Tips on recipe with Citra and Cascade

Hi,

Seeking expert advice

My previous brew was the following:

3.3 lbs light LME, 3.3 lbs amber LME (late addition), boil volume 1.6 Gal, total volume 5 gal. Single hop Styrian Goldings 3.2 %: 2.1 oz@60 min, 0.7 @15 min and 0.7 @ 5 min. Fermentation @ 63 F for two weeks with Nottingham. Brew turned out great!

I have now bought the following (for two 5-gal batches):

4 times 3.3 lbs light LME, 2 x Nottingham yeast, 3.53 oz Citra, 2 x 3.53 oz Cascade (all pellets).

Question is what hop schedule to go for? I would like some variation between the two batches. I liked the bitterness level in my previous brew, but could have been quite a lot more bitter. I do not like a too fruity taste. I've read that Citra may not be that suitable as bittering hops.

So - what do you experts think?

Thanks in advance!

I'm no expert but I used 1/2 oz of Nugget for bittering and 1/2 oz Citra at flameout for flavor, then after 10 days dryhopped with the other 1/2 oz Citra for a wonderfully citrus aroma that turned into mango when the beer was ready to drink.

You may want to choose another hop variety for the bittering as I've heard that some are a smoother bitterness but I like what I did.

I intend to do this again with the substitution of 1 oz of Cascade for the dry hopping to try to get more of a grapefruit aroma in the beer.

Thank you RM.

Any other tips? Not sure if I wanna dryhop

Have you had Citra beers before? I like it, but lots of others do not. It produces a peppery, earthy mango/peach-like flavor that's pretty distinctive and VERY fruity. I've used in in combination with things like Amarillo and Warrior and it's been really good - not fruity at all. But have never used with Cascade. What I'm getting at is, if you don't like fruit flavors, you might want to use it in something like a 70/30 Cascade/Citra blend to keep the fruityness in the background. Cheers!

I do an all citra wheat beer that has got some very good comments. I have never thought to pair it with cascade. I am not sure how the flavors will work together.

Hmmm... Think I'm gonna skip the Citra and go for something "safer".

Any recommendations that go well with Cascade? And what amounts, at which boiling times? (No dryhopping, I think)

Centennial goes well as a buttering hop with cascade as the flavor and aroma/dry

What do you guys think of these two recipes with variations over Cascade and Aurora (Super Styrian) - Im planning to do both:

Hopville . "Aurora+Cascade" American IPA Recipe

And

Hopville . "Cascade+Aurora"

Eilert said:

Hmmm... Think I'm gonna skip the Citra and go for something "safer".

Any recommendations that go well with Cascade? And what amounts, at which boiling times? (No dryhopping, I think)

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i think citra's a great hop. yes, it's fruity and mango like, but nice and tasty.
the pale ale I'm currently fermenting is citra and cascade (~40%citra/60%cascade, bittered with horizon)
i also have a beer kegged using citra and centennial, very nice hop flavors, fruity, citrusy, all around very pleasant.

Ok thank you. Nice to know.

But what do you guys think of these two recipe suggestions, with Aurora/Super Styrian instead?

Hopville . "Aurora+Cascade" American IPA Recipe

and

Hopville . "Cascade+Aurora"

If you are going for a piney-citrusy, cascade and chinook is a classic combo. If you are going for more of a citrus and spice combo cascade goes good with willamette and also amarillo is awesome with cascade. Don't mess with citra unless you know its what you like. I love it, but some people find it overpowering. It tastes so distinctively tropical it makes the beer taste like a fruit beer.

Thanks bottlebomber,

And please see my previous post - regarding Aurora/Super Styrian with Cascade.

not familiar with Super Styrian, but styrian goldings are a nice flavor/aroma hop. and i've never used aurora hops. what kinda of hop flavor are you looking for?

Eilert said:

Thanks bottlebomber,

And please see my previous post - regarding Aurora/Super Styrian with Cascade.

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I don't have any experience with those hops. It looks like a solid session strength recipe though.

NordeastBrewer77 said:

not familiar with Super Styrian, but styrian goldings are a nice flavor/aroma hop. and i've never used aurora hops. what kinda of hop flavor are you looking for?

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Total newbie (brew nr 4 and 5), still experimenting But loved my previous brew - single hop Styrian Goldings. Super Styrian (Aurora) is supposed to be similar..

bottlebomber said:

I don't have any experience with those hops. It looks like a solid session strength recipe though.

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Not sure if I understand - solid session strength? Thanks for your patience

Eilert said:

Not sure if I understand - solid session strength? Thanks for your patience

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there's always the go to combo of simcoe and amarillo. can't go wrong there.

session beer, or a sessionable beer is one with high drinkability and low ABV, something you can really drink on.

OK thanks

Hmm well - low ABV? I would regard 4.5% as standard ABV, by my country's standards..?