FreshieCitra a.k.a. HBC 394
The hop that defined modern American IPA.
What it tastes like
If you've ever wondered why hazy IPAs taste like grapefruit and passionfruit, the answer is usually Citra. Released in 2008 by the Hop Breeding Company, Citra hits the trifecta of citrus, tropical fruit, and stone fruit — grapefruit, mango, papaya, lychee, lime — all in one cone. It's the most-used aroma hop in American craft beer.
Best in these styles
Beers showcasing Citra
- All Citra EverythingOther Half
- Single Hop Citra DIPATrillium
- Pliny the Elder (in the blend)Russian River
Substitutes & relatives
If you can't source Citra, these hops bring overlapping character.
Lineage & family
How Citra connects to the rest of the hop family — its parents, and the varieties it spawned. Trace the full pedigree in the Hop Lineage explorer →
Blood relatives
Genetically closest in the pedigree (may taste different):
Pedigree data adapted from the Rohwer (2021) hop family tree (CC0 1.0). Compilation, analysis & visualisation © 2026 Veryation · Freshie™.
For brewers — technical profile
Oil composition
History
Bred by John I. Haas, Yakima Chief Ranches, and Select Botanicals as part of the Hop Breeding Company. Parents include Hallertau Mittelfrüh, Tettnang, Brewer's Gold, and East Kent Goldings — but the result tasted like nothing that came before. First commercial release 2008. Within a decade it was the most-used aroma hop in American craft.
Explore more hops
Flavor twins across Freshie
Drinks and foods across Freshie that share Citra’s flavor fingerprint — matched on shared flavor axes via the Freshie Taste Graph.