Surly - Xtra Citra Pale Ale

I second this, this was a darn good session beer.

@Oneeighthcuban When will this be on tap again? If you don't get it on soon, you are going to miss out on it being on everyone's boat or at their cabins!

 

Of the ones I've had that are 4.9% ABV or less, the original Surly Bitter Brewer, Fair State Pahlay'Ahlay, Summit Hopvale, Central Waters Hop Rise (which seems to have been retired...), New Holland Carhartt Woodsman,... we'll see where my final rating lands for Xtra-Citra, but just from reading my notes, the New Holland Carhartt may be close to the same, but the others I clearly preferred more. (Of those, only the Fair State beer is predominately citra hopped, though.)

 

I liked the cans I had, but that dang head retention appears to be an issue still.

 

This is a genuine question, not me trying to be an ass: Why does this matter to so many people? If the beer is good, head retention matters absolutely zero to me. Is this simply a matter of people picking at low-hanging fruit (i.e. this has been an issue with Surly cans previously)?

 

Doesn't bother me much, it's just a notable thing. If I were to rate beers on the system beer advocate uses, the look grading would certainly suffer from that. I still buy Todd/Citra/Abrasive even with their head retention issues, and enjoy them immensely.

 

Sue?

 

I just find it odd for the style and indicative something is off. If its intentional maybe all the pictures should have no head.

 

"Look" is one of the evaluation criteria. Besides aesthetics, a nice head does contribute to aroma, another of the rating criteria.

BA considers "look" to be 6% of the rating. In my personal rating calculation (yeah, I'm enough of a geek to have my own rating formula... ), I give it only a 3% weight.

 

The head shown on the Surly web site would take a pretty aggressive pour, and it would last about 10 seconds...

 

I bet they had to use that new 4.4 trillion frames per second high speed camera to get that picture.

 

I haven't had it for a while since I can never find any fresh stuff anymore.. But Two Brothers Sidekick was pretty darn good a few years ago. Nice malt and citrus taste. Wasn't a thin, one note wonder.

Yeah I wish we got Carton Boat as well. I've got a can in the fridge as I type. It is damn good. I'd probably buy it by the case.

 

Haven't had boat but this stuff was awesome

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/22150/208938/?ba=ak635

 

Totally agree about Give-Way, but it's $11.99 a 4pk.....quite lame

 

Agree so good,That one was under 4% ABV also.

 

FW Easy Jack (session IPA), not an APA < 5% is one of the best ive had.

 

Also, idk what a lot of the issues are with this. I'm drinking one right now and it is delightful. My favorite beer? No. Pretty solid? Yes. Answering my own questions? Also, yes.

 

It is probably all that hot sauce that you want to make babies with.

 

I think this is a great replacement for Bitter Brewer. Will be buying more especially at the price.

 

Usually, my opinion on a beer improves on the second take. This was the exception. Tonight, it was worse than my notes from last night. An exerpt from my review: "This is one of those "for a" beers... enjoyable "for a" session ale, so as a summer "boat beer" most will find it more than acceptable. But no complexity at all, little flavor, and the thin body results in a less than desirable pale ale."

 

I couldn't agree more. I had one last night, and didn't think much of it. I had it again just now, and thought it was pretty bad. 'Watery' and 'one dimensional' are words that repeat themselves throughout my review.

This is a pour replacement for Bitter Brewer.