Citra Nerd
Separatist Beer Project / Separatist Bar + Bottle

The pour to empty the contents of a pint can into a clear glass liter mug goes as expected. It's not good. There's that foamy and starchy stark white mess on top to deal with. It seems ever expanding and it will recede unevenly and unattractively, leaving sparsely irregular lacing. Welcome to the American alleged IPA and its absence of the healthy dose of barley malt, which contributed greatly to the original style. Then the usual secondary problems will present themselves. A too light body and a lack of malty counterbalance to give a welcome complexity to the taste. Well, the mass of foam has receded unevenly and unattractively, leaving erratic lacing inside the glass. What not a surprise! The smell is a soft and muddled hoppy one, with a vague starchiness its equal. It does have a sharp citrus and pine hop bite to taste that's clean and finishes nicely. But, there's very little body and as expected, no real malt counterbalance to add some complexity. Bringing the now typical dirty blond and opaque color, this really doesn't have much to add to the long list of new American IPAs that shortchange the barley malt. This one is neither horrible, nor memorable.

Drank this in December 2020 during a Raider game. Label was different than the one pictured here. Scored it in the $2 bin at the quickie mart in Carmichael.

Pours a hazy yellow gold blend that looks like its 2% milk and 98% 'beer'. 3/4" white head, good retention. The aroma had a light Citra hop presence, much lighter than having Citra in the name would lead you to believe. There was a dusty not quite cardboard, but not quite crisp pilsner malt presence either. Light balsa wood and orange rind.

Taste was ok, I was looking for a canning date and found none, wondering about age. It didn't display a lot of bitterness, which makes sense given the Citra hop and the flaked body of wheat and oats smoothing things out. No hop burn or acidity. The 7.5% straddle line of ipa/double ipa is walked here, a hint of sting for a single, but as a double, it makes sense I guess. Evolution from orange to grapefruit and lemon. Breadier body like that bread with oats all over it. Lotta twang here.

Poured into a Seattle Beer Week pint glass. Pours a hazy, medium golden amber with a two finger white head with good retention and solid lacing. Aroma of pale malt, citrus hops, mixed lemon, orange and grapefruit and a little mixed tropical fruit, appealing. Flavor is somewhat neutral pale malt, citrus hops, orange, grapefruit, lemon, pineapple and mixed tropical fruit. Softish citrus finish with light to moderate bitterness. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess, nice mouth feel. I wasn't expecting a hazy IPA from the "single hop IPA" description, but this is definitely in that category, with the translucent look of the NE style IPAs and the soft, hoppy flavored taste and finish. Fortunately, this had just enough alpha bitterness in the finish to keep my interest. Although overall a nice showcase for Citra, with all the expected citrus note, this also had some surprising tropical flair, which actually added some interest. Not my style, and unfortunately a can with a few months on it, but I liked this one, so kudos to Separatist.

 

 

I got a can of this beer off the single shelf from my local beer store just around the corner. The beer poured a hazy yellow with white head that is leaving some lace. The scent had lemon drop notes. The taste was nicely balanced and easy to drink with bright citrus and lemon presence. The mouthfeel was medium in body and had good carbonation. Overall it is a good beer.

 

 

A: The beer is very hazy yellow in color - a bit too hazy to see if there is any visible carbonation. It poured with a quarter finger high white head that left lots of lacing down the sides of the glass and a large, thin patch of bubbles on the surface.
S: Moderate aromas of gooseberries and orange citrus are present in the nose.
T: The taste has flavors of lime and lychee along with hints of grapefruit. Only a slight amount of bitterness is perceptible.
M: It feels nearly medium-bodied and somewhat juicy and smooth on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: The use of oats and wheat lighted up the body of this beer and made it very easy to drink.

Serving type: can

 

Deep honey golden body topped by marshmallow head. Aroma of honey, citrus, light pine, mango, grass. Tastes of citrus, pine, big mango and honey cream that’s a bit nauseating after a while. Thick bodied with light carbonation.

 

 

Can from Canton St Aug 2020

One of the most dull flavorless hazy IPAs I’ve ever had.

Canned on 10/12/17, I traded for this a while ago and finally got around to it tonight. This was on part with the other "Nerd" beers that I had from Sole / Separatist as it was quite juicy and crushable! This never felt "extra" at all as the sweetness and underlying cream gave it a soft sensuality that hid the hops and alcohol quite nicely...

This had a good pour to it as the muted goldenrod hue didn't have any sediment in it whatsoever and gave off a subtle but fairly luminescent glow to it. Plenty of foamy head topped this off although the lack of accompanying lacing left a lot to be desired. Lots of dark, citrus rind and pith in the nose along with a good amount of dank pineapple, deep forest, and star fruit in the mix. The taste was also that varied and complex but nearly needing a chaser of water at the same time. Somewhat sticky and full of enough resin, the aftertaste was a bit like swamp water as it was hard to pick out any discernible malt in the body. Some tropical fruit lingered in the aftertaste as the felt heavy throughout, although that wasn't a deterrent at all...

Not a lot of booze and a bit of warming could be felt before I fully finished this off. If you like one hop in you beer without it feeling one-dimensional, then this would be up your alley. Not one of the best I've had from Separatist but it's enjoyable enough that I wouldn't mind having this again!