Citra Loves Vic Secret
Brewery X

 

 

nice beer, fresh and a cool idea for a series of ipa, starting with citra but then pairing it with another cool varietal, i have long been saying citra does better not on its own, and this is a cool way to experiment with that, and i think this is a nice hop to match it with, majorly herbal, white wine grape character, green melon and its rind, neat notes to pair with the very familiar citra, which is also quite bold in here, especially in the nose, lighter in color, a little unfiltered looking not not really hazy, very well carbonated and holding a half inch of tightly packed white head. the nose is neat, lemongrass, meyer lemon, white tea, and honeydew, pale two row barley and maybe a light pils type crackery thing to the grain, drying minerality that stops short of being metallic in any way, real brisk and quick to me, some dankness but rather low on the bitterness overall. the flavor follows, fresh for sure, citra actually seemingly in front of the vic secret until it warms up a bit, a hint of white coconut there, even coconut water, green table grape, elderflower. very dry, subtly yeasty in an almost lager way, crisp like that, perhaps fermented cooler, some oils swirling and landing on the palate but light in body overall, real minimal on the grain side, summery and easy, but with some snappy late onset bitterness that beefs it up slightly. it warms to tangerine, yellow florals, and chardonnay. peppy feeling, easy down, very repeatable. would love to try the other citra loves combinations! thanks to my friend for hooking me up with some cans from these guys from his travels, so far so good!

Pours a clear dark yellow with plenty of foam in the Chimay chalice. Moderately sweet, like it wants to be a DIPA when it grows up. Pleasant sudsy mouthfeel with malty substantial body. Aromas of grapefruit. It tastes of grapefruit peel and darkness. The aftertaste is quite bitter with the impression of pencil shavings. I'd have to say this is hugely overhopped with the melon flavors buried in dankness and the avalanche of bitterness. It starts out interesting and finishes undrinkable. Good thing Trader Joes sells single cans. Dated 9/23/24 so it's quite fresh.

16 oz can into a nonic pint glas

Cloudy, yellow-tan appearance, super sudsy head with lacing everywhere.

Aromas are orange and lemon pith, fresh cut grass, dank.

Bitter on the palate - hop-forward and not in a good way. Astringent hop concentrate without enough malty sweet balance.

Always skeptical of experimental hops, and this may be out of its ‘trial phase’, but it’s a total fail here.

16 oz can from Trader Joes.
Pretty golden liquid but the head formation is spotty. Low retention and lacing.
Nose is herbal upfront, eventually bits of pine, and finally hints of citrus and pineapple.
Flavor is dominated by the herbal notes, backed up by the pine and maybe a hint of juniper. Whispers of pineapple, lime zest, and pepper come in meekly.
Mouthfeel is on the lighter side of medium, decent carb, and finishes dry in it's bitterness.

Can dated 9/11/24 poured into a tall tulip on 9/17/24. Beautiful, brilliant yellow with slight chill haze that gives way to perfect clarity as it warms. 3-finger stiff white meringue-like foam that slowly recedes to a tall center island with tinner surrounding ring. Token amount of lacing. Smell and taste dominated by citrus rind/peel. Nice amount of hop bitterness, but not overwhelming. Very clean finish and fine carbonation. Overall nice but not unique or and extraordinary ememplar of the type.