Citrus-y IPA... hop pairing!

...looking to brew a citrusy ipa this weekend...

here's the grain bill... not very malty, i want the citrus to stand out..

5 gallon batch:

10 lbs 6.4 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 88.7 %
7.2 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 2 3.9 %
4.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 3 2.1 %
10.0 oz Corn Sugar (Dextrose) (0.0 SRM) Sugar 4 5.3 %

right now, i'm leaning towards this pairing:

nugget, centennial, and brewers gold

would you change anything up? think it's good to go?

cheers!

If you want a citrusy IPA, I'd suggest using hops that are notably citrusy. Nugget and brewer's gold aren't known to be citrusy. Nugget is spicy, and herbal tasting. (I don't care much for it in late additions, but some do). Brewer's Gold is not citrusy, either, but sort of harsh and better as a bittering hop if used at all.

Centennial is floral/citrusy- I get some floral aroma underneath the citrus flavor. For real citrus flavor, think amarillo (grapefruit), sorachi ace (lemon), and cascade (grapefruit, but not as much as amarillo).

I like a combination of amarillo/simcoe for intense citrus, centennial/cascade for a citrus with a hint of floral, and cascade/willamette for an earthy citrus flavor.

or Citra...

I brew an IPA with Amarillo/cascade and it is a great citrus combination.

Be sure to load the hops on the back end also-go with your bittering addition (that could be nugget) and wait til about the 10 minute mark and add your flavor/aromas up to and including flameout.

i really like cascade... my last IPA was Cascade / Willamette only...

i based my citrus pairing fom this chart: http://zekeshore.com/hops_v1.12.png

BellsBeerDrinker said:

i really like cascade... my last IPA was Cascade / Willamette only...

i based my citrus pairing fom this chart: http://zekeshore.com/hops_v1.12.png

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I can't see the chart (old eyes) but if they are telling you that nugget and brewer's gold are citrusy, throw out the chart.

Shuasha said:

or Citra...

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This. They give a great aroma and flavor.

I vote for Citra as well. Zombie Dust = heaven in a glass.

i don't get any citrus from citra, despite the name. very fruity and tropical but not citrusy

I recently brewed an IPA with only Citra hops. About 7 ounces if I remember correctly. It'll give you all the citrus you can possibly want. My wife calls it Juice beer.

With that being said, I know Citra hops are very hard to come by this year.

terrapinj said:

i don't get any citrus from citra, despite the name. very fruity and tropical but not citrusy

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Me too- I made an all-citra beer and it screamed MANGO at me. I didn't like it so I dryhopped it with cascade.

I then had Juicy Fruit Gum beer.

Citra is very "tropical" fruit flavored, and I never got any hint of citrus from it.

You may want to look into Falconer's Flight hops. It's touted as having tropical, citrus, lemon, and grapefruit flavors.

http://beerpulse.com/2011/03/hopunion-releases-falconers-flight-hop-to-honor-glen-hay-falconer/

I've only used it once, but haven't tasted it yet as it's still in secondary


EDIT: Crap, I just realized my last comment is invalid. I looked at the recipe for the beer I am currently drinking, my own Erik the Red IPA, and it seems I used Falconer's Flight as a substitute for Citra hops. Definitely has some citrus qualities. I can't believe I messed that one up....I should drink less, or more, whatever.

+1 on throwing out that chart. It's listing traditionally noble hops as having an equal level of citrus as cascade. I think it's a bit outdated. I really recommend Stan Hieronymous' hop book. Incredible detail but easy to understand.

I would use a full pound of carapils and use a ounce of citra at the end of the boil, plus maybe a bag of whole leaf citra as well. I would use cascade at 60 and 30

crstevens15 said:

I brew an IPA with Amarillo/cascade and it is a great citrus combination.

Be sure to load the hops on the back end also-go with your bittering addition (that could be nugget) and wait til about the 10 minute mark and add your flavor/aromas up to and including flameout.

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Don't use Amarillo as a 60 min addition, it doesn't turn out well. Add it towards the end...30 mins or later. This is advice from Vinnie who brews Pliney the Elder.