GrowHop Series - Citra IPA
Phillips Brewing & Malting Co.

Tasting notes: This one cycles back around in Phillips IPA mixed packs. Solid golden hue. Big guava and unripe mango on the nose. Some blood orange, pink grapefruit, unripe pineapple, and lemon on the palate. Dry woody Phillips house yeast tempers the hop flavors somewhat. Some sweeter red berry jam and mango notes emerge as the brew warms. Rather tannic and leafy in the finish. Minimal pine, just a little cough drop and cat at the end. Some dry peppery spice. Medium bodied with a ghost of toffee-like malts. High carbonation. Not sure if enough true Citra character is shining forth. Greater emphasis on the dry autumn leaf and strong tea aspects of the hop flavor spectrum. More bitter citrus than tropical. Aw well. Its enjoyable enough.

341ml bottle, another awesome find on its own in a nondescript liquour store while out and about of late. Usually found in the Phillips Hopbox, apparently.

This beer pours a clear, rather glass medium golden yellow hue, with two fingers of loosely chunky, weakly bubbly dirty white head, which leaves a whole host of random sea-spout, sudsy lace around the glass as it evenly subsides.

It smells of semi-sweet, musty tropical fruit - mango, pineapple, blood orange - some mild pine green astringency, and that increasingly obvious Phillips grainy, bready, somewhat yeasty house character. The taste is moderately bitter, earthy, leafy hops, with a surprisingly soft citrus fruity essence, some meaty, chalky pale malt, with hints of dry caramel, lemon, and sour pine rounding things out.

The carbonation is rather obviated, nothing really making itself known, the body medium-light in weight, and smooth, with a new-driver sort of caveat. It finishes off-dry, barely, the now dominant cat-piss, vegetal hops having their way with the mawkish malt.

While the Citra hop does seem capable of carrying a whole IPA all by itself, it still does come up lacking at times, one of which is now, if only mildly. Not in strength of flavour, but direction - taste does still matter. Yet another interesting experiment, and nothing more.

341ml bottle poured into tulip 26/6/13

A clear golden yellow with tiny bubbles throughout, three fingers of bone white foam quickly falls to a thumbs width with some staying power leaving a few partial rings before falling to a film island

S I'm getting some canned pineapple, mango, passion fruit and a little pine but the phillips house notes are a little overwhelming on the nose, faint catty notes but its in check, I want too love it but I merely like it a fair bit

T more pine with some lemon rind I didn't pick up on the nose but other then that everything's there in one form or another

M medium bodied and creamy from the bubbles, a nice little bitter kick and a tropical rind aftertaste

O not a bad single hopped citra but I'm getting as much phillips as citra, I don't dislike the house yeast?(I'm guessing) but it distracts me from getting all the single hop characteristics

I sound like I'm being hard on this one but its quite enjoyable and a welcome addition to the hop box, I'd drink it again and almost certainly will because there's still two bottles in my fridge