Citra IPA

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BeantownR6

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going to brew this up friday. just put this together and ive been wanting to try the citra hops. i want a darker IPA with a fair to good amount of malty sweetness. im very new at making recipes so i guess im going to see how this comes out.

Also i put this together using brew target, first time using it.

Citra IPA - American IPA
================================================================================
Batch Size: 5.500 gal
Boil Size: 6.834 gal
Boil Time: 60 min
Efficiency: 70%
OG: 1.070
FG: 1.017
ABV: 6.8%
Bitterness: 52.9 IBUs (Tinseth)
Color: 12 SRM (Mosher)

Fermentables
================================================================================
Name Type Amount Mashed Late Yield Color
Pale Malt (2 Row) US Grain 12.500 lb Yes No 79% 2 L
Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L Grain 1.000 lb Yes No 74% 60 L
Victory Malt Grain 1.000 lb Yes No 73% 25 L
Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L Grain 4.000 oz Yes No 74% 80 L
Cara-Pils/Dextrine Grain 8.000 oz Yes No 72% 2 L

Hops
================================================================================
Name Alpha Amount Use Time Form IBU
Warrior 15.5% 0.500 oz Boil 1.000 hr Pellet 23.1
Citra 12.0% 0.500 oz Boil 20.000 min Pellet 10.8
Citra 12.0% 0.500 oz Boil 15.000 min Pellet 8.9
Citra 12.0% 0.500 oz Boil 10.000 min Pellet 6.5
Citra 12.0% 0.500 oz Boil 5.000 min Pellet 3.6
Citra 12.0% 0.500 oz Boil 0.000 s Pellet 0.0
Citra 12.0% 2 oz Dry Hop Pellet 0.0

Yeast
================================================================================
Name Type Form Amount Stage
Safale S-05 Ale Dry 2.232 tsp Primary

Mash
================================================================================
Name Type Amount Target Time
single 156 F Infusion 5.719 gal 156.000 F 1.000 hr
Batch Sparge Infusion 3.598 gal 170.799 F 15.000 min
 
That is an aweful lot of Citra. Citra can be a very overpowering hop, are you sure you are that big a fan of it? There are a lot of people, myself included who find Citra can be a bit over powering and catty when used in high percentages. Just sayin.

Now if you already know you like Citra then belay my last and carry on.
 
no i don't know what citra are like. i like hoppy beers and ive done ipas with 20-15-10-5-0 additions and they come out good. should i drop some citra and maybee replace with amarillo or something?
 
I did not think Citra was too powerful at all. I also got no "catty" taste from it. In another post I gave my best description of it as being cool and fruity (with the feeling the cascade & centennial are "hot and citrusy")
 
I think there is a lot of varried experience with Citra, and the opinions on it are a bit polarizing. I'm not saying you won't like it, many do. Just if you are unfamiliar with it that some don't care for it. It is not like most of the other American hops. I love Amarillo, Simcoe, and the "C" hops and can take them right up to imperial strength, but Citra at moderate strength leaves a taste I don't care for and I have read others with similiar opinions.

You may love it, or you may not. Just saying you might want to find a beer done with a lot of Citra, or make a small test batch before you make a full blown batch.
 
I did not think Citra was too powerful at all. I also got no "catty" taste from it. In another post I gave my best description of it as being cool and fruity (with the feeling the cascade & centennial are "hot and citrusy")

link your post / recipe?

thanks
 
Great malt bill. I'd replace maybe the 20 and the 10 with another c hop or Amarillo. That will help add some depth to this fairly one dimensional hop. That 2oz dry hop will seem like 4-5oz strength of any other. Aroma is huge in citra. I made a citra apa people went bonkers over. I used 1.5oz dry hop. If you want more malt character try and English yeast or wyeast 1332 nw ale yeast. Nice recipe though.
 
Great malt bill. I'd replace maybe the 20 and the 10 with another c hop or Amarillo. That will help add some depth to this fairly one dimensional hop. That 2oz dry hop will seem like 4-5oz strength of any other. Aroma is huge in citra. I made a citra apa people went bonkers over. I used 1.5oz dry hop. If you want more malt character try and English yeast or wyeast 1332 nw ale yeast. Nice recipe though.


will definatly consider replacing 20 and the 10 with another hop. For now i just use dry yeast. would S-04 be a better substitution for an english yeast? ive used S-05 in almost all my PA and IPA. i know used S04 in another one i just can't remember. maybee time to try it again

If you're looking for malt sweetness, consider using Marris Otter as your base.
ive used it before and its good. probably will do.
 
I'm racking a Citra Experiment IPA I brewed about 2 weeks ago later this evening. I'll sneak a taste and then rack on top of 3 oz. whole leaf Citra.
 
I like Citra a lot, but many of my fellow local brewers got real sick of it real quick. It has a weird fruity, citrusy flavor. A bit like pink grapefruit to me. I suggest getting your hands on a few homebrews with it as a flavor/aroma/dryhop addition to make sure you like it.
 
ok a few tweaks to the recipe.

Citra IPA - American IPA
================================================================================
Batch Size: 5.500 gal
Boil Size: 6.834 gal
Boil Time: 60 min
Efficiency: 70%
OG: 1.072
FG: 1.018
ABV: 7.0%
Bitterness: 59.7 IBUs (Tinseth)
Color: 13 SRM (Mosher)

Fermentables
================================================================================
Name Type Amount Mashed Late Yield Color
Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L Grain 16.000 oz Yes No 74% 60 L
Victory Malt Grain 16.000 oz Yes No 73% 25 L
Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L Grain 4.000 oz Yes No 74% 80 L
Cara-Pils/Dextrine Grain 8.000 oz Yes No 72% 2 L
Marris Otter Grain 12.500 lb Yes No 82% 4 L

Hops
================================================================================
Name Alpha Amount Use Time Form IBU
Warrior 15.5% 0.750 oz Boil 1.000 hr Pellet 34.0
Amarillo 9.5% 0.500 oz Boil 20.000 min Pellet 8.4
Citra 12.0% 0.500 oz Boil 15.000 min Pellet 8.7
Amarillo 9.5% 0.500 oz Boil 10.000 min Pellet 5.0
Citra 12.0% 0.500 oz Boil 5.000 min Pellet 3.5
Citra 12.0% 0.500 oz Boil 0.000 s Pellet 0.0
Citra 12.0% 1.000 oz Dry Hop 0.000 s Pellet 0.0
Amarillo 9.5% 1.000 oz Dry Hop 0.000 s Pellet 0.0



Yeast
================================================================================
Name Type Form Amount Stage
Safale S-04 Ale Dry 0.388 oz Primary

Mash
================================================================================
Name Type Amount Target Time
single 156 F Infusion 4.766 gal 156.000 F 1.000 hr
Batch Sparge Infusion 4.551 gal 170.799 F 15.000 min
 
In case you're interested, here's the recipe I made a few weeks ago. I tasted it at racking and it was pretty good. The bitterness is slightly different and lingers for a good while. I did not notice the "cat urine" aroma, but I can tell that it's possible to get from this hop. Overall, I think it will be a pretty good IPA. I overshot my OG by 3 points (1.061) which affected my IBUs (expected 83 but got 87) but that's OK. By the way, I used whole leaf hops.

Code:
Citra Experiment IPA
-------------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Estimated OG: 1.058 SG
Estimated FG: 1.014 SG	
Estimated IBUs: 83.0 IBU
Estimated Color: 8.0 SRM
Brewhouse Efficiency: 68%
Boil Time: 60 minutes

Grains:
12.00# Pale Malt (2-Row) US (92.31%)
1.00# Caramel/Crystal 40L (7.69%)

Hops:
1.00 oz Citra (12.00%) @60 min
2.00 oz Citra (12.00%) @15 min
3.00 oz Citra (12.00%) @5 min
3.00 oz Citra (12.00%) @0 min
3.00 oz Citra (12.00%) (dry hop)

Yeast:
White Labs WLP001 (California Ale)

Mash Profile:
Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, 152F
Total Grain Weight: 13.00 lb
Mash for 60 min at 152F with 4.06 gal of water heated to 168F
Mash-out at 168F with 1.91 gal of water heated to 210F and hold for 10 minutes
Batch sparge at 168F with 3.49 gal of water heated to 181F
 
I will be doing a batch using citra probably not all citra though. I bought a pound on a whim while ordering other hops I know I like. I figured $13 wasn't too bad even if I just use it for dry hopping. Sure it's a lot of hops but with the LHBS prices around here I'd spend at least $13 on 6oz or less depending on the hops.
 
Recipe looks good, it will be intense. One suggestion though, maybe use a yeast that accentuates fruity flavor, maybe Wyeast American ale 2. Unless the yeast you are using already does that.
 
I just picked up my first pound of citra last week. I heard that SN uses it in their torpedo. I like torpedo, why not.
 
Well I just brewed up a citra hop bomb sunday. Got 1.090 gravity for a 6 gal batch and here's the recipe.

Amount Item Type % or IBU
8 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (1.8 SRM) Grain 43.24 %
8 lbs Pale Malt (MO) (2 Row) UK (3.0 SRM) Grain 43.24 %
1 lbs Cara-Pils/Dextrine (1.5 SRM) Grain 5.41 %
1 lbs Munich 10L (Briess) (10.0 SRM) Grain 5.41 %
8.0 oz Caramel Malt - 20L (Briess) (20.0 SRM) Grain 2.70 %
3.00 oz Warrior [15.90 %] (90 min) Hops 121.1 IBU
2.50 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] (30 min) Hops 59.3 IBU
3.00 oz Citra [12.00 %] (10 min) Hops 31.0 IBU
4.25 oz Citra [12.00 %] (5 min) Hops 24.1 IBU
2.50 oz Citra [12.00 %] (0 min) Hops -
3.00 oz Citra [12.00 %] (Dry Hop 10 days) Hops -

The closet smelled great while the yeast was going gang busters around day two/three of the fermentation. I have three ounces of citra dryhop lined up too. I've been wanting to try a massivly citra hopped beer since I played with some mixed with cascade at flavoring/aroma and dry hop. I liked that beer enough to venture into this experiment. Will update again when bottling and tasting is achieved.
 
I am currently working on a keg of an "almost citra smash".

A little about the brew .......

5 gallon batch

All 2-row - O.G. of 1.06

.6 oz magnum @ 60
.75 Citra & 20
1.5 Citra & 5
1.75 Citra 7 day dry

I only had a 4 oz pack of Citra to work with in the above recipe. The above beer is currently 5 weeks in the keg and is awesome. I don't find it "catty" at all but then again I might not know what "catty" is or maybe I like "catty" i don't know lol.........

some people describe simcoe as "catty" and I love simcoe. Hell, I just love hoppy beers. Yet to find one that I didn't like. Not talking about "bitter" .... I mean hoppy. I get more "citrus"/"fruity" ......... no "catty".

Extremely smooth too. No harsh bitter (but I had mostly late/dry additions). I'll get some more and make another citra brew eventually. So many brews in the lineup though
 
I did one with a similar hop schedule as yeast_infection's but used 1oz of Simcoe to bitter. Also used some mid range crystal and a bit of melanoiden. ended up with 6.8% and 65 ibus. It is delicious.
 
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