe honeydew. Moderate resin bitterness.

Mouthfeel is light, dry, very effervescent. Overall, nice beer.

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2022-10-09
Packaged SEP2922. Basically fits the description from last year, I think.

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2023-10-13
I'd add lots of pine resin and maybe some melon. I think it's better this year than usual, to my taste.
Oct 06, 2021
 
Rated: 4.42 by picoFarad from Oregon

Nov 19, 2020
 
Rated: 4 by BEER88 from North Carolina

Oct 16, 2020
Photo of redresonatedragon
Reviewed by redresonatedragon from Washington

4.72/5  rDev +13.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
An effervescent sip of roasted pineapple rising into a prickly pine bough, plenty of bitter linger balanced with an earthy sweet malt. I also love those garlicky undertones, this was one of this summer’s favorites for me
Oct 05, 2020
Photo of Orca
Reviewed by Orca from Washington

4.04/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
16oz can (canned 9/24/2020) into a tulip. Pours a crystal clear golden/straw color with a 1-finger loose white head.

Aroma is somewhat muted hops, not the citrusy burst I was hoping for. There's Citra, but I'm also detecting some Simcoe and/or Centennial. According to Bale Breaker's description of this beer, I am mistaken about this.

Taste is a blend of clean pale malt and bright Citra hops. Plenty of citrus juice, orange and grapefruit with some lively pineapple acidity that tingles on the palate. Finishes nicely bitter but not resinous.

Mouthfeel is balanced, medium bodied, with a good clean finish. Fresh water.

Overall a solid fresh hop IPA. Perhaps not my favorite from the season, but certainly worth trying.
Oct 04, 2020
Photo of TheBricenator
Reviewed by TheBricenator from Oregon

4.56/5  rDev +9.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
Look: Aggressive pour yields a nice, light orange-copper with a 2-finger head that subsides to 1-finger with good lacing
Aroma: Whoa – awesome. Orange, grapefruit, watermelon, slight grass/almost lemongrass, hints of pineapple with bready notes in the background
Taste: Huge citrus fruit medley with immense up-front herbal and grassiness that screams wet hops. Good, solid crackery malt backbone and dry to very dry finish – damn this is good
Mouthfeel: Great, almost perfect to me for what it is – smooth, slightly oily from the wet hops but not too slick (pun intended) or lingering
Overall: A winner here. I’ve been pumped to try this for a couple years now and it did not disappoint. One if the best fresh hop/wet hop beers I’ve had this year (and ever) and that coming from the land of the spoils for this type of beer (wet/fresh hopped). I just burped while finishing my notes and it tasted like pure lemon/grapefruit/orange peel. Outstanding.
May 30, 2020
Photo of metter98
Reviewed by metter98 from New York

4.11/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
A: The beer is slightly hazy yellow in color and has a bit of visible carbonation along with faint hints of amber hues. It poured with a quarter finger high white head that left a large patch of bubbles on the surface and some lacing down the sides of the glass.
S: Moderate aromas of gooseberries and limes are present in the nose.
T: The taste follows the smell and is dominated by the flavors of fresh hops, particularly those of gooseberries. There is a light to moderate amount of bitterness.
M: It feels medium-bodied and rather crisp on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer definitely tastes fresh and I liked all the aromas and flavors of gooseberries from the Citra hops.

Serving type: can
Jan 17, 2020
Photo of stevoj
Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho

3.84/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Crowler from Growler Guys. Clear, bright golden pour, soft foamy white head. Full, heady hoppy aroma and taste, light resiny notes. Clean and crisp. Pretty damn good.
Jan 07, 2020
 
Rated: 4.25 by paulish from New York

Dec 19, 2019
Citra Slicker Wet Hop IPA from Bale Breaker Brewing Company
Beer rating: 92 out of 100 with 60 ratings