Get 'Er Brewed Lupomax Citra IPA Beer Kit review

[GhostShip]

Recently started looking at some of the homebrew shops own offerings in terms of beer kits and decided to try this one.

Kit contents
2 x 1.5kg of Super Premium Light Liquid Malt
1 x Isomerised hop extract to create 60 ibu’s
3 x 20g hop tea bags for dry hopping of the new Lupomax
1 x Lallemand Premium Verdant IPA

Kit started 20th April 2021 - made up to 23L with Tesco Ashbeck mineral water.
Fermented in brew fridge at 20.5°C.
Kit hops (tea bag form) added on 2nd May.
Bottled on 5th May, with one sugar stick per bottle and put into brew fridge at 20.5°C.
Moved out to cold shed on 18th May.
First pint - 18th June.

These are not the cheapest of kits - postage takes it to over £30, but I really don't mind paying extra if it's going to give me a decent beer that I can enjoy - especially as the cost per pint is still only just over a quid.

Smells great from the bottle - no hint of any twang and a definite hit of Citra hops. Perfect head and though not perfectly clear, it's near enough. I normally always get a smell of homebrew twang from the glass when I make a kit, but there's nothing on this - smells great! Tastes lovely - unmistakably Citra with a perfect bitter finish. Someone on here posted recently asking if they could make a beer that was near to Adnam's Ghost Ship from a kit - well this is really not that far away. It's a bit thinner than Ghost Ship, but it's a really well-balanced beer. Given it's only been four weeks in the shed, there's every chance that this will mature a bit, but even if that's not the case, I'll be perfectly happy to drink this as it is. It's a really good summer beer - beautiful golden colour, easy to drink (3.9%) with a good balance between the Citra hops and the slight bitter finish.

I'll update this review in 2/3 weeks to see if the beer does improve with age.

Really pleased with this one and will definitely investigate more GEB kits.

 

[damienair]

Thanks for the review. After the James Blonde Ale from the Homebrew Company turning out so well I’m on the lookout for another. I’ll give this go too. I usually buy two kits together so as to make value from the postage. I might buy Midas Touch as well. Put both on.

 

[GhostShip]

Nearly a month on and I'm drinking another Citra IPA (not been home at the weekend for a month so home brew stocks are looking good!). I would say this has definitely matured for the better. My only criticism would be that it's slightly 'thin', but it's a really nice pint. Beautifully clear, good head, nice Citra hit and a good bitter finish. I was in London last weekend and I honestly struggled to find a pint I liked all weekend. Camden Pale Ale came closest and that was well over £6. I think home brewing is spoiling me slightly when I go out - this is a cracking summer beer and I'd be delighted if I was served it in a pub, which for me is the acid test.

@Get_Er_Brewed

 

[GhostShip]

MJ Pink Grapefruit IPA all gone, Muntons Hazy IPA still conditioning, so the Citra IPA is now in pole position. Enjoying one now and it’s a really nice pint which I think has probably improved again since my last post. Absolutely no hint of ‘twang’ and very well balanced. Cracking beer.

 

[An Ankoù]

Camden Pale Ale came closest and that was well over £6.

Bloody hell. £6 a pint? That's a bit steep. Gordon Bennett!

 

[Tommo 2]

MJ Pink Grapefruit IPA all gone, Muntons Hazy IPA still conditioning, so the Citra IPA is now in pole position. Enjoying one now and it’s a really nice pint which I think has probably improved again since my last post. Absolutely no hint of ‘twang’ and very well balanced. Cracking beer.

Hi ghostship have got a muntons hazy conditioning at the moment too , bottled last Saturday put one in my beer fridge this morning (I know ) I used a verdant yeast and I can tell you what it tastes bloody gorgeous already,very young but I think this is going to be a cracker, used 91 grams of brewing sugar to prime for around 2volumes and seems spot on, can’t wait to get stuck in in a few weeks time, if I last that long . How much sugar did you use to prime and did you change anything.

 

[Class68driver]

I tried my Muntons Hazy after 10 days in the bottle and it was bloody lovely, hoppy and full of flavour. Really pleased with it.

 

[GhostShip]

Hi ghostship have got a muntons hazy conditioning at the moment too , bottled last Saturday put one in my beer fridge this morning (I know ) I used a verdant yeast and I can tell you what it tastes bloody gorgeous already,very young but I think this is going to be a cracker, used 91 grams of brewing sugar to prime for around 2volumes and seems spot on, can’t wait to get stuck in in a few weeks time, if I last that long . How much sugar did you use to prime and did you change anything.

I’ve already done the Hazy IPA once (though it was then a NEIPA). If you refer to the ‘New range of kits from Muntons…’ thread in ‘Beer kit brewing discussion’, you’ll see exactly how I brewed it (I was asked to test it for Muntons, so followed the instructions to the letter) and what I thought of it (clue: it was superb!).

 

[Tommo 2]

You tried the west coast yet dude, that tastes awesome too, got both kits on both done on the same day , massive bottling day though

 

[GhostShip]

I haven’t - make sure you post a review when it’s ready!

 

[GhostShip]

Bloody hell. £6 a pint? That's a bit steep. Gordon Bennett!

To be fair, we were sitting right next to the Thames with a view over to St Paul's. I guess you're paying for the view as well as the beer.

 

[TastyMcbrewski]

Always enjoy your reviews cheers Ghostship. seems this is a hit? I still hold MJ juicy IPA as benchmark of excellence how does this compare (recognising it’s a different type of beer).

Been out of home brewing most of this year but just put on a GEB experimental galaxy pale ale kit (birthday present from January!).

Can’t see anyone has reviewed this yet?

 

[GhostShip]

Always enjoy your reviews cheers Ghostship. seems this is a hit? I still hold MJ juicy IPA as benchmark of excellence how does this compare (recognising it’s a different type of beer).

Been out of home brewing most of this year but just put on a GEB experimental galaxy pale ale kit (birthday present from January!).

Can’t see anyone has reviewed this yet?

Thank you! I always find reviews helpful as a guide to what I might brew next, so always make sure to do a review on here whenever I do a kit. It's nice to hear that you enjoy them!

The Citra IPA is decent, but it's not as good as the MJ Juicy Session IPA. I'd also put it below the MJ Pink Grapefruit IPA and Muntons new Hazy IPA. It's just a little bit 'thin', though perfectly drinkable and I'm really enjoying it. I'll be really interested to hear what you make of the Galaxy Pale Ale.