Hop Odyssey: Citra Session IPA
Green Flash Brewing Co.

 

I don't know when I drank this, but I can tell that I bought it in October 2014 from Ledger's Liquors in Berkeley, CA for $5.99 for a bomber (22oz) of it.

Poured a slightly darker SRM than your average session ipa. This was full on the color of a copper penny. 1/3" off white head. Aroma was Citra, but back in 2014, it wasn't the #1 acreage hop, so I think they were a little more conservative with its usage back then. Its there, but its not that massive blast that you get proportion wise these days.

Taste hits the Citra notes, again lighter, but its a lighter beer, but just because you have a lighter body (although here again, heavier than average). Plenty of orange, orange blossom, tangerine, canteloupe like notes. Carbonation seemed lower than I like in said style, but not by much. I think the best way to improve this beer would be to lighten up the malt bill, I don't want balance, I want a light bodied, highly hopped session ipa.

If Green Flash doesn't go completely under, I'd like to check out a 12oz of this again and see how it stacks up.

 

 

 

Reviewed from notes. Poured from a 22 oz. bottle into a Westbrook Brewing pint glass.

A: Mildly hazy light gold. Average carbonation and a two-finger white head with decent retention.

S: Citrus and melon, tropical fruits and a bit dank. Some resin and vegetal as well, with a very light cracker malt. Not a huge aroma, but the hops are the star for sure.

T: Melon, tropical fruits. Citrus – oranges and limes – and dank, with some grapefruit rind. Very light cracker malts add just a touch of sweetness with a slightly husky flavor. The grassy hop bitterness lasts into the hang, but it’s not particularly bitter.

M: A light body, with a good level of carbonation and a low alcohol presence.

O: I didn’t enjoy this as much as I had hoped. This isn't exactly Zombie Dust…
Still, not offensive and a nice IPA that has decent flavors and drinkability.

This was poured into a pint glass. The appearance was a nice looking hazy to semi-transparent transparent golden color with a slim finger’s worth of white foaminess that quickly dissipated barely leaving any lacing. The smell started off with a sharp citrus somewhat bitter with an underlying sweet to bitter pine to blend. The taste was moderately bitter with an underscore of bitter piney-ness. There’s a lingering bitter piney aftertaste leading into a slight dry sweet citrus finish. Different, but nice. On the palate, this one sat about a light on the body with a fairly decent sessionability about it. Carbonation runs fairly light allowing a nice harsh bitterness to pound my tongue. Overall, I say this was a pretty good session IPA that I would have again.

12 oz. Bottle

Pours a very nice golden yellow color, nice carbonation, with a pretty nice thick/creamy one-finger off-white head, which leaves some pretty nice sticky lacing behind. The nose is hoppy, with some nice citrus. The taste is hoppy, citrusy. Medium body. Overall, a tasty brew.

A - Yellow-golden beer, super clear, with a full, tight white head that reduces quickly. Extensive lacing.

S - Big citra hop nose, with mango and resin, a bit of wild grassiness, a bit of dank cat-pee.

T - Sharp hop flavors, slapping you around with resin, some tropical fruit coupling nicely with sweet malts, with a moderately bitter close.

M - Brisk carbonation does not completely scrub the resin build.

O - An interesting brew, this drinks like a full IPA, but manages a 5% ABV. Tasty, bright citra, but like a lot of pure citra brews, though vibrant, the result is not particularly balanced. Add to this the bottle format, and this does not ultimately feel as sessionable as its name would suggest.

 

This beer is a pale yellow, not quite gold, and cloudy. It has a sweet citrus smell, almost like grapefruit, that has an interesting funk behind it, almost like durrian. The flavour, a tart starfruit, is highly enjoyable and refreshing. However, there is an astringent body and thin consistency.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bought from Bev Mart $2.25 12oz.
Clear golden color
Slight bitterness, some citrus taste, smooth
Light mouth feel
Low carbonation
Overall an easy drinking beer. If the price was about $8/6-pack I would buy it, but not at the price point it is here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'd call this a session IPA in line with all the best ones such as All-Day and Carton Boat. Try 6.

A - Orange-gold, light colored, hazed, fine bubbles, 1 finger short lived head, decent lace for a session beer.

S - "Citra" forward with tangerine, grapefruit and tropical fruit. Only a bit of bread, mostly tangy, juicy and bright.

T - Follows the smell but more going on. Backdrop of biscuit body balances the hops which roll from ripe citrus and tropical fruit into a forest of leaf, pine, hooch and herb. As good as Boat!

F - Fine, smooth with pithy bitterness and a minerally, drying finish that cleanses the mouth.

Fine effort. Buy 6. Better than the reviews here.