Häffner Bräu Hopfenstopfer Citra Ale

Brewed by Häffner Bräu
Style: American Pale Ale
Bad Rappenau, Germany

Serve in Lager glass, Shaker

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330 ml bottle at home in Germany with much thanks to jfb. I am normally not much of an IPA fan and even more septical about Germany Brewers turning into the rest of the worlds breweries. Anyway that being siad this stuff was awsome. Pours a hazy gold color with a huge white lasting and lacy head. Aroma is citrus, hopps, and berries. Taste is sweet yet dry and well made. Palate is smooth and very nice. This has a nice German touch to it and stays with the Reinheitsgebot. I however do hope that this does not spead to much. But superior.

Ein "Single Hop Craft Beer" - gebraut nur mit Citra-Hopfen. Das Bier im Glas ist trüb und riecht toll grasig-hopfenaromatisch. Der Antrunk ist angenehm herb-frisch, blumig. Die weiche milde des hefigen Bieres passt sehr gut dazu. Zum Hauptteil wird das Bier noch ein Bisschen herber und nun treten auch die Citra-Hopfenaromen zu Tage. Zitroniges Grapefruitaroma, zusammen mit einer frisch-grasigen Hopfenherbe bestimmen das Bild. Sehr interessant. Die Süße des Bieres hält sich zurück, aber bei diesem Bier soll ja auch der Hopfen im Mittelpunkt stehen. Die zitronigen Aromen des Bieres halten sich noch lange bis in den Nachgeschmack auf der Zunge, die grasige Herbe sorgt für einen lang anhaltenden Nachklang. --> Insgesamt ein tolles Bier. Die frischen Zitrusaromen des Citra-Hopfens kommen voll zu Geltung, das Bier ist angenehm feinherb und schmeckt schon fast, als sein ein Spritzer frischer Zitronensaft enthalten. Faszinierendes Hopfenaroma! Uneingeschränkt empfehlenswert! 12,14,12,14,12,15 - 13,80

Bottle from a craft beer shop in Moabit. Cloudy gold with a small white head. Lemony as fuck, orange, lime, grapefruit, light sweet caramel. Motherfucker this bitch is lemony. Like a lemon merangue pie or some shit. grassy hop reaches up and slaps you, like the chick from the hostel when you told her you were done with her so she should go back to her own bed. yeah it happened. hurt like hell too. but anyway this beer is fucking awesome. bitter kick in the end

Bottle looks really good. Beer in the glass also, deep orange, huge head. Wonderful hoppy-dry aroma. Starts intense hoppy-fresh, modest sourish, fine grasy notes. Soft touch of lemon. Well balanced finish and very drinkable. A great beer!

bottle, with many thanks to pivnizub! Cloudy pale golden colour, large and very creamy head. Lovely citrus-hoppy nose. Light- to medium-bodied, elegant malty background with lots of citrusy hops all over the palate. Bitter-sweet, lovely citrus flavours, pleasantly bitter. A delicious and well balanced beer. Interesting how different and unusual beers can be within the boundaries of the Reinheitsgebot. Delicious!

UPDATED: MAY 10, 2012
2012-05-02, bottle from the brewery/hotel, bb 2012-03-07, 8 months old, 8-4-7-4-16=39
Cloudy blond color; creamy head. It still has a very nice aroma of citrusy hops, fresh, creamy, with very light strawberry. Clean and soft mouthfeel, smooth; delicate malt flavor, with a light sweetness, pleasant citrusy hops, with some mango too; well balanced. Correct bitterness.
After 8 months, it’s still wonderful.

2011-12-27, bottle from the brewery/hotel, bb 2012-03-07, 7-4-8-4-16=39
Delicate aroma of lemon and vanilla. Dry, crispy, although a bit papery in the end, with a sensual fruity hopping. Still holding up well.

2011-10-29, bottle from the brewery/hotel, bb 2012-03-07, 8-4-7-3-15=37
Cloudy orange-bond color, with medium sized compact head. It confirms the impression of the previous bottle, this batch seems to have more apricot, peach and yellow stone fruit aroma than citrus. The mouthfeel is very dry, the body rather weak; there is not enough maltiness; strong bitterness, with some hop oils but not enough hop character compared to expectations. Long final. Good but less impressive than ever.

2011-10-29, bottle from the brewery/hotel, bb 2011-10-14, 7-4-7-4-15=37
Hazy blond color, with medium sized compact head. The aroma is delicate, mild, but still nice, with yellow stone fruits and vanilla. Smooth mouthfeel, with light crispy malt flavor (that is, more than the recent batch); strong but balanced bitterness, that even after this time (I believe the beer is 6 months old) still provides some elegant but fading elements; there is a very light sourness due to the age.
The beer has been stored in fridge for all this time; it lost some of the power of the fresh bottles, but it’s still good, and apparently that batch was better than the last one.

2011-10-17, bottle from the brewery/hotel, bb 2012-03-07, 8-4-7-3-15=37
The aroma is mainly peach and yellow stone fruit. Not much malt flavor; quite dry mouthfeel, possibly weak as well; the bitterness is quite strong. Pleasant but not spectacular.

2011-07-25, bottle from the brewery/hotel, bb 2011-10-14, 8-4-8-4-16=40
Cloudy deep blond color; generous, compact head. Wonderful aroma of lemon, citrus fruits, tropical fruits, bergamot, peach. Dry and clean mouthfeel, with hidden malt flavor, thus allowing the hop to shine completely; after a few more weeks it’s still very fresh and enjoyable, with harmonious hoppy flavor, pleasant notes of cedar among the rest, with a quite bitter but not excessive final.

2011-06-26, bottle from the brewery/hotel, 7-4-7-4-15=37
Cloudy blond color, with a medium sized compact head. Very nice aroma, lemony, less pungent than other times. Dry mouthfeel; dry malt flavor, with a strong zesty note; also a lemony touch. Very good, but less impressive than other bottles.

2011-06-08, bottle from the brewery/hotel, 9-4-7-4-16=40
Cloudy blond color; medium sized compact head. The Citra aroma is one of the best around, with lovely citrusy fruits and Passion fruit, but without the harsh edge of other Citra beers. The body is medium-weak, the mouthfeel is very dry; interesting to notice the difference between the flavor given by a German brewer (the malt profile is subdued and clean) from the flavor given in Ale countries (no toffee flavor here); the final is very dry, and expectedly bitter, with some evident hop oils; it can be defined as a Citra Helles.
I’m amazed!

Bottled, thanks Bov! Cloudy golden, huge head. Sweaty citrus aroma. Mid sweet with medium body and soft mouthfeel. Grapefruit and tangerine resting on relaxed, soft malt. The citrus slowly fades out into mild bitterness. However much I dislike the thought on hop-centric APAs creeping into the German beer scene, I ust say that this is a brilliant APA.

Bottled: Wonderfull aroma of grape juice, berries,fruity white wine and citrus. Hazy golden color, foamy head. Flavor is also full of berries, grapes, white wine, citrus hops and a citrus and light herbal bitterness. Wow!

My Bottom Line :
A tropical fruit salad provides delightful aromatics until a gentle resinous bitterness seals this supremely refreshing American-style Pale Ale.

Further Personal Perceptions :
-An impressive, frothy head of foam thrones atop the cloudy golden.
-If you’ve had Benelux’s Sabotage, this is basically a smoother version of it.
-The tropical fruit character spans from bananas to lychees, from pineapple to citrus. It completely dominates the brew, so if you’re not into New World hops, you will not like this.
-It is true that the malts could offer a bit more in the way of flavor, but this is so good already that one cannot really complain.
-This is an APA in both abv and moderate hop bitterness, but may feel like an IPA because of a bolder aroma and flavor profile. In any case, it’s quite good.
-The soft effervescence and lenient malts are perfect to showcase the hop bounty.

Bottles. Thx Alex and Günther!

courtesy of fiulijn - pours a cloudy dark orange beer under a solid and persistent white foam; fairly hoppy aroma with notes of citrus, lemongrass and cream; medium-bodied and with a solid carbonation; dry and very bitter with a long citrusy and spicy hoppy finish