Tag Archives: Citra

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May 16, 2013

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2nd RJ Rockers/Holy City collaboration released Friday

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Remember that second collaboration beer RJ Rockers and Holy City were brewing up recently? Well, it’s got a name and a release date.

Holy Citra, RJ! is a 7% ABV single-hopped Citra IPA concocted by the Upstate and Lowcountry breweries. This collaboration was brewed in Charleston and follows their Stuck on Rye 26 red ale, which was brewed in Spartanburg.

Holy Citra and Stuck on Rye 26 will both be tapped at the Charleston Total Wine & More store Friday, May 17, beginning at 5 p.m. for samples and growler fills.

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January 23, 2013

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Westbrook announces new, old, Old Time beers

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It’s not strange to find my wife and me at Columbia’s World of Beer on any given night of the week, but Tuesday evening was something special. Westbrook, a brewery you might have heard me talk about once or twice, held a beer pairing dinner along with Motor Supply, one of Columbia’s exceptional and more popular restaurants.

A full rundown of the (incredible) food and drink is coming later this week, but there are more pressing things to get to. Namely, three big pieces of news that came straight from the horse’s mouth – the hose being brewery founder Edward Westbrook – and surprised a lot of people.

New cans – Prior to the pairing with Westbrook’s Citra Rye Pale Ale, Ed gave the rundown about the history of the beer and how it’s grown in popularity over time. It’s become so popular that Westbrook has decided to make it – or at least a variety of it – a little more available.

Starting later this year, the brewery will add a version of its Citra Rye as the third year-round canned beer in its repertoire. This new beer will join White Thai and IPA as an everyday 12 oz. offering from Westbrook. Exactly what the beer will be called, when it’ll be released or how it’ll differ from the current Citra Rye recipe wasn’t touched on, but soon enough you’ll have another Westbrook option to safely enjoy poolside or at the beach.

Mexican Cake goes seasonal – The evening’s dessert was paired with Mexican Cake, my favorite beer of last year as well as one of my all-time favorites. While having the beer on draft was good enough, Westbrook dropped some huge news that made it even better:

Starting this May, the 10.5% imperial stout will become a seasonal release.

It’s been rumored for some time that Westbrook would be releasing Mexican Cake again sometime early this year. Kegs have slowly been popping up around the state for the past few months, and I’ve seen a few cases of the bottles chilling in the brewery’s barrel room. And while I thought it would be a one-time deal, that doesn’t seem to be the case.

The initial release of Mexican Cake was gone from store shelves nearly as soon as it was released a year ago. To say the beer is popular is a massive understatement, and if the reaction from the people sitting around me was any indication, it’s showing no signs of losing popularity.

Again, details of the release are TBA.

New barrel-aged series drops in March – Asked what new brews they had in the works, Morgan Westbrook announced a new series of barrel-aged sours brewed in collaboration with the Charleston Beer Exchange will be bottled and released starting this March.

Last week, the brewery’s Facebook page featured photos of the Westbrook and CBX crew sampling some of the varieties of the beer, which has been aging in cider, red wine and rum barrels, among others, for more than a year. The series – dubbed Old Time after CBX Manager Brandon “Old Time” Plyler – will first be bottled in a couple of months and may make an appearance at Brewvival, but don’t quote me on that last part. It’s unclear which variety of the beer will be released first. As for Westbrook’s other series – Single Hop and Bearded Farmer – there was no news on when the next entry in each will show up.

And as usual, you can expect full reviews of all the aforementioned beers right here whenever they’re released.

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January 9, 2013

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Coast More Consistenter

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Coast Brewing Co.

Charleston, SC

More Consistenter Single-Hopped Rye Pale Ale

5.5% ABV

Not to be outdone by their S.C. beer brethren in Mt. Pleasant, Coast recently put out a Citra single-hopped rye pale ale of their own. Much like Westbrook’s Single Hop: Citra, More Consistenter lets uses a rye beer base to help showcase the nuances and flavors produced by Citra, one of the most popular and sought-after hops around. The hop is so popular that the entire 2013 crop is sold out, and if brewers missed out, they won’t be getting any until 2014.

I loved Westbrook’s attempt at the beer and was just as excited to see what Coast did differently. But the end result … well …

As with the Single Hop entry, the nose is unmistakably and deliciously Citra heavy. It’s like the tropics in a bottle, with lush notes of papaya, mango, juicy oranges, pineapple, peach and the like flooding the nose. But where More Consistenter departs from Single Hop is the sweetness that’s very heavy on the nose. There’s a sort of syrupy sweetness coating everything, kind of like you’d get from canned peaches. There’s not much of a rye spiciness on the nose, and if there is, it’s canceled out by the sweetness.

Unfortunately, what the nose giveth, the taste taketh away. It starts with a mild sting of bitterness on the front of the tongue, followed by a bite of carbonation and a pleasantly smooth mouthfeel. The finish is somewhat dry, which does a nice job of helping the hop bitterness hold on and finally reveal the rye spiciness. The rye bite is most prevalent in the middle of the palate after a few sips as the beer warms.

And … well, that’s really all there is. The big, juicy tropical fruit notes from the nose are more or less non-existent on the palate. From the smell, you’d expect a really flavorful beer, but it’s just not there. The rye certainly is, and the malt profile is good, but those peach and mango flavors you’d expect the Citra to impart are nonexistent. Maybe the Westbrook Single Hop spoiled me, but on the second try, this just isn’t what I’d hoped for.

I hate to say it, but More Consistenter is one of the more disappointing beers I’ve had from Coast. It’s certainly drinkable and enjoyable, and I certainly love a good rye beer – which this is – but the Citra just doesn’t shine on it as it does on the Single Hop variety. There just isn’t anything going on the in the taste except the rye, which is surprising given how flavorful the nose is. More often than not, Coast impresses me with their stuff, but More Consistenter is not one of their better offerings.

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December 26, 2012

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Westbrook Single Hop: Citra

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Westbrook Brewing Co.

Mt. Pleasant, SC

Single Hop: Citra Rye Pale Ale

5.5% ABV

One of Westbrook‘s earlier and more popular beers was the Citra Rye Pale Ale, which gives away everything about it in its name. First brewed in May 2011 and draft only, it’s returned as part of the brewery’s Single Hop series, following Pacific Jade, Amarillo and Nelson Sauvin.

I’ve had Citra Rye on draft a few times before and it’s just as great out of the bottle as it is from a tap. Popping the cap releases a burst of citrus and tropical fruit flavors which are tenfold on the nose. The Citra aroma is gigantic with mango, pineapple, peach and papaya absolutely dominating the senses. As with the other Single Hop beers, there is certainly just a touch of rye spiciness and malty sweetness, but the beer is designed to showcase the hop and it does that perfectly. It just smells so. Damn. Good.

And the taste doesn’t disappoint either. On the front of the tongue is a spicy bite which, to me, was a mix of the rye, the carbonation and the tartness from the Citra. It’s a big sour pinch, but it vanishes almost instantly as the taste continues across the palate. The middle of the mouth is very malt with a big biscuity and bready quality. There’s also a good bit of that tartness again, but the malts take the forefront in the middle.

The rye is also prevalent throughout the taste, more so than I remember with the previous Single Hop beers. The more you drink, the more you can taste the spice in the middle of the tongue and on the back of the throat. The tropical fruit flavors are strong as well, with peach and papaya taking the lead midway through and that lingering tangy grapefruit flavor sticking to the back of your throat. It is a Citra bomb, for sure, and a damn good one at that.

Everything about this beer screams bright and fresh. From the yellow label to the fluffy, foamy head to the aromas and taste, Citra Rye is such a lively beer and another excellent entry in the series.