dry hopping w/ citra

so ive read a good amount of threads in the forum/online regarding citra hops. after everything ive read im really on the fence about using them, lots of mixed opinions. basically, i wanna know feeback of how you feel about this hop, either during the boil, late additions, but more so dry hopping. i have an ipa that im building and the dry hops were gonna be amarillo, simcoe, cascade, and columbus. i was thinking about subbing the amarillo for citra depending on the feedback i get....

I have been trying to study up on citra as well, very interested in trying to use it in my next IPA recipe....subscribing

Citra is bar none, my favorite American hop to dry hop with. Super floral/ fruity smell.

Drinking an APA right now I dry hopped with Citra. It's kinda got a flavor all its own. very fruity. My son grabbed a glass friday night and said, dad whats this new beer, it tastes like it has fruit in it. Columbus is a great hop also. i use it a lot

boostsr20 said:

Citra is bar none, my favorite American hop to dry hop with. Super floral/ fruity smell.

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how do you think it would blend in the hops i have listed for the dry hop w/ a amarillo substitute? can you compare citra to any other hop? ive heard it can be real tropical and even kinda "catty" like simcoe.

I've got a batch in the secondary right now dry hopping with citra. This is my first batch ever though - its an IPA made using only zeus and citra hops. I'll be bottling in about a week...will let you know how it turns out.

Sorry if I am hijacking the thread,.....but wonder how well citra would dry hop in a double IPA....think you could still get some citrusy/floral hints over the strength of the high IBU's???

nobita said:

I've got a batch in the secondary right now dry hopping with citra. This is my first batch ever though - its an IPA made using only zeus and citra hops. I'll be bottling in about a week...will let you know how it turns out.

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Interesting! Curious to see the taste notes of this one!

I wouldn't use it for bittering. It's been called simcoe on steroids when used for more than a 30min boil. I use it exclusively in a pale but don't hop till 30min. The last ipa I did had warrior, cascade, Amarillo, and citra. Awesome combo of hops.

boil 60 mins 2.0 Warrior pellet 15.0
boil 30 mins 1.0 Citra pellet 11.0
boil 20 mins 0.5 Amarillo Gold pellet 7.2
boil 20 mins 0.5 Citra pellet 11.0
boil 20 mins 1.0 Cascade pellet 5.5
boil 10 mins 1.0 Citra pellet 11.0
boil 10 mins 0.5 Cascade pellet 5.5
boil 10 mins 0.5 Amarillo Gold pellet 7.2
boil 5 mins 1.0 Amarillo Gold pellet 7.2
boil 5 mins 0.5 Citra pellet 11.0
boil 5 mins 1.0 Cascade pellet 5.5
dry hop 7 days 0.5 Amarillo Gold pellet 7.2
dry hop 7 days 0.5 Cascade


Also used 1oz of citra for dry hop. Used this schedule in a black ipa and a rye ipa.

In December I made a torpedo inspired IPA. It was great but didn't last very long. I'm no good at describing flavor/aroma but I would say that tropical is close. I will definitely make it again.

My hop schedule -

42 gm Magnum (60 min)
40 gm Crystal (15 min)
28 gm Magnum (5 min)
28 gm Crystal (Dry Hop)
28 gm Citra (Dry Hop)

I did a APA that i dry hopped with 1oz of citra and 1oz of cascade man that brew came out really good!! its a great hop. really fruity

I've got an APA dry hopping right now that I went light on the Citra with because of the same concerns as the OP.

.5oz Centennial 60min
.5oz Centennial 20min
.5oz Amarillo 10min
.5oz Citra 5min

.5 Citra dry hop 7 days
1oz Amarillo dry hop 7 days

I make a summer ale with 20 grams of Citra at boil and 34 grams dry hopped for 4 days after the krausen subsides. I've brewed it several times since last summer and I haven't served it to anyone yet who hasn't loved it. It's the only hop in it.

Tasted my first homebrew batch last night, it was the zeus citra IPA. The hop schedule was:

1 oz. Zeus (60 min.)
1 oz. Zeus (20 min.)
.5 oz. Citra (15 min.)
.5 oz. Citra (10 min.)
.5 oz. Citra (5 min.)
1 oz. Citra (dry hop, 9 days)

I am really happy with both the aroma and flavor. I tried a bottle after one week and it had an almost overpowering apricot aroma. but after the 2nd week in the bottle the fruitiness has mellowed to a perfect level. I can tell it dissipates fast.

I actually used 1 cup corn sugar to carb. I know most people go with 3/4 cup but I went with the advice of my LHBS owner and the carbonation level seems perfect to me. Hopefully it doesn't increase too much over the next week.

Overall a very decent IPA for my first batch! Will definitely be using Citra again.

If the carbonation is where you want it now then throw all of them in the fridge.

Yeah, I thought about doing that, but then I will kind of miss out on that 3rd week of bottle conditioning, right? My plan was to drink one every day or so and chill them all if it looks like they are starting to carb up too much. I am hoping they're already done though, since they've have been at a pretty constant 70 degrees for 2 weeks.

I haven't done it yet but when I get my hops this week, I have a double IPA that I am going to dry hop with 1 oz amarillo, 1 oz citra, and 1 oz simcoe.

I have a special red that should be carbed in another week, We used all citra:

1oz mash
1oz 20 min's
3oz 5 min's
2oz. hopback
2oz. dry hop

It's very tropical and mangoish.

sorry noob here, but what does 1oz mash mean?

nobita said:

sorry noob here, but what does 1oz mash mean?

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Mash hopped--added to the mash.

My latest IPA is dry hopped with citra. Pure orange to me.

It's harsh for about 2 weeks and then settles down to a nice orange/tangerine flavor/smell.

RCCOLA said:

Mash hopped--added to the mash.

My latest IPA is dry hopped with citra. Pure orange to me.

It's harsh for about 2 weeks and then settles down to a nice orange/tangerine flavor/smell.

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More commonly referred to as FWH or First Wort Hopping. Its a great practice, most recipe calculators have it as an option. Its a good way to utilize your bittering addition. You either get more bittering from it or you use less.

As far as conditioning goes. It will still condition when cold, just at a slower rate but thats not a big deal, you want to drink IPA's young.

I have used Citra in 2 brews. It worked very well as an aroma hop. It also paired surprisingly well with oak in my Wheat Wine.

boostsr20 said:

More commonly referred to as FWH or First Wort Hopping. .

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Mash hopping is not first wort hopping. In mash hopping, hops are added to the mash tun and very little bittering contribution makes it to the kettle. The hops are not boiled.

First wort hops are added to the boil kettle as you are running off the mash. They add bittering to the beer as well as (maybe depending on who you talk to) aroma and flavor.

i got a black ipa that I made with columbus for bittering then for aroma and flavoring I used both citra an centennial. then I dry hopped with citra. I used more citra then either of the other two hops. It turned out awesome, its aroma is very sweet, like a ripe mango and just yummy. I'm planning to make an imperial IPA next cause I've been making nothing but dark beers lately, I wanna make something with color now. I'm gonna do an all citra hop sched so I can really see what it's like.

I ended up buying 4 oz of Citra to try them out as part of a hop pack from farmhouse brewing supply...

I brewed what was supposed to be a fairly simple 30ish ibu blonde ale...

8.5 lbs 2-row
4oz Crystal 40
4oz Crystal 75

.5 oz Magnum (10%) @ 60
.5 oz Citra (12.4%) @20
.5 oz Citra @5
1 oz Dry hop 7 days...

Fermented with WLP029

Well, I bottled it today... taste is a pretty smooth blonde ale... not too fruity. The aroma though... it reminded me of "Five Alive" The spare bathroom where I racked to the bottling bucket smelled that way for 2 hours... the kitchen where I bottled did too...

We'll see how it tastes when carbed...

PorterIdontknowher said:

The aroma though... it reminded me of "Five Alive" The spare bathroom where I racked to the bottling bucket smelled that way for 2 hours... the kitchen where I bottled did too...

We'll see how it tastes when carbed...

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Citra's really fruity when young and then fades fast. The beer I brewed with it was harsh for ~ 2 weeks post-carb, then really orangy for ~ 1 month, and then faded and let the 1/3 simcoe I mixed with it dominate.

It a flash in the pan.

RCCOLA said:

Citra's really fruity when young and then fades fast. The beer I brewed with it was harsh for ~ 2 weeks post-carb, then really orangy for ~ 1 month, and then faded and let the 1/3 simcoe I mixed with it dominate.

It a flash in the pan.

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Man i hope so...tried citra dry hop in my black dipa, and its awful...hopefully the tropical dies down...now if the other keg will just carb faster....

Doing the Centennial Blonde from the HBT database and want to dry hop with some citra that I have, but I am scared.

My experience so far has been over the top apricotty flavors. I just want a nice hint of its tropical aroma, not really much flavor.

Co-worker suggested starting with 1/2oz then pulling a sample after 3 days and maybe adding another charge.

Anyone done something similar?

Dry hopped an IPA (bittered with amarillo, flavor and aroma with cascade). I put 2 oz of citra right in the keg. It was fantastic...tropical fruit nose, but keg didn't last long enough to see if it died out quickly...