Citra IPA
Goose Island Beer Co.

 

Found under the file "Everyone should make a Citra IPA because it's cool right now."

A - Golden with a little bit of orange and a fairly nice white head that left some spots on the side.

S - Lots of citrus and some floral notes. Pretty good citrus smell and fairly strong for a single IPA.

T - A little bit of toasted malt with some citrus and a little bit of floral hop presense. Some mild grapefruit and a pretty clean finish.

M - Medium bodied with moderte carbonation.

O - Not bad. Not the best Citra IPA in the world but a solid showing by GI. Could drink this again.

On-tap at Hopleaf during the Goose Island Beer Invasion, 5/26/2010.

Pours from cask as a very murky light yellow-orange with a fairly substantial off-white head. Consistency looks similar to juice. Lots of lacing.

Smell is a full on blast of bitter hops with orange peel and grapefruit aromas.

Taste is bitter grapefruit, orange, and tangerine upfront. Very light caramel malt backbone. Bitter finish of grapefruit and citrus.

Medium to full creamy body with a lower carbonation.

Very drinkable with a high, but not extreme, bitterness. The creamy body really compliments and balances the bitter hops nicely.

I got to have a glass of this limited beer at another great beer event at Chappy's Taproom in Dayton, Oh. Cask conditioned beer served in a snifter glass. The beer was described to me as "a cask - conditioned dry hopped Citra hop IPA".

A: Good thing appearance isn't everything as this beer is just plain ugly, unlike any other beer I've ever seen. It's a cloudy, murky, even opaque, yet it's color is a pale yellow almost beige. Small head and some lacing present.

S: Citrus, orangey smell as you would expect from an IPA.

T: More citrus and orange flavors, somewhat tangy with a deep citrus and grapefruit aftertaste that pleasantly lingers on the tongue.

M: Warm & creamy mouthfeel as you would expect from a cask ale. I'm certainly no expert in cask-conditioned ales, but this was first "real" ale I was able to detect the natural carbonation of this style.

D: Very worthwhile and interesting to taste if you have the opportunity.

Had this at 2010 Firkin Fest

Pours 1/4 finger of fizzy white head. Color is a slight hazed yellow hued gold.

Aroma: English malt with tons of floral hops. Majoy citrus profile. Oranges, tangerines, and grapefruit. Pretty awesome.

Taste: I can taste the English malt and I seem to get some amarillo hops as well. Floral notes with a big citrus taste (not as good as sculpin unfortunately). Also pick up some tangerines and grapefruit.

Mouthfeel: Bitter and creamy. Medium bodied with a lower amount of carbonation. Ends dry and sticky.

Overall, I think this would have been better without English malt and amarillo hops (I think they were used at least). It was decent, but I still prefer Sculpin and the citrus that comes along with that IPA. Glad I got to try it!