Hop variety · 🇺🇸 US
Citra
Tropical citrus passionfruit. Bred by HBC (Hop Breeding Company), released 2008.
- Alpha acid
- 12.5–15 %
- Total oil
- 1.5–3 mL/100 g
- 3MH-family thiols
- High
- 4MMP
- High
- Data
- Verified
Aroma in one line
Brewers describe Citra as tropical citrus passionfruit. In Hoparoma's hop notes its thiol character is filed as thiol rich. That places it among the varieties whose tropical and citrus punch depends heavily on bound thiol precursors, which only show up when the yeast releases them.
Brewing values
Typical ranges come from supplier datasheets and lot certificates; the median column pools 12 published sources. Oil fractions are percent of total oil.
| Measure | Typical range | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Alpha acid % | 12.5–15 | 12 |
| Beta acid % | 3–4.5 | – |
| Cohumulone % of alpha | 20–24 | – |
| Total oil mL/100 g | 1.5–3 | 2.5 |
| Myrcene % | 50–70 | 62 |
| Humulene % | 7–12.5 | 10 |
| β-Caryophyllene % | 6–9 | 7 |
| Farnesene % | 0.1–1 | 0.5 |
| β-Pinene % | 0.6–1 | 0.5 |
| Linalool % | 0.1–0.7 | 0.5 |
| Geraniol % | 0.5–1 | 0.7 |
Range source: YCH Citra HBC 394 typical brewing values.
Thiol potential
Most of a hop's thiol aroma sits in the cone as odourless precursors bound to cysteine or glutathione; free thiols are a small fraction of the pool Gros et al. 2012 Kishimoto 2009. The tiers above summarise published precursor measurements and supplier statements for this variety. They are qualitative on purpose: Hoparoma's internal weighting is not published, and lot-to-lot variation is large.
Variety note: USDA NASS 2024 reports Citra Idaho acreage down 39.94% from 2022 to 2024; quality trend kept.
Crop year lots
Year-specific rows come from published lot certificates of analysis. Where a lot reports only alpha and oil, the composition columns fall back to the variety's typical range, and the note says so. Rows marked carry-forward are placeholders until that harvest is analysed.
| Crop | Alpha % | Beta % | Oil mL/100 g | Myrcene % | Humulene % | Caryophyllene % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 14.7 | 4.7 | 2.2 | 57.7 | 13.2 | 7.3 |
| 2025 | 14.4 | 3.9 | 2.2 | 60–70 | 11–13 | 6–8 |
| 2026 | 14.4 | 3.9 | 2.2 | 60–70 | 11–13 | 6–8 |
- 2024 · Hop Alliance 2024 Lot PE03316 Year-specific lot-level analytical (AA/BA/Coh/Oil/Myr/Hum/Caryo); linalool/geraniol/b-pinene baseline ranges
- 2025 · Hop Alliance 2025 Citra page (Lot pending publication) Lot AA/BA/Oil confirmed; oil composition placeholder, baseline ranges applied
- 2026 · Hop Alliance 2025 Lot (carry-forward for 2026 NH harvest not yet completed) 2026 current crop estimate based on 2025 lot, finalizes after fall harvest ~Aug-Sep 2026
Which yeast brings it out
To cash in the bound precursors, ferment with a strain rated high for β-lyase activity: Berkeley Yeast Tropics, Escarpment Labs Thiol Libre, LalBrew Diamond Lager, Omega OYL-402 Cosmic Punch, Omega OYL-404 Star Party, Omega OYL-405 Helio Gazer, SafLager SH-45, WLP077 Tropicale Yeast Blend, WLP830 German Lager. A clean Chico-type strain (US-05, WLP001) leaves most of this potential locked; London III and Conan lineage strains sit in between.
Rule of thumb only. See the yeast table for every strain's rating and the literature behind it.
In Hoparoma
Hoparoma computes how much of Citra's aroma compounds survive your boil, whirlpool, and dry hop, and models the thiol side across yeast, hop, malt, and Phantasm together. The result is a research-based estimate of where the beer is likely to land, not a guarantee.
Free in any browser, 3 recipes a month. What the calculator does
Sources and data quality
- Data quality: Verified (verified 2026)
- Typical ranges: YCH Citra HBC 394 typical brewing values
- Crop 2024: Hop Alliance 2024 Lot PE03316
- Crop 2025: Hop Alliance 2025 Citra page (Lot pending publication)
- Crop 2026: Hop Alliance 2025 Lot (carry-forward for 2026 NH harvest not yet completed)
- Thiol background: Gros et al. 2012, Kishimoto 2009, Takoi et al. 2009, Roland et al. 2016
- Supplier references: Yakima Chief Hops, Hop Products Australia, BarthHaas, NZ Hops, Hop Alliance
Full list with links on the sources page. Spotted an error? Tell us and we will correct the dataset in the next release. This page's tables are published under CC BY 4.0; reuse with credit and a link.