Terra Citra
The Drowned Lands

 

 

Can from Stout Bros Roswell Dec 2023

 

The pour from a pint can into a clear glass liter mug went nicely. There's a modest stark white head on top of a strawberry blond colored brew that's opaque, but not murky. It seems to be enduring. The aroma is of soft hops, starch and alcohol. This is sweet to taste and it's not a complex sweetness. It's more akin to a refined sugar sweetness, without any complexity. Very unlikely are the chances that the main starch in the wort is barley malt. With a fruity aspect, this tastes like dried fruit, maybe closest to pineapple. Some hops may be there, but the sweetness overpowers them. Yet, there are positives. The stratified glass lacing is lovely to behold. This is excellent at delivering a 9.4% ABV rather smoothly and without a burn. Overall, this may not be great, but if you want a sweet and somewhat smooth delivery of a heavy hitter, here's one for you.

On tap, pours a very hazy yellow-orange. Smells like a sweaty gym bag with just a touch of cat pee—how Citra should be. Thick-ish but not overly sweet. A nice bit of bitterness in the finish and the slightest hop burn. Exceptional beer.

 

 

Traded for this a few months ago as this was the second offering that I had from The Drowned Lands, not including the collaboration they did with Magnify recently. Sure, all of you Spinal Tap fans will love the "turn it up to 11" reference as this beer was full of Citra- maybe to *too* great an extent. No, this wasn't bad and it was easily enjoyable but there is such a thing as too much of one hop and the accompanying booze and this might be the quintessential example of that...

Quite a dirty and rustic look to this beer as it poured a thick melon with a uniformity to the hue. Enough head topped this off although the lacing left behind was a bit thin, with a thin ring near the top and most of the rest being in the form of spotty splotches down the side of my pint glass. Murky pineapple, dirty kiwi, and sweet tropical fruit filled the nose as the taste was just as dank, juicy, and heavy while feeling just a bit exotic from start to finish. An underlying sweetness tied everything in together as the flaked wheat and underlying orange juice slickness kept this bright and lively when this could have easily gotten bogged down...

Yeah, this had plenty of booze but it had plenty of Citra and a hint of swamp water and dewy dankness in the back to bring the heft down a notch or two throughout my time with this. No date was written on the bottom of the can but this was plenty fresh and lively as there wasn't any sediment to be seen or skunkiness to be felt. Plenty of body and a light carbonation combined with a subtly slick mouthfeel ensured that this would be both fun and enjoyable. If you like Citra, seek this out and consider it as a replacement for that morning glass of O.J....