Surly Xtra Citra Pale Ale Review

Name: Surly Xtra Citra Pale Ale
Style: American Pale Ale
ABV: 4.5%
IBUs: N/A

Why......it's a new offering from Surly Brewing! I guess with their new brewery, they've been cranking out new beers left and right this past year and they've truly come up with some cool new beers, both on-tap and in either bottle or canned form.

This newest concoction is called Xtra Citra Pale Ale, which is their session pale ale made with citrus hops, a point which they make painfully obvious in the description on the back side of the can. Some have said that this beer is in response to Toppling Goliath's entrance into the Minnesota market; namely with their PsuedoSue and other beers.

In reality, this beer is actually switching the places of Bitter Brewer, which is being retired in place of this beer. Sad news considering how much I enjoyed that beer but there must've been good reason behind it.

Appearance - Mildly hazy yellow color with a moderate amount of visible carbonation. The head is quite thin and filmy but retains for a while and the same thing goes for the lacing, which is also rather mild.

Aroma - Citrus hops and orange peel notes with a solid pale malt backbone. I'm also getting some hints of lemon and just a light touch of bitterness.

Taste - Citrus hops and orange peel with a light bitter hoppiness on the front of the palate. The orange peel carries over to the middle of the palate, where that pale malt backbone makes itself known along with a very light grapefruit flavor. Towards the back, you've got some light citrus hops mixed in with some equally light bitter hops. As for the aftertaste, it's just more light bitter hops with a touch of orange.

While I'm sad to see Bitter Brewer go, I feel that this is a worthy replacement. Much like Bitter Brewer, it's very sessionable but the difference here is that Xtra Citra has a much more robust flavor profile than its predecessor and that alone makes it worthy replacement. As a standalone beer, its great and I'd be hardpressed to find any beer out there with so much flavor at such a low ABV (sours not withstanding). If you see it, check it out!

Surly Xtra Citra Pale Ale - 9/10