Mama Tried - Brazos Valley Brewing Review
There are lots of great things about living in (or visiting) Texas, and at the top of that list in the Brew household is the craft brewing scene. Every town, big or small, has their own craft brewery, and some of those breweries are large enough to ship that beer all over Texas for the rest of us to try.
One of those breweries is Brazos Valley Brewing out of Brenham, Texas. As fellow Texans who don’t live very close to Brenham, we’re excited to try their beer, and especially their flagship IPA—Mama Tried, a Citra IPA that got the ball rolling in Brenham.
Now, Citra is a massively popular hop, and even novices will recognize it once introduced to its unique qualities. It’s a big, bold hop with lots of citrus, floral, and, if used appropriately, fruity aromas and flavors. But if it’s dropped into the boil it loses all the qualities that make Citra a darling in the craft brew world. Trust me, as a homebrewer I’ve boiled the Citra and ended up with a bitter mess that doesn’t give these hops the credit they deserve. Let’s see how Brazos Valley did.
First Impressions
On the Eyes--Golden amber in color, hazy, and topped with a tight-pored and cream-colored head. We’re hoping the haziness is from dry-hopping the Citra—the best way to achieve those fruity aromas.
On the Nose--Definite Citra with rich floral and slightly sweet fruit aromas. Myrcene (for you beer nerds) is a hop oil found in high percentages in Citra which provides those fruity and floral aromas we know and love. Let’s chug!
On the Palate--The floral flavor is definitely present with an additional sharp and bitter but fresh citrus that always tastes of lime (to me) when coming from Citra, and in the same way as a real lime does, the bitterness is clean and doesn’t linger through the finish. And in that clean finish a gentle maltiness makes itself known, adding some necessary balance to this hop-forward beer. After a few drinks it begins to calm into more herby and lemony flavors, making this medium-bodied beer quite easy to drink for a 6.6% ABV beer.
Final Thoughts:
I have tasted (and brewed) some not great Citra beers. It’s a robust, dual-purpose hop suited to add both strong bitterness and fruity aromas, but it must be handled gently or it just comes out as a floral bitter bomb. And I say again, I have definitely done this with my own homebrews. And while there is a lot of Citra abuse out there, Brazos Valley handled this hop quite well.
Mama Tried is hazy, aromatic, and offers a clean bitterness that portrays both sides of Citra—Bitter and fruity. The medium body makes Mama Tried easy to drink and it finishes with only a mild lingering bitterness. The floral and citrus notes fit it firmly in the realm of classic IPA.
It may lack a little complexity, as many single hop beers do, but Mama Tried is a good Citra beer, especially if you’re curious about individual hops and their properties.
Brazos Valley Brewing offers a lot of taproom staples, and we’re hoping to get over there to try them all—after a Mama Tried, that is.
Cheers!
Mr. Brew
Curious about Texas craft brewing? Check out these icons—Real Ale Axis IPA and Saint Arnold’s Art Car IPA