Citra
Brouwerij De Moersleutel

 

Pours a cloudy, golden amber coloration with a medium, fluffy head. Smells of light biscuity malt and citrus and lighter tropical hops, with notes of grapefruit, lime peel and mango. Taste follows the nose, with a good balance of light biscuity malt and muddled, overripe fruity hops, with notes of grapefruit, lime peel and mango, as well as a light booziness. Finishes with a very light bitterness and some grapefruit and mango lingering in the aftertaste. Smooth mouthfeel with a medium body and carbonation.

Just like Mosaic, their other single-hopped IPA, this makes for a decent American IPA, but really not a great self-described New England IPA, as it completely lacks the style's signature hazy look, juicy hops and soft mouthfeel. The hops also feel a bit muddled and not all that well-defined here, although Citra's citrus and lighter tropical notes do shine through somewhat. While De Moersleutel make absolutely fantastic stouts very consistenly, I've never been impressed by their IPAs, to be honest and this is no exception, unfortunately. It's way too sweet, reminiscent of artifical sweetener and a bit boozy as well, while the hops feel muddled, overripe and not all that expressive, which is fairly typical of their IPA flavour profile. I liked the Mosaic a bit better, but although the mouthfeel is a bit softer here, this really isn't great overall. My can is about 3 months old, so maybe not super fresh, but certainly not overly old either.

Pours a golden yellow, only a little bit hazy. Fluffy white head. Smells hoppy, bitter, bit resiny. Taste has some weird sweetness, like from sweetener, and quickly goes fairly bitter. Some orange peel, recognisable Citra tropical notes, quite alcoholic. We can blame some of the lack of hop intensity on the age, but where's the haze? And why are many of these Moersleutels so boozy?

 

Got this from the webshop. Cheers!

From a 44cl can into a snifter
NEDIPA with Citra

APPEARANCE: Pours a one finger, medium looking, creamy and fluffy white head with excellent retention. A relatively clear golden yellow for the style and no carbonation evident. Head eventually recedes to a full wisp and clings to the sides of the glass. A faint half-wisp remains leaving some nice dots of lacing down the glass as it empties.

SMELL: Plenty of honeydew melon, caramel aromas, citrus notes of lemon and grapefruit, as well as some decent passionfruit on the nose. Solid.

TASTE: Honeydew melon, caramel sweetness, some lemon citrus flavors and passion fruit up front, then a bit of bitterness and some alcohol at the swallow. Flavorful. Bold finish of melon, honey, citrus flavors, passionfruit, notes of mango, as well as a touch of grapefruit bitterness and booze lingers on the palate. Good stuff.

PALATE: Medium body and medium carbonation. Very creamy and smooth on the palate, goes down smooth and finishes a bit mouth-coating. A touch of heat lingers.

OVERALL: Good stuff. It’s not a hazy, juicy NEIPA but it’s a solid low-bitterness IPA with plenty of character. Enjoyable brew that may not quite be the pinnacle of the style, but it definitely one worth checking out if you’re a De Moersleutel fan, which I certainly am. Cheers!