Citra Pale Ale
Hill Farmstead Brewery

 

 

 

3 months old. Can to wine glass.

L: Pours an completely opaque orangeish yellow with a fluffy white head that leaves plenty of lacing. A few very fine floaters visible in the bottom of the glass.

S: Candied citrus fruits, ripe mango and sweet strawberries.

T: Rather grassy than fruity with hints of fresh citrus fruits. Low sweetness, medium bitterness.

F: Crisp and crushable with a medium carbonation.

O: Classic pale ale with a bit of a discrepancy between smell and taste. Could drink it all evening long. Very good beer.

 

On tap at Magoun's Saloon in Somerville, MA. What a treat to have some Hill Farmstead on tap within walking distance from my house. Citra is definitely not my favorite hop, but this one as expected was a decent showcase of it: lots of clean citrus aromas and flavors, a nice crackery malt profile, and the highly mineralic bite that is usual for HF. Pretty similar to Edward, imo.

85/100

 

 

From a 16oz can, dated 06/14/22. Served in a willi becher pub glass.

Pours a moderately hazy, milky-pale gold with a scant finger of fizzy foam. Retention is OK, leaving a wispy cap and a persistent curtain of thin lacing.

Aroma is faintly sweet and lightly malty. Reminiscent of sweetened bread roll and marmalade.

Right up front, taste is more at the sweet orange slice end of the Citra spectrum, with a lesser bitter grapefruit pith character developing deeper in and on toward the finish. Dry and crackery with thin soda-like minerality, then an impeccably clean finish.

Feel is bright and seltzer-like, crispy, light bodied with fizzy, spritzy carbonation. Sessionable for days.

Overall, an exemplary pale ale - unassuming and super-easy drinking, it’s not going to make a hazeboi soil his cargo shorts but, man, it is as clean as a whistle, utterly without flaw, and everything you could ask for in an APA.

 

Poured out of a can dated 10/26, this displays a largely clear, only lightly foggy pale gold with a moderate puffy white foam head that settles to a persistently thick fuzzy blanket leaving all kinds of craggy lacing. On Untappd, past canned check-ins show this to be a consistently hazier beer.

Still quite tasty, but more punchy and crisp than I expected, it's overall bitter with a sharp zesty bite of orange rind, pine needle and even triple sec. A touch of toasted biscuit comes out in subsequent sips, but it's surprisingly bitter.

Feel is just shy of thin and watery, but for its airy yet fine carbonation. Oddly enough, it also seems boozier than Edward or even Double Citra.

Man, I can't believe how much trouble I went through to tick this, lol. I like it, but it comes across more like a Three Floyd's or Sierra Nevada ale.

 

 

Typical hill farmstead yeast profile with mice grapefruit and sweet fruit. Packs incredible punch for a lower ABV beer! Great body that isn’t too thick for the style but isn’t too thin either.

 

From can, within week of canning.

For a PALE ALE, this may be at the very top. Hazy (NOT orange juice opaque), bright yellow color with beautiful tightly packed and small foam bubbles which contribute to this very soft feel when you both start your sip and finish it. Aroma, on an aggressive pour, burst with citrusy aroma. Taste is undeniable Citra all the way, but never in an over the top wrecking your palate. Balanced even though the single hop is being showcased. Also, like mentioned earlier, it has a very soft feel that's a bit drying and all the way refreshing at the end. Honestly, this might be my 'island beer'.

L: Pale straw yellow, very hazy with a white head on top. Good lacing. A picture perfect NE Pale Ale.

S: Dank, pungent citrus and tropical fruit characteristics, fruity yeast esters and a light bready malt character.

T: Mellow bitterness, huge hop flavor of sweet citrus, pineapple and a slight resinous quality. The malt is subdued but provides a good base for all of the hop flavor. The yeast contributes stonefruit characteristics.

F: Medium body, not thin in the slightest. Really the perfect amount of body for the style.

Overall: A delicious showcase of Citra hops. One of the finest single hop beers I have ever had. For anyone wanting to know what the Citra hop has to offer, look no further.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poured from a growler, minimum head, but great lacing down the glass. Nice pale cloudy yellow.
Smell didnt seem very strong but was a mix of some slight tropical fruit and maybe a bit of pine.
Taste follows the nose well, very easy to drink lots of fruit flavor, and a bit of bitterness/pine at the end.
Great slightly thick/creamy ipa feel, maybe slightly more carbonation, almost perfect.

Great ipa, easy drinker, great mouthfeel, but not as much depth to the flavor as the best of the best.

 

 

10/31/18

On tap at the brewery

A-Pours a very hazy yellowish orange color with a generous head and lacing
A-Aroma has tropical fruit and floral hints
T-The taste follows the nose with generous amounts of tropical fruit and floral flavors and a nice bitterness
M-A medium bodied well carbonated beer
O-A very well balanced and delicately made American Pale Ale

Revisited 11/1/18

Great out of the can also.

 

 

12 oz can poured into snifter canned on 10/01

A: fairly small tiny bubbles white head that settles to a film. Body is a hazy bright orange tan in color.

S: Soft hints of cantaloupe and grass and a light maltiness in the background.

T: Fairly soft on the tongue pretty juicy light tastes of fruity melon and light grass a little bit of very mild bitterness.

M: softer on the tongue medium bodied leaning towards watery with low carbonation.

O: not a bad beer at all. I could see getting tired of the mouthfeel and low carbonation pretty quick but the Citra hops definitely shine.