APA tastes like citrus

I brewed Alehole's SNPA clone and had my fisrt taste today. Here is his recipe:

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale Clone

5 gallon Batch (3 gallon boil)
target og 1.053

Yeast: White Labs WLP001 California Ale ( I used Wyeast american ale)

1LB. Crystal Malt 60L steeped at 153deg for 30 minutes
5.5 lbs. Extra light DME

.5 oz. Yakima Magnum Pellets @ 60 minutes
.5 oz. Perle pellets @ 30minutes
1 oz. Cascade pellets @ 10 minutes
2 oz. Cascade pellets @ 0 minutes


I added 1/2lb carapils, nothing else.

It tastes like grapefruit and lemons---strong. Kind of refreshing, but not what I had in mind for that APA bite. It fermented for a month primary and 3 weeks secondary. I posted a few threads on that, also. Why didn't I get more of that bitter/hoppy flavor of SNPA?

Kayos said:

1 oz. Cascade pellets @ 10 minutes
2 oz. Cascade pellets @ 0 minute.

It tastes like grapefruit and lemons---strong.

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Cascades. That's why. I brewed an English bitter and used casceades. Not quite to style (by accident), but deliciously citrus

If you are patient, the citrus flavour will diminish somewhat with time.

3 oz of Cascades in the last 10 min will give you alot of hop flavor and aroma. Cascades is described as "citrusy". If you want more bitter you need to increase the 60min addition. Also your recipe doesn't include the AA% so you can more accurately predict the bitterness you want. As mentioned above the hop flavor/aroma will dissipate with time.

Yeah, I made a bitter from the second runnings off a big beer. Used cascades for flavor/aroma. My god did that taste harsh. It's finally starting to mellow though.

Perle + Cascades = grapefruit It mellows.

Alright....so recommend a hop schedule for an APA with a more bitter aftertaste....like I thought the SNPA clone would have.

You either love Cascade or you don't. I'd recommend giving Warrior hops a shot. It is known for a very prominent, yet smooth bitterness.

Sometimes when I use just straight Cascades the brew reminds me more like dirty socks than hops.
I have a batch of Edwort's Haus Pale Ale going, but it tastes nice and citrusy. Not at all like another brew I'm drinking. I originally thought it was too young, but I don't think so.

Any insights?

That is the same recipe I used a few years ago (out of some clone book) How old is your beer.. I think that is the problem. I know 4 other local brewers who use almost that same recipe (we all do it AG now....only difference) and side by side, it is extremely close to SNPA. Just has to age.

Hmmm my pale ale tasted like grapefruit in primary but the flavor went away pretty fast, guess you used more cascade than I did. Give it some time and it'll mellow out a bit.

Drunkensatyr said:

That is the same recipe I used a few years ago (out of some clone book) How old is your beer.. I think that is the problem. I know 4 other local brewers who use almost that same recipe (we all do it AG now....only difference) and side by side, it is extremely close to SNPA. Just has to age.

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The beer is pretty green, about 3 weeks in the bottle. Don't get me wrong....it is a very good refreshing taste, kind of like I expected from Cascade hops. I will happily drink it as a summer ale. It is just not what I thought it would be. I think I will let it mellow for a couple of weeks and then try it again. Next time, maybe more Yakima and less Cascades at flameout....Maybe I'll give Warrior a shot as well. Thanks guys.

Mine tastes the closest at about 5 weeks bottled

This recipe never got better and actually got worse. It is my first "dumper". Nasty.....I think the real problem lied with it taking over 4 weeks to ferment out. Learned about aeration and temp control since then . Gonna try the AG version of this soon. I am thinking Biermuncher's SNPA clone. Other have a SNPA clone or good APA they'd like to share?

My second beer was an APA, was pretty warm at the time so got a bit of esters which worked well for the beer:

4.4 pounds light DME
2+ pounds honey (don't have an exact weight, got it in a big unlabed jar from inlaws)
1.5oz cascades for 60 minutes
.75 oz cascades for 15 minutes
.75 oz cascades for 5 minutes

Primed with sugar but more malt would've been better

Drinkable after 3 weeks in primary and one week in bottles. While in the fermenter it tasted like green grapefruit juice for a while but that flavor faded fast. Overall pretty mild beer (good for giving to people who usually drink lager) with a bit of cascady goodness, a little honey taste and a lovely floral smell. Yum

That's almost identical to my "Week In Vegas" APA:

5 gallon Batch (2.5 gallon boil)
target og 1.056

Yeast: White Labs WLP001 California Ale with starter

1LB. Crystal Malt 60L steeped at 160deg for 30 minutes
6 lbs. Light DME

.5 oz. Nugget Pellets @ 60 minutes
1 oz. Perle pellets @ 45minutes
1 oz. Cascade Plug Dry Hopped For One Week

It came out really good although the hop aroma came out stronger than the hop taste. My friend really liked it and said he's never had a beer with such a citrus aftertaste to it.

Have I been missing something for the last 10 years? Is there really this "BIG" citrus taste to SNPA? I have always tasted a nice, bitter, pale ale. Not a grapefruit extract that everyone seems to be sharing with me, like mine was as well. This is just not the taste of SNPA to me?!?!?!?!?!?

Kayos said:

Have I been missing something for the last 10 years? Is there really this "BIG" citrus taste to SNPA? I have always tasted a nice, bitter, pale ale. Not a grapefruit extract that everyone seems to be sharing with me, like mine was as well. This is just not the taste of SNPA to me?!?!?!?!?!?

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Hmmm, I drank a SNPA last night and I definitely get some citrus. Not as much as my own APA but I just assume that's because mine is super fresh and the aroma is more prevalent. It's not a BIG citrus taste in the SNPA, but it sure is there for me. That's why I like it!

Maybe after the cascade homebrew sits for a few months, it would be more like the SNPA. I don't know- my beer has never lasted more than a month.