Help with Hop schedule

Hello!

Im an extract kit brewer and most of the hops ive worked with so far have been cascade, so i decided to start trying simple ales to learn more about each hop. Was initially going to make an amarillo pale ale but at the last minute went to Citra. (wife heard the word fruity and coerced me.)

So Im working with:

6.6 lbs Golden light LME
1 lb caramel 20L
1lb DME


And I have 4 oz of Citra at 13.9aa, which is way more then the amarillo i planned this around. Man at the LHBS said try 1 oz at 60 and 1 oz at 30-15ish, but when i toss that into hopville it comes out WAY too bitter.

So I came up with
.25oz @60
.25oz @20
.25oz @10
.5oz @ 5
1.5oz dry hop for 14 days

Gives me 5.9% and 36 IBU's, but would that be accurate cause i will be at a 3 1/2 gallon boil? I want it to fall into pale ale catagory yet i like my beer strong.

I want hop flavor and aroma, not bitter. I was thinking about bringing it down to a 30 minute boil, any opinion?

Also, i have nottingham and Saf 04 to work with.


Thanks in advanced, sorry it seems to jump all over the place, im supposed to be doing something else.....

If you're doing a 3.5 gallon boil for a5 gallon recipe, you'll lose some hop viability. His method would put your IBUs around the bitter end of an American IPA. 4 ounces for a beer you don't want bitter is probably a bit too much.

If you go through Hopville, and want it 100% correct go to the brewing process and add 1.75 gal of top off and that will be the closest.

Citra is a great hop, but, yes, it is very strong and has a very distinctive citrus character. I recently used it for flavor and aroma in an IIPA I did and it's fantastic.

For a 30 minute boil you could do

1oz @ 20 min
.5oz @ 15 min
.5oz @ Flameout
1oz Dryhop

Which would be about 34 IBUs, on the less bitter side for an APA. Save the extra ounce for another brew.

Thanks for info! I did buy the 4 ounces not really expecting to use it all on this beer. Thanks for the tip on Hopville, didnt know I could finagle in the brewing process like that, very nice.

As of now I have:
.5 @ 20
.5 @ 15
.5 @ 5
.5 flameout
and 1 for the dryhop for a week to 10 days

Gives me a 35.3 IBU and 5.7% alcohol. Exactly were I want it!
And a whole lot of hops for the flavor and aroma.

So.... What yeast should I use? Bought nottingham for it, but the english ale might actually be pretty nice?

Thanks!

If you strictly want to keep it 'all American' and you want to use a dry yeast, Safale 05 is a very clean American ale yeast.
Nottingham is an excellent all round yeast and will impart a little more of the ester (fruit) profile it looks like you're aiming for in your beer.
You can't really go wrong with either.