Simcoe & Citra Compatibility??

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Stankonia

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I was wondering how these 2 hops work together in an IPA? Has anyone used these 2 together (bittering and aroma) in a beer? Citra is described as having a really citrusy/fruity profile, while Simcoe has primarily piney with some citrus notes.

I want to do an IPA with just these 2, but would appreciate some feed back if anyone has used these and didn't like how they worked together.

Batch Size: 6.5 Gallons
90 Min Boil
Est. Efficiency: 70%
Mash at 152* - Batch Sparge

Grain Bill:
13.25 lbs - Pale Malt (2-Row)
.75 lbs - Victory Malt
.75 lbs - Crystal 60L
.5 lbs - Cara-Pils/Dextrin
.5 lbs - Crystal 20L

Hop Schedule: (All whole leaf)
1oz Simcoe - 60 minutes
.5oz Citra - 60 minutes
1oz Citra - 15 Minutes
1oz Citra - 5 Minutes
1oz Citra - 1 Minute
1oz Simcoe - 1 Minute

Dry Hop with .5oz of each for 7 Days.

Est. OG: 1.061
Est. FG: 1.011 (6.6% abv)
IBU: 71
SRM: 10

I know that's a bit more Crystal malt (and victory) than people normally use in IPAs, but I wanted a presence from the Malt to balance out the IBUs...Plus that's quite a bit of hops :rockin:
 
If you're ok with all the crystal, I don't see any other issues. Citra and Simcoe work very well together. I had a DIPA score a 43 that used Citra, Simcoe and Amarillo as the main hops.
 
I've not used Citra yet (not a "lemon" fan in beer) but I can say that above 5% crystal60/carapils has made some of my highly-hopped IPAs very caramel-ish and sweet. I happen to like it (mashed a little high for fuller body, too) because it's very drinkable and satisfying to me, but if you like a lean, crisp IPA you might cut the C60 a bit. FWIW.
 
Yeah you guys are right..I cut the C-60 and Victory down. Then bumped up the 2-row to 13.5 lbs

So now I have .5lb of each C20, C60, and Victory. They combine for about 9.5% of the total grain.
 
I've not used Citra yet (not a "lemon" fan in beer)

I don't get any lemon from Citra. Heavy citrus (orange-like), and lots of tropical fruit (think mango)

So now I have .5lb of each C20, C60, and Victory

Sound good. I'm assuming you dropped the carapils all together, and if that's the case, that looks like one fine IPA.
 
looks pretty good but I am not a huge fan of simcoe or citra as bittering hops. So, I would look to maybe sub .5 ounces of columbus, magnum, chinook or warrior and then do the following:

.5/.5 citra simcoe 15 min
.5/.5 citra simcoe 5 min
1/1 citra simcoe 1 min

then dry hop with the 3 ounces of citra
 
if you can spare the hops I would dry hop with 1oz of each - they are both awesome dry hop additions

i'm not a fan the beers ive had that were bittered early with citra but with only .50z at 60min you will prob be ok

i recently kicked a citra, nelson sauvin, simcoe IPA that was really delicious - this should be quite tasty
 
Interesting you guys say that about these hops for bittering. I typically use Magnum exclusively for bittering since it is pretty smooth and not too harsh, but switched it up this time to stick with the theme.

Have you guys experienced some harshness when simcoe/citra were used for bittering hops?
 
You could always first wort hop with them. Probably pull some good flavor without the harsh bitterness. You could always steep some hops in hot water and see about the flavolr together. Just an idea.
 
Hmmm... I have these hops and like the idea of adding some body. Subscribed... Keep us posted. :)

Sent from my iPhone using HB Talk
 
scottland said:
I don't get any lemon from Citra. Heavy citrus (orange-like), and lots of tropical fruit (think mango)

Sound good. I'm assuming you dropped the carapils all together, and if that's the case, that looks like one fine IPA.

Good to know, Scottland! I read about the lemon flavor, but your description sounds a lot more appealing!
 
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