All Citra IPA

I am going to be brewing an all citra IPA with 5 oz of whole citra hops (fresh as can be!)

I am using 1lb of Caramel 20 and 11lbs Light LME as well. I don't have my specifice hop schedule with me (at work) but am super excited for this brew. But it will be 4 oz throughout the boil with 1 oz dry hopped.

Recently brewed a Simtra IPA (Simcoe/Citra) and it was a HUGE success with everyone, even a local small brewery in town. They loved my recipe, and all of my friends keep telling me to rebrew it again (I already have twice).

I love the citra hop, and my local HBS just got in a fresh shipment of whole leaf citra so I figured why not.

What do you guys think?

I made an all citra APA. I hated it.

It screamed MANGO, and I didn't like it. I dryhopped with cascades to cover some of the "tropical fruit" flavor a bit, and it came out reminiscent of Juicy Fruit Gum.

I like citra with simcoe and/or chinook very much, or as one of the late additions, but not all on its own. It's way too fruity for me.

Interesting - maybe I will pick up some cascade to mask it a bit. I was hoping hte high abv would help cut some of that out though..

I have heard nothing but good stories from others doing all citra recipes. Put then again, I would probably really like the fruitiness referenced by Yooper. I'm going to brew a Amarillo/Citra pale ale (Amacitra?) here in the next few days, which is hop combination I read rave reviews about.

Theres a Citra Hopped Amber in the recipe section that looks good. Perhaps switch the malt bill to suit an APA and your gold.

BTW your looking at a IIPA with that much LME. I would use 6 lbs + the 1 lbs 20L, drop the citra down to 3 oz.

1 oz @ 60
.5 oz @15
.5 oz @ 0

1 oz dryhop

sorry I didn't see you were using fresh hops...go w/ your original schedule. I think it would make a bomb beer. Even w/ 11 lbs making an IIPA it would steel be good

I love Citra, but will agree with critics that it has some odd stuff going on with it when used as a bittering hop. My favorite recipe is a Warrior/Sorachi Ace/Nelson Sauvin/Citra/Motueka IIPA recipe (just "belgianed" it for the first time too) with the late boil hops being heavy on the Citra side. Adds a very "bright" aroma when used as a dry hop too in my opinion.

Thanks for the input!

I forgot to mention I am going to use White Labs Californial Ale V as my yeast for this one.

I say what the hell, I'll just go for all 5 oz and 11lbs. I originally only wanted 10lbs, but the LHBS messed up and gave me 11 for the price of 10, so I figured why not add a little extra alcohol to it?

AA on this citra is 13.4% a little higher than normal

I think it should turn out well.. I am at work but I think BeerSmith had it coming out at 6.8%ABV or so

6.8 ABV with 11lb LME - are you making 5 gal or 10?

Your alpha acid extraction efficicency will depend heavily on the gravity of your boil - basically how much extract do you have in the boil at the point you're tossing in the hops. Beersmith figures all of that out though, but you can decrease the amount of hops by adding the extract in late boil. All boiling really does to LME is sterilizes it, so you only need about 15 minutes.

I love the smell of raw citra hops but for some reason dry hopping it gets a different smell. Its not bad or anything its just differnt to me. Just something to keep in mind.

I just brewed a Citra IPA that was bittered with Warrior last night. All late additions were Citra and then I'll dryhop with Citra too.

I read some stories on here that said Citra was disappointing when used for bittering, so I decided to use a cleaner bittering hop like warrior or magnum.

Anybody who has brewed w/ citra, why is it bad to use for a bittering? weird flavors? It seems that it would be a good bittering hop w/ that high of an AA%.

I have a bunch of citra, amirillo, cascade, columbus and centennial and I was going to run a series of individually hopped ipa's. I made the chinook IPA from northern brewer which was EXCELLENT. Thought it would be cool to see what each one brings to the table.

iswenson said:

Anybody who has brewed w/ citra, why is it bad to use for a bittering? weird flavors? It seems that it would be a good bittering hop w/ that high of an AA%.

I have a bunch of citra, amirillo, cascade, columbus and centennial and I was going to run a series of individually hopped ipa's. I made the chinook IPA from northern brewer which was EXCELLENT. Thought it would be cool to see what each one brings to the table.

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The term I've heard is either catty or more bluntly, cat pee... from some tasters... with that in mind, 10 days ago I tried to brew a moderately hoppy blonde with about 29ish IBU consisting of .25oz of Magnum (10%) @ 60, .5oz Citra (12.4%) at 20min and again at 5min...

Well... you know what they say about "the best laid plans"... This was my first all grain batch on my setup (had brewed one all-grain at a friend's house and gotten a 67% efficiency) and set the grain bill for a 70% efficiency... only to get 77%... so instead of a 1.045 blonde that is slightly hoppy... my OG is at 1.051...

So, now it is into pale ale territory... do I dry hop it? The WLP029 is starting to quiet down...

It's a fairly simple beer:

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

.25 Magnum 10% @60
.5 oz Citra 12.4% @20
.5 oz Citra @ 5...

WLP029 which is a little on the slow side getting the krausen to drop, but I like how nice and clean it has been... I've made a blonde, a Koelsch, and a Rye PA with it previously...

I just brewed an all Citra IPA with 1oz @ 45, 1oz @ 20, 1oz @ Dry. Myself and my wife love the fruity characteristics of Citra and the aroma of Citra is the best out there IMO.

So I figured, let's just go all in and see what happens! I tried to get around the "Citra is a Bad Bittering Hop" mantra by heavy late additions. Beersmith puts my IPA at 53.9 IBU which is exactly where I wanted my IBUs (~50-55).

I can tell you during the primary fermentation my bathroom smelled like the God of Hops himself took dump in it (I put my carboys in a bathtub in an unused bathroom to ferment). I have another week or two before I will bottle. I'm really looking forward to it!

iswenson said:

drop the citra down to 3 oz.

1 oz @ 60
.5 oz @15
.5 oz @ 0

1 oz dryhop

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PorterIdontknowher said:

.25 Magnum 10% @60
.5 oz Citra 12.4% @20
.5 oz Citra @ 5...

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Roughster said:

I just brewed an all Citra IPA with 1oz @ 45, 1oz @ 20, 1oz @ Dry.

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these hopping schedules would disappoint me & my hop-worshiping friends. an IPA needs more than 2 oz of late hops, IMHO, and anything before 10 mins is a bit of a waste. flame-out addition is a must. i always do a warm hop-stand which extends the contributions of later additions so my 5 min probably contributes more like a 10 min. my typical IPA schedule looks something like:

X oz @ 60 min (a clean bittering hop, in whatever amount is required to achieve desired IBUs)
1 oz @ 5 min
1.5 oz @ flame-out, rest for 5 mins
1.5 oz @ 180 *F, rest for 15 mins
3 oz @ dry-hop (or more... i've done up to 8, in two rounds, for an IIPA)

I brewed an all Citra Wheat ale, yes lots of mango but its a solid hop on its own. Three Floyd's Zombie Dust is a Citra and quite a popular brew.

sweetcell said:

these hopping schedules would disappoint me & my hop-worshiping friends. an IPA needs more than 2 oz of late hops, IMHO, and anything before 10 mins is a bit of a waste. flame-out addition is a must. i always do a warm hop-stand which extends the contributions of later additions so my 5 min probably contributes more like a 10 min. my typical IPA schedule looks something like:

X oz @ 60 min (a clean bittering hop, in whatever amount is required to achieve desired IBUs)
1 oz @ 5 min
1.5 oz @ flame-out, rest for 5 mins
1.5 oz @ 180 *F, rest for 15 mins
3 oz @ dry-hop (or more... i've done up to 8, in two rounds, for an IIPA)

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I think that is a difference in opinion. I would agree that the current trend of HOP until you kill someone or something would dictate a much more vigorous hoping schedule. However, not all IPAs have to be MAX HOPS POSSIBLE. Typically the IPA style is 40-60 IBUs. I am above mid-point at ~54 IBUs.

I think people are too obsessed by hops right now to the point that making things overly hoppy trumps making a good beer. I am going for less overall bitterness / harshness and more Aromatic / Flavor. Think more approachable IPA, less I am going to drag you out into the parking lot and stuff your nose and mouth full of rhizomes.

Roughster said:

I am going for less overall bitterness / harshness and more Aromatic / Flavor.

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which is easily achieved by making a minimal 60 minute addition - like a 1/4 oz - and getting most of your ~50 IBUs from the late additions, AKA hop bursting. rhizomes up the nose optional

i can't see how one ounce added in the last 20 mins is going to make an aromatic and flavorful IPA.

I think that much is yet to be learned about sub-30 hop additions. Let's face it, home brewing is still an art, not yet a science. I am a biochemist by trade and by degree. I will see for myself before I blindly accept the traditions of the past.

Although we stand on the shoulder of giants, we are not quite yet at the limit of the sky. Have people given up hope of what is yet to be learned? If I felt that way, it would make me a little sad. I look forward to trying new things not because it will work, but because I am not sure if it will work.

I am doing an all centennial IPA, was thinking of dry hopping with 1oz centennial and 1oz citra... Think the combo is good?

Larzean said:

I am doing an all centennial IPA, was thinking of dry hopping with 1oz centennial and 1oz citra... Think the combo is good?

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that combo is awesome!

Roughster said:

Although we stand on the shoulder of giants, we are not quite yet at the limit of the sky. Have people given up hope of what is yet to be learned? If I felt that way, it would make me a little sad. I look forward to trying new things not because it will work, but because I am not sure if it will work.

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Wow, I thought I took homebrewing seriously
I totally agree with sweetcell, that is a very minimal amount of hops for an IPA. I don't think that because I can't learn new things, but because thousands of people (including myself) have made thousands of IPA's and the consensus is that the IPA style is heavily hopped, especially with aroma and flavor additions. Several of my IPA recipes only include a 60 minute addition for the total IBU count of the beer, then 3 ounces or so of flameout hops, which I let steep for 20 minutes at 180 degrees (so as not to add additional IBU's), then I dry hop with 3 ounces of hops for a week after fermentation. I do this to add an appropriate amount of IPA aroma and flavor, which makes the beer "hoppy". I think you are confusing "hoppy" with "bitter". You said you are "going for less overall bitterness / harshness and more Aromatic / Flavor." You aren't going to get the aromas and flavors you are looking for with 1 oz at 20 minutes and 1 oz of dry hops... maybe in a Pale ale, but not an IPA.

I do love the intensity with which you are unwilling to "blindly accept the traditions of the past", but traditions are the results of experience, testing, and the sharing of knowledge, and you wouldn't be able to "stand on the shoulders of giants" without them. You can waste alot of time and beer trying to reinvent the wheel, to eventually find out it was already invented a long time ago.

I have brew this one twice and loved it. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f66/naughty-kitty-citra-ipa-438209/ it's not 100% citra but it was very tasty.

I kegged my All CITRA Pale Ale 2 days ago and couldn't wait to try it though it isn't fully carbed. Verdict???



No question, this thing rocks!! I feel like I have a winner here!

There's a local brewery that did an all Citra and all I could taste was rotten grapefruit. Second batch they had was much milder and the rotten taste was gone. They said they had to retool the recipe a bit.