Citra Smash IPA
Last Stand Brewing Company

Pours a clear golden, amber in color with a thin layer of foam atop which pretty quickly subsides. Aroma is melon, blueberry, tropical fruits, an herbal spiciness and some cereal malts. The flavor does follow the aroma, but with a lot more malt balance than expected. The cereal malts shine up front with the floral, piney malts showing up towards the swallow. Finishes crisp and dry with a lingering blend of cereal malts and pine/lemon hops. Really not digging the cereal maltiness -- it tastes kind of "fake". Mouthfeel is medium bodied with lower than average but zesty carbonation. There is some body there, but it does feel a bit thin. Overall, I expected this to be a little more hop-forward, but it ended up being fairly balanced and quite earthy. Definitely not bad, but not quite my cup of tea. Perhaps I'm just not a huge fan of Citra. Cheers!

pours a clear and bold gold body with an excited off-white foam head that has moderately low retention and leaves small traces of lacing behind as it settles to a defined halo

the aroma is lush mango with a flash of pineapple and lime backed by earthy bitterness and a thick caramel malt

taste is a little more complex. the first sensation I got was akin to licking a lime, before easing into the mango and then rushing into an earthy hop bitterness that also leans towards herbal. the malt backbone carries this all out relatively smoothly, balancing some of the flashes.

mouthfeel is moderate carbonation and medium body that goes relatively smooth but definitely feels grainy at times and has pronounced prickles throughout before finishing dry and leaving an earthy hop bitterness behind in the aftertaste

overall:
a fairly complicated and solid entry worthy of any Citra fan.

Poured from a can into a pint glass

Appearance – The beer pours a clear golden-orange color with a one finger head of fluffy white foam. The head fades fast leaving a moderate amount of foamy lace on the sides of the glass.

Smell – The aroma of the brew is massive of a tropical fruit smell of pineapple, mango, and papaya. Along with these aromas comes a bit of pine hop as well as a decent hit of an herbal and grassy smell. With a touch of a bready and doughy smell, the overall aroma is one that is fruity and inviting.

Taste – The taste begins with a cracker malt taste that has some tropical fruit sweetness. Unlike the nose where the pineapple was largest, on the tongue tangerine is the dominate tropical flavor with pineapple and papaya being on the lower side. Right from the start there is a decent showing of some grapefruit and herbal hop tastes with the later growing stronger as the taste advances. Along with the herbal getting stronger, some of the sweetness falls out, all while some other hop tastes of pine and earth come to the tongue. With a rush of the grapefruit at the end, and a lessening of the other hop tastes, one is left with a lightly dank and crisp, strong grapefruit citrus taste to linger on the tongue.

Mouthfeel – The body of the brew is light and crisp with a carbonation level that is slightly higher. For the fruit and citrus nature of the brew, mixed with the grapefruit and moderate dankness, the crisp feel and medium body are great as they make for a very easy sipping feel.

Overall – A nice flavorful and easy drinking IPA overall. Rather tasty and one to try if you get the opportunity.