Recently, there's been a lot of beer activity in the traditionally nearly beer-less zone of Los Angeles/Orange County. The Bruery and Beachwood BBQ are leading the charge, but there are some other breweries that are gaining steam and making beers that will stand up to pretty much anything. One of those breweries is Noble Ale Works out of Anaheim.
Noble Ale Works was opened in 2012 by a brewer who used to brew at two other well known LA/OC breweries, Hangar 24 and TAPS Fish House & Brewery. I had tried and liked two of Noble's beers, but wasn't really giving them much attention until word starting getting around a few days ago that Noble had a new Double IPA out that was a beer to be reckoned with. Having heard this about a lot of beers in the past few years with mixed results, I was skeptical. But when I heard it was an all Citra-hopped beer, my fate had been sealed. I had to try it. Let's see how this one stacks up.
Citra Showers pours a slightly glowing and hazed golden color with a sturdy one-finger cream colored head. This beer looks awesome in the glass, and the lace it leaves with each sip is incredible. The smell is even better. If you love Citra hops, you can't not love the smell of this beer. Tropical and citrus notes explode out of the glass, giving you waves of candied grapefruit, mango, caramel, guava and spicy citrus zest. There's a slight rye note in the back as well. I wasn't much of a believer going into this one, but Good Lord, this smell!
The beer opens velvety on the palate with sweet mango and caramel notes coating your tongue right off the bat. Juicy grapefruit follows, along with some tangerine zest and a slight rye spiciness. The finish brings the barest trace of bitterness in the form of grapefruit pith resin.The mouthfeel is slightly creamy and holds the sweeter flavors in here together beautifully. Everything here is balanced, delicious, and insanely well put together. What a freaking beer. Believe the hype, people. Citra Showers is for real.
Final Grade: A+
Top 250 Beers Tasted: 126
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