Day 5 of the 5th Annual Advent-ure Calendar

Day 5: Columbus Brewing Company City Noel

To be completely honest, Citra Noel is the first holiday beer we purchase every year. Its crisp, refreshing hoppiness is our favorite way to transition into the holiday season after all of the fall pumpkin beers. From the brewery: “Welcome to a new holiday tradition. Our mahogany colored ale features tropical fruit notes from Citra hops and has a deep rich malt character.”

Reflections

Beard & Broad
Beard: This is one of my favorite holiday beers, hands down, always. I don’t need spices in my beers around Christmas, I just want something that tastes good and pairs well with cold weather.  This beer has just enough malt backbone to balance out the piney, citrusy, crisp hoppiness. I look forward to this every year and drink it wherever I find it.

Broad: Ah another favorite of mine! This might be the first holiday beer we grab as soon as it comes out. It is definitely not your typical “Christmas ale.” It has a nice mahogany color while being slightly hoppy and a bit malty. It’s just a perfect balance of citrus, piney, hoppiness, and maltiness.  I don’t know how to perfectly explain it. I love it so much just go out and drink it for yourselves.

Adam & Alex
Adam: Citra Noel, you glorious, celebratory holiday brew. Just the absolute perfect combination of tangy lemon and orange zest notes with the perfect piney hops. It’s like cutting down the perfect Christmas tree, putting it up in your house, decorating it and then enjoying a perfect lemon cookie amidst the sprucey freshness of your newly acquired quality tree boy. It’s long been a staple in our fridge during the holidays and will likely be the thing we drink the most this month.

Alex: I would be lying if I said this was the first time I had a Citra Noel this year.  This is one of my favorite holiday beers and is a great contrast to the spice forward beers that are a “staple of the genre.”  It has the perfect blend of citrus and pine and hoppiness.  We have had this in our fridge every week so far this season and I’m sure that will not change.

Scott & Christa
Scott: Citra Noel is a top tier Christmas beer.  It’s smoother to me than the other comparable beers (GL Christmas Ale, 12 Dogs) and that doesn’t make it better or worse, it’s just really f**king good.  This is a beer I would try to drink as quickly as possible to never share share with my friends or family.

Christa: Citra Noel is the gold star atop my tree of holiday beers. I love this one, I look forward to it’s release, I think about it through out the year…I could go on. I’m boring and almost exclusively drink IPAs so this hoppy and citrus infused holiday ale checks all boxes for me.

Tony & Megan
Tony: Hey Griswold, where do you think you’re gonna put that beer? …..In my bellay! As mentioned earlier, I’ve definitely started to come around on the hoppier IPAs. I appreciate the flavor more and this beer in particular is pretty enjoyable. A kind of amber color, it has a solid hoppiness while not being overwhelming. You also get some maltiness and a little bit of spice. Its well balanced and I like this one.

Megan: Hoppy holidays to all! We’re only on day 5 but this is the hoppiest beer yet. I’m not a fan of IPAs in general but this one is well balanced. It’s full of flavor, not too bitter and it’s not too heavy or light. Just the right balance of flavor and spices.

Brad & Heather
Brad: I’m normally a fan of Citra Noel and the smell and flavor is still excellent, however, my bottle was full of floaties. I don’t think this beer is intended to be unfiltered so it somewhat turned me off. I have a hard time letting beer go to waste so I finished it, like a champ, but I wasn’t a fan of the sediment in the pour. I will definitely try this beer again if i see it on tap.

Heather: This is a highly drinkable beer. Light and crisp, a fair amount of hops, and not too offensive with the aftertaste. It’s got a slight hint of fruitiness, but is rich enough to qualify as a holiday brew. Amber ales are always the best looking in a glass, and this one is no different. Pour a pint and grin at the way the red ale topped with white foam looks oh-so-Christmassy.