Hop
Citra
The defining modern aroma hop: intense grapefruit, lime, mango and passionfruit, and the most-used variety in American craft brewing.
Citra transformed what an IPA could smell like. Its very high oil content and unusually high concentration of thiol precursors produce tropical and citrus aromas at an intensity earlier varieties could not reach.
Some of that character is released by yeast during fermentation rather than being present in the hop, which is why the same Citra addition can taste noticeably different depending on the yeast strain — an effect that is now actively exploited.
The name is a registered trademark; the plant is HBC 394.
Aroma and flavour
Descriptors are impressions rather than analytical results. BeerHQ rates this characterisation as well established.
Belongs to
Analysis
| Alpha acid | 11–13% |
|---|---|
| Beta acid | 4–5% |
| Cohumulone | 22–24% |
| Total oil | 2–3 ml/100 g |
| Purpose | aroma |
| Origin | United States |
| Breeder | Hop Breeding Company |
| Released | 2008 |
| Breeding code | HBC 394 |
| Storage stability | moderate |
The name is a registered trademark rather than a plain variety name, which affects what a label may say and who may grow it.
How it is used
- Whirlpool / hop stand. Steeped below boiling after flameout. Extracts aroma and flavour with limited additional bitterness.
- Dry hop. Added after the boil, during or after fermentation. Contributes aroma and flavour with essentially no isomerised bitterness.
- Late boil. Added in the last few minutes, retaining more aromatic oils while adding modest bitterness.
If you like Citra
Hops with comparable character. Similarity and substitutability are different questions, so each entry says which it is: a hop can smell alike and still change the beer if its alpha acid is far off.
Galaxy 12–16% alpha · editorial
Comparable tropical intensity from Australia.
Not the same: nothing in the recorded profile separates the two, which means BeerHQ cannot tell you how they differ rather than that they are interchangeable.
Smells alike, but the alpha acid differs enough that a like-for-like swap would change the bitterness.
Styrian Wolf 10–15% alpha
Shares citrus, tropical fruit, stone fruit with Citra; an aroma variety at a comparable alpha acid.
Not the same: nothing in the recorded profile separates the two, which means BeerHQ cannot tell you how they differ rather than that they are interchangeable.
Close enough in both aroma and alpha acid to swap in a recipe.
Olicana 7–10% alpha
Shares citrus, tropical fruit, stone fruit with Citra; an aroma variety though it bitters more gently.
Not the same: 4 points lower in alpha acid, so a like-for-like weight swap would change the bitterness.
Smells alike, but the alpha acid differs enough that a like-for-like swap would change the bitterness.
Melba 12–16% alpha
Shares citrus, tropical fruit, stone fruit with Citra; an aroma variety though it bitters harder.
Not the same: nothing in the recorded profile separates the two, which means BeerHQ cannot tell you how they differ rather than that they are interchangeable.
Smells alike, but the alpha acid differs enough that a like-for-like swap would change the bitterness.
Triumph 8–12% alpha
Shares citrus, tropical fruit, stone fruit with Citra; an aroma variety though it bitters more gently.
Not the same: nothing in the recorded profile separates the two, which means BeerHQ cannot tell you how they differ rather than that they are interchangeable.
Smells alike, but the alpha acid differs enough that a like-for-like swap would change the bitterness.
Straight substitutes
Close enough in both character and alpha acid to swap at a similar weight. Substitution is directional and imperfect — these are the nearest available options, not equivalents.
- Styrian Wolf — Shares citrus, tropical fruit, stone fruit with Citra; an aroma variety at a comparable alpha acid.
- Mosaic — A Citra descendant with more berry and stone fruit.
- Strata — Shares citrus, tropical fruit with Citra; an aroma variety at a comparable alpha acid.
Combines well with
Used in
- American pale ale
The beer that defined American craft brewing: clean pale malt under bright citrus and pine hop character, balanced rather than extreme.
- American IPA
The defining modern craft beer: intense citrus, tropical and resinous hop aroma over a lean malt base, finishing firmly bitter.
- New England IPA
Hazy, soft and intensely aromatic: tropical and stone fruit hop character with deliberately low bitterness and a full, juicy body.
- Session IPA
IPA hop intensity at a strength you can drink several of — lean, dry and aromatic, with the malt kept minimal.
- Double IPA
IPA scaled up: more strength, more hops and more bitterness, while staying dry enough to remain drinkable.
- White IPA
A hybrid of witbier and IPA: wheat and Belgian yeast spice underneath American hop aroma.
- Belgian IPA
American hop intensity fermented with expressive Belgian yeast, producing pepper and fruit alongside citrus and pine.
- Cold IPA
A lean, dry IPA fermented with lager yeast at higher temperature, using maize or rice to strip body and expose hop aroma.
- India pale lager
A lager hopped at IPA intensity: clean cold fermentation carrying bright American hop aroma and firm bitterness.
- Milkshake IPA
A hazy IPA with lactose and fruit added for sweetness and a fuller, creamier body.
- Alcohol-free IPA
An alcohol-free beer built around heavy dry hopping, since hop aroma is added after fermentation and survives the process intact.
Questions
What does Citra taste like?
Grapefruit and lime up front, with mango, passionfruit and lychee behind them. It is intensely aromatic rather than harsh, and its character is fruit rather than the pine and resin of older American varieties. Note that some of what you smell is created during fermentation, so the same hop can present differently depending on the yeast used.
Evidence
What BeerHQ knows about this, and how. Every statement carries the state of the evidence behind it rather than being presented flatly as fact.
Citra was released in 2008 from the Hop Breeding Company programme and is a proprietary variety, with parentage including Hallertauer Mittelfrüh, US Tettnanger, Brewer’s Gold and East Kent Golding among others.
Backed by a source
Sources: Hop Growers of America variety data; For the Love of Hops — print
Much of Citra’s tropical and grapefruit character is carried by polyfunctional thiols perceptible at parts-per-trillion concentrations, many of which arrive in wort bound and inactive and are released by yeast enzymes during fermentation.
Backed by a source
Sources: Journal of the Institute of Brewing; For the Love of Hops — print
Citra is a registered trademark rather than a generic variety name, and the plant is grown under licence — which is why it cannot simply be propagated freely as an older public-programme variety can.
Backed by a source Last checked 2026-08-16.
BeerHQ treats a hop substitution as a nearest-available match rather than an equivalence: substitutes share a broad aroma family, and the differences between them are usually the reason a brewer chose the original.
BeerHQ’s own reading