Hop Combination

Hi all,
My brewing buddy and I are taking a crack at our first IPA soon, and we are thinking about doing a hop schedule that features more citrusy hops, notably, Citra, Cascade, and Amarillo. Would it be wise, or doable to include all three if these hops aromatically? Perhaps using something like Centennial for bittering. I'd like to get a good deal of those citrusy, fruity flavors and aromas from the hops. The schedule I came up with is as follows:

1 oz Centennial @ 60 (11% AA)
1 oz Citra @ 15 (10% AA)
1 oz Cascade @ 15 (6.5% AA)
1 oz Amarillo @ 15 (9% AA)
1 oz Citra @ 10 (10% AA)
1 oz Cascade @ 10 (6.5% AA)
1 oz Amarillo @ 10 (9% AA)
1 oz Citra @ dry hopped (10% AA)
1 oz Cascade @ dry hopped (6.5% AA)
1 oz Amarillo @ dry hopped (9% AA)

Am I going overboard on the aroma there? Should I put more centennial in and eliminate the 15 min additions? Should I just add 1 oz each of Citra, Cascade, and Amarillo around 30 min, and then do the dry hopping as detailed?

The beer itself will be a typical IPA around 1.050 OG

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.

haha! get some hops in there! what size batch?

Ah, my bad, it's 5.5 gallons.

I tend to overthink things often, and I'm thinking maybe I want Simcoe instead of Centennial.

I don't know. I'm no know-it-all *****er, IMO 10oz of hops is too much for 5.5 gal @ 1.050. maybe half that or less?

the hops and schedule you have is good but the amount imo is a little over the top. based on my current aa% inventory. you have around 117 ibu. the style call for 40 to 70 ibu if it were me i'd drop the cent to .50 giving you around 99 ibu, its still high,but there is no reason you cant use the sched you have if you want to.

Ive tentatively finalized my grain bill. I'm keeping it simple because I want to showcase the hops more.

11 lbs 2-Row Pale
.5 lb Carapils
.5 lb Crystal 40

Mash around 150F
Should give me an OG of 1.060

I think for hops I'll do

1 oz Simcoe (13%) @ 60
1 oz Amarillo (9%) @ 30
1 oz Citra (10%) @ 151 oz Amarillo (9%) @ 15
1 oz Cascade (6.5%) @ 15
1 oz Citra (10%) @ dry hop
1 oz Amarillo (9%) @ dry hop
1 oz Cascade (6.5%) @ dry hop

Then I'll use WLP001 for the yeast

Sound good? Any critiques or comments are welcomed, encouraged, and appreciated.

Don't waste hard to find hops like simcoe and centennial for a 60 minute addition. Maybe use some magnum or columbus instead.

Drop the Amarillo at 30 as it won't give you much except for more bittering. You could use another hop or more at 60 and achieve about the same thing.

What kind of aroma do you want, orange, grapefruit, mango, something else? If you want mango you use just Citra. Citra plus Amarillo should give you orange and Citra plus Cascade gives grapefruit and Cascade alone gives grapefruit.

Okay. I guess I'll see what I can find between Magnum, Warrior, or CTZ for my 60 min hops.

Would I benefit by adding some Simcoe into the end or in the dry hopping, or are the Citra, Amarillo, and Cascade going to be fine on their own?

Aroma wise I like all of those flavors. Would using all three produce an undesirable result?

if to get real hop flavor you need more later additions and less bittering. something like this. i would also use more pale malt or add a pound of dextrose

13 lbs Pale Malt (2-Row) Canadian Malting Co (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 92.9 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 2 3.6 %
8.0 oz Carapils (Briess) (1.5 SRM) Grain 3 3.6 %
0.25 oz Simcoe pellet [12.90 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 4 9.1 IBUs
0.50 oz Amarillo pellet [9.20 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 5 6.5 IBUs
0.50 oz Cascade pellet [6.20 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 6 4.4 IBUs
0.50 oz Citra pellet 2 [13.60 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 7 9.5 IBUs
0.50 oz Amarillo pellet [9.20 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 8 4.7 IBUs
0.50 oz Cascade pellet [6.20 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 9 3.2 IBUs
0.50 oz Citra pellet 2 [13.60 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 10 7.0 IBUs
1.00 oz Amarillo pellet [9.20 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 11 5.2 IBUs
1.00 oz Cascade pellet [6.20 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 12 3.5 IBUs
1.00 oz Citra pellet 2 [13.60 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 13 7.7 IBUs
1.0 pkg California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) [35.49 ml] Yeast 14 -
1.00 oz Amarillo pellet [9.20 %] - Dry Hop 0.0 Days Hop 15 0.0 IBUs
1.00 oz Cascade pellet [6.20 %] - Dry Hop 0.0 Days Hop 16 0.0 IBUs
1.00 oz Citra pellet 2 [13.60 %] - Dry Hop 0.0 Days Hop 17 0.0 IBUs

Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.061 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.011 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 6.6 %
Bitterness: 60.7 IBUs Calories: 151.6 kcal/12oz
Est Color: 5.8 SRM
Mash Profile

Mash Name: Single Infusion, Light Body, Batch Sparge Total Grain Weight: 14 lbs
Sparge Water: 5.08 gal Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 170.0 F Tun Temperature: 72.0 F
Adjust Temp for Equipment: FALSE Mash PH: 5.20

Mash Steps
Name Description Step Temperature Step Time
Mash In Add 4.66 gal of water at 158.4 F 148.0 F 75 min

Sparge Step: Batch sparge with 2 steps (Drain mash tun, , 5.08gal) of 170.0 F water

Hmm okay. I like that. Though I think I will use either Magnum, Warrior, or CTZ in place of Simcoe.

Edit: I've also heard that Golden Promise or Marris Otter works well for IPAs too. If I were to take out 5 lbs of 2-row and put in 5 lbs of Golden Promise or Marris Otter, what kind of difference would I see and would it be advisable?

If you're going to use MO, you will need to take out the .50 oz of cascade @ 10 min, or else!