Citra hops

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oze152

oze152

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Does anyone know where I can buy citra hops, or alternatively, if there is any reasonably close substitute? Every place I have looked, locally and online, either doesn't carry citra or is sold out. From what I have read citra is a difficult hop to sub for because it has a unique profile. HELP!
 
If you can't find it, try using Columbus, or Simcoe, as they are also high alpha acid hops with citrus characteristics. You're right, Citra is unique, but those would be suitable subs. Simcoe is hard to find this time of year as well, so you may have to go with Columbus. If you aren't worried about the hop having high alpha acids, pretty much any American 'C' hop would do.
 
smiller said:
If you can't find it, try using Columbus, or Simcoe, as they are also high alpha acid hops with citrus characteristics. You're right, Citra is unique, but those would be suitable subs. Simcoe is hard to find this time of year as well, so you may have to go with Columbus. If you aren't worried about the hop having high alpha acids, pretty much any American 'C' hop would do.
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i disagree. columbus and simcoe are very unique themselves and do not serve as a substitute for citra which is also very unique. like someone else pointed out, northern brewer has them in stock. i buy them by the pound, whatever the price, since they run out so fast.
 
I agree, as I said that citra is unique, but let's pretend N. Brewer didn't have it and he simply couldn't find it. Given it's high AA content and flavor characteristic, what would you say is the closest sub?
 
MoreBeer does not have Citra hops in stock, but they are still selling the kit for Citra Pale Ale (both AG and Extract), which contains 2 ounces of Citra. I'm not suggesting you pay $25 for 2 ounces of Citra hops, but if you've got Citra on the mind and want to brew a kickass kit, that is an option. I've made two kits' worth so far, and the end result has been universally lauded by friends (and me).
 
smiller said:
I agree, as I said that citra is unique, but let's pretend N. Brewer didn't have it and he simply couldn't find it. Given it's high AA content and flavor characteristic, what would you say is the closest sub?
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galaxy, or so i hear. galaxy is another rare hop but supposedly closer to citra than simcoe or columbus. my house pale ale, and 2nd place winner in this yrs World Beer Cup, is hopped with citra and simcoe and one is not really like the other outside of the fact that they are both high alpha acid hops. if i made that beer with two other types of hops it would not be the same beer, might be tasty but not the same. with the shortage of citra and simcoe i'm constantly on the prowl for those hops and always buy a pound as soon as i see them in stock somewhere. i bought a pound of galaxy (@ $55, ouch!) to see if it really is close to citra, they smell similar in the bag but the batch i brewed with them is still in the fermentor so i'm not sure how close it really is to citra.
 
Brew your own has a label contest every year.
One beer was an all Citra pale ale or IPA. Label had hops on it and a donkey sitting down. Beer was called Citra Ass Down.:D

Pez.
 
I consider myself lucky that my local brew store has pellet and whole cone citra and simcoe in stock and not end to the madness!

Citra is a fantastic finishing hop, I hear that it's not that great as a 60 min addition, but awesome for the juicy citrus profile towards the end.
 
Be careful with those citra hops, use them in the last 15 min of boil! otherwise you will have a funky aroma to your beer, i.e "cat piss". Love citra, but be careful!

Source: Experience with Citra!
 
"I agree, as I said that citra is unique, but let's pretend N. Brewer didn't have it and he simply couldn't find it. Given it's high AA content and flavor characteristic, what would you say is the closest sub?"

Well, I'd toss AA considerations out the window. You can adjust bittering addition weights to make up for that.

In terms of flavor, your going citrus and tropical fruit. Galaxy, amarillo, cascade etc I love simcoe, but the pine would stick out as a sub for citra. Obviously, you aren't going to get an exact match, but there are lots of hops with a citrusy and fruity aroma.
 
eastoak said:
i bought a pound of galaxy (@ $55, ouch!) to see if it really is close to citra, they smell similar in the bag but the batch i brewed with them is still in the fermentor so i'm not sure how close it really is to citra.
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I haven't used Galaxy before, but I have been drinking a lot of Tallgrass 8 Bit lately, which I am pretty sure is a Galaxy single hop. It is very citrusy, but I also notice a pretty big spicy, earthy quality that differs a lot from citra. I think you have to go with billl and throw out AA consideration and use amarillo, cascade, or centennial.

Edit:

I knew I should have checked my sources before I posted that! 8 Bit uses Galaxy in their hop rocket, but there are other hops in it as well. I do now recall having Galaxy white IPA from Anchorage Brewing, and it was predominantly citrus. So Galaxy would probably be your best bet.
 
Dumb question: could you use Galaxy, then put grapefruit zest (steeped in vodka) in secondary? I mean, I know nothing can compare to the unique grapefruity-ness of real Citra, but would it be a close enough approximation to get all but the most exquisitely discerning palates through the next few months/year/whenever the shortage ends?
 
Trophy_Brew21 said:
Be careful with those citra hops, use them in the last 15 min of boil! otherwise you will have a funky aroma to your beer, i.e "cat piss". Love citra, but be careful!

Source: Experience with Citra!
Click to expand...

I did a SMaSH with Citra using as a first wort hop and then all additions 30 minutes and later. No resemblance to cat piss.
 
8/8/2012 Update:

Rebel Brewer has pellets in stock for $3.75 an ounce.
Brewmasterswarehouse- $2.79 an ounce pellet. Order up to about 50 pounds of anything and it's 6.99 shipped.
Midwest has some whole leaf available at 2.50 an ounce.


I am just about out. I had 2 pounds in January. I brew 5 gallon batches. I love my Citra. Glad to see Washington State has doubled Citra production in 2012 when compared to 2011.
 
Just got my pound! 77 lbs left. You can literally watch the pounds disappear by refreshing the page, it's like watching a doomsday clock. And they technically aren't straight from the farm at Puterbaugh, but from another one in the same general region.
 
Score!!! Mahalo for that link veganbrewer!!!!

I also bought 2 lbs of the "Belma" since they were $5/lb that way. I have no idea what to expect, but given I'll have copious amounts of them, I hope they're good!!!
 
love citra, need them for my zombie dust clones. thanks for the link veganbrewer!
 
bsap said:
love citra, need them for my zombie dust clones. thanks for the link veganbrewer!
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No problem, I've been searching for them for months.

I have 2 pounds of Citra pre-ordered in pellet form and saw this go up and was debating buying another pound until I pulled up my Zombie Dust recipe and it convinced me I needed a 3rd pound. Now I just have to find the zombie dust.
 
I had some luck at the hops shack. If that helps anyone with citra. That was about a month ago.
 
labelpeelers is taking preorders for the end of the month but I find their prices a bit high, even with the 10% discount
 
Just spoke with labelpeelers, they have reports from the farm that the citra harvest this year was "excellent" and "best yet" and hops are expected middle of November, probably in our hands by the end of November, a few days before nationwide release.
 
I think i'll grow some CITRA hops next year!! Man... wish I had some... sniff sniff...
 
growfresh has over 100 ounces of HopUnion Citra and Simcoe in stock. They are available on amazon or you can call direct 479-648-8885.:mug:
 
Proboscidea said:
MoreBeer does not have Citra hops in stock, but they are still selling the kit for Citra Pale Ale (both AG and Extract), which contains 2 ounces of Citra. I'm not suggesting you pay $25 for 2 ounces of Citra hops, but if you've got Citra on the mind and want to brew a kickass kit, that is an option. I've made two kits' worth so far, and the end result has been universally lauded by friends (and me).
Click to expand...
I agree, this is a great kit! I have a third batch fermenting right now. It's my new house beer. If you go to the store, it's $5 cheaper than online!

BPhad said:
I did a SMaSH with Citra using as a first wort hop and then all additions 30 minutes and later. No resemblance to cat piss.
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I agree that Citra does not taste that way but there plenty of reports of Simcoe tasting that way!
 
Just dry hopped my 1 gallon ipa with 1 ounce of fresh leaf citra. Tasted during bottling, very good!
2$ an ounce at lhbs.
 
JuiceyJay said:
Just dry hopped my 1 gallon ipa with 1 ounce of fresh leaf citra. Tasted during bottling, very good!
2$ an ounce at lhbs.
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Wow an ounce in one gallon! You better send it to me for sampling to make sure it's okay! Lol
 
I just put in an order at Farmhouse Brewing Supply and they were out of Citra pellets so I ended up getting a pound of leaf, hopefully it'll be fresh. From a basic dry hopping experiment I did, I would say El Dorado is really close to Citra, unfortunately FBS doesn't carry it. I'm going to head-to-head Citra and El Dorado for my next dry hop experiment to see how close I think it really is.
 
eastoak said:
galaxy, or so i hear. galaxy is another rare hop but supposedly closer to citra than simcoe or columbus. my house pale ale, and 2nd place winner in this yrs World Beer Cup, is hopped with citra and simcoe and one is not really like the other outside of the fact that they are both high alpha acid hops. if i made that beer with two other types of hops it would not be the same beer, might be tasty but not the same. with the shortage of citra and simcoe i'm constantly on the prowl for those hops and always buy a pound as soon as i see them in stock somewhere. i bought a pound of galaxy (@ $55, ouch!) to see if it really is close to citra, they smell similar in the bag but the batch i brewed with them is still in the fermentor so i'm not sure how close it really is to citra.
Click to expand...

Crazy I just used Galaxy for the first time last month and noticed how similar it was to the Citra hop right away! I would agree that it is a great substitute if you cannot find Citra. My galaxy ale is still in primary though..
 

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