02/21/2023
Citra Hopped Duvel @ Delirium bar in Lisbon.
Duvel was founded in 1871, and is known best for their standard Belgian Golden Strong Ale. Aside from being highly-respected for their classic, they’re “keeping with the times” (and possibly pulling from their connection to the US West Coast brewing scene) with this Citra Hop version.
The varietal of Citra hops hit the market in 2007….136 years after Duvel began brewing! After much fanfare, Citra continues to impress, and
16 later, the varietal seems to have earned its place in the Duvel “experimental-hop” portfolio, and made its way to my table at this pub in Portugal.
It’s nice.
It’s NOT the West Coast IPA expression of the hop with a big fruit-forward punch, but more of a shift from the regular Duvel…(and doesn’t seem to have the same hexahydroisoalpha -hop foam stability).
Still, if you like Duvel, you’ll find it very enjoyable.
I’d love to taste the full expression of fresh Citra hops in Duvel.
Perhaps they’ll open a Duvel taproom, and pilot-batch such a thing…all in due-time.
