Flagpole Citra
Mikerphone Brewing

 

 

 

 

16oz can, no apparent freshness date. Thanks to Ken for giving me a can to try! Pours a very hazy and opaque pineapple juice color with a tall and frothy ivory head. Juicy aroma of tropical fruit and vanilla. Juicy and tropical hop notes of pineapple, guava, grapefruit, and stone fruit along with a strong dose of vanilla. Medium body, moderate carbonation, finishes more sweet than bitter. Not your typical Citra IPA - the vanilla seems to bring out some different flavors. This was good.

 

Appearance: Arrives hazy, with a honey color and a one finger head; spotty lacing

Smell: Papaya and vanilla creamsicle

Taste: Vanilla creamsicle at the outset with the pithy orange aspect building; moderately bitter but the vanilla re-asserts in the finish

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, and very creamy, with moderate carbonation

Overall: Not as juicy as some other NE IPAs but the creamsicle aspect is fun

 

Tasted in a tumbler from draft at Mikerphone Brewing on December 21, 2018. Double dry hopped IPA brewed with Citra hops and vanilla. Nice nose but the flavor does not work for me.

this is intense beer, for how soft citra usually is to me, its really robust here, i think it must be a lupulin powder or cryo hop situation or something, as much of citra as i have really ever known in a beer, i can smell it across the bar as the dude is pouring one for me, and the nose really is just absurdly appealing, pineapple and lemongrass notes, and oddly a vanilla thing thats pretty robust to me, like it makes me think there is actual real vanilla bean in it, which i know sounds crazy, maybe its some lactose or something throwing me off, but when i start drinking the beer, it doesnt taste sweet to me at all, and doesnt have the creamy feel i usually associate with lactose. the vanilla is there like crazy though, they must have slipped some in here, this cant all be from citra hops can it?! the citra is awesome with this essence though, a killer combination, and the more it warms up the more i am like yeah, there is definitely vanilla in this. oily and heavy citra, things like kiwi and white wine pop up, a simple grist beneath is all thats needed here. a shade under carbonated, but the flavors here are exceptional, surprising even, id love to know more about this recipe, intensely flavored to the point i dont want more than one or two of these, but its delicious. a different kind of citra hops here...