Against the Grain Citra Ass Down
I’m going to be as blunt as possible with this intro. I solely bought this bottle of Against the Grain Citra Ass Down for the name alone — it’s certainly one of the more clever monikers on a beer I’ve run across in a while.
Citra Ass Down, as you can imagine, is an imperial IPA that focuses on the Citra hop variety. This isn’t a single-hop brew, however. According to the company’s website, there is — in addition to the 17 pounds of Citra hops — an additional five pounds of Centennial and a smattering of Columbus hop varieties tossed in per batch.
The result is a beer that has a ton of juicy fruit flavors, pine and a solid amount of hop bitterness. It’s not a beer that’s going to completely wreck your palate, but it is one that packs a punch.
Appearance
The beer pours an ever so slightly hazy, golden aber in color with a full cap of off-white foam that falls to a full ring.
Aroma
As expected, there is a large amount of grapefruit, orange, lemon zest, grass and sticky, resinous pine.
Taste
This is not a small IPA. Sticky, piney hops dominate throughout as grapefruit, citrus peel and an earthy leafiness swirl around the mouth. A moderate to high level of bitterness and a light sweetness swell before fading to a lightly drying, long lasting finish. The beer weighs in at 8.2% and carries a late forming warmth.
Overall
Citra Ass Down satiated a need for something hoppy. After drinking rich, malty brews for most of the Winter at the point of this review, I needed hops. And this beer’s sticky, resinous goodness did not disappoint.
Rating: 4/5
