After becoming completely strung out on Widmer’s limited X-114 IPA, I started feeling a mighty jones for more Citra hops when I stumbled upon this offering from San Jose’s Hermitage Brewing Co.
In true, well-crafted, India Pale Ale fashion, Citra Hops, one of three single-hop IPAs Hermitage has cooked up, pours a tangerine-tinted gold and throws a nice inch-and-a-half head tightly packed with egg cream-colored foam. Citra Hops shows better retention than did its Citra sister, but doesn’t throw nearly as much lace up on the glass.
The nose is a nice balance of caramel malt and, of course, citrus. Upon first sip, the first thing I notice is the more aggressive bittering. Hermitage packed enough hops in here to blow the joint and the grapefruit sizzle sits on the tongue nearly, but not quite, crowding out the pineapple, lemon, and orange blossom notes.
All-in-all, this is a pretty good representation of this particular hop varietal. It would be interesting to do a vertical tasting with their single-hop Amarillo and Columbus offerings. At least this is a major step in the right direction after their undrinkable “Craptopia” series.
Grade: B+
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