American Pale Ale All Citra Pale Ale

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JRapp

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 14, 2012
Messages
128
Reaction score
17
Location
Ferndale
Recipe Type
Extract
Yeast
Danstar Nottingham
Batch Size (Gallons)
5
Original Gravity
1.057
Final Gravity
1.016
Boiling Time (Minutes)
25
IBU
37.2
Color
7
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
21 @ 61
Tasting Notes
Awesome exotic fruit aroma....I write more once I drink one this weekend, I forget.
6.6lb golden Light LME
1lb light DME
1lb Caramel 20L
-Steeped in 2 gallons for 25 min, then topped up to 3 1/2 gallons to start the boil.

Started off boiling 3.3lb LME and started hop additions, added rest of LME and DME at 10m mark. Wanted a nice light color on this, which I got.

.5oz Citra(13.9) @ 25m
.5oz Citra(13.9) @ 15m (also added irish moss at this point)
.5oz Citra(13.9) @ 5m
.5oz Citra(13.9) @ 1m
1oz Citra dry hop for 10 days

I brewed this up because I never tried Citra, and really wanted to get a good feel for the hop. Was concerned it would be overwhelming, but it turned out fantastic with crazy fruity notes. Good body, great aroma and head. Flavor and bitterness are spot on.

Took it to my new brew club, everyone confirmed my suspicion that it was good, so I dont think its just me......
 
Good to know. I have 11 gallons of my house Pale Ale with my first try of Citra sitting in primary on dry hop right now! I used 1oz of citra per 5.5 gallons as a dry hop along with .5oz Cascade... the fermentation chamber smells like tangerines, mangoes and pineapple! Can't wait for this one!
 
You should! Drank 3 last night, its an extremely tasty and fast recipe. Perfect way to showcase Citra..... I actually picked up a bottle of Odd side Citra last week just to compare, I might be biased, but I liked this better :)
 
My Citra dry-hopped pale ale is the best beer I've ever made! Awesome flavor and aroma from Citra!
 
I just did a Belgian pale ale with dry hopped citra ....my wife and I think it's by far the best beer we've ever tasted.
 
Thanks for posting this! I think I will try this as my first non-clone kit batch.

I have been contemplating making a series of beers to learn about the intricacies of the various hop varietals. Citra struck me as one I should start with first.

Do you think this would be a good base for a wide variety of hops? I was thinking I might want something a little more interesting then a SMaSH.
 
Generally yes, it would be good for all sorts of different hop varities. The malt is basic with a good %, good golden pale color. When I drink it it sort of reminds me Sierra Nevada Pale ale when it comes to bitterness balance and mouthfeel, but instead of the classic cascade of Nevada its all citra's fruity zest and citris aroma.

I plan on using the same recipe for another hop some time next month, I really went through that 5 gallons fast.
Im thinking another I have yet to try, maybe Mosaic or amirillo.

Oh either way, if you have yet to build a recipe and dont use it yet, use a program like Beersmith or for free use Hopville.com
 
1 lb of Crystal/Caramel malt in a 5.0 gal batch is a lot. If you want to concentrate on the hop flavor and aroma more most brewers would recommend no more than 8 oz of Crystal malts in 5.0 gal batches of IPA or Pale Ales.
 
Jayhem I get what your saying, If you wanted to truly showcase a hop cut back on that toasty/sweet to truly let the hops shine. Honestly the beer is amazing as is though, but I'm going to brew another batch in a few weeks(this time Amarillo), maybe I'll give it a try with reduced caramel and see how it turns out...but maybe not.

Dont fix whats not broken?
 
Ah, the age old trade-off. I'm a fan of maltier beers, so maybe I'll keep the full pound in. All good info though. If the crystal is too distracting then I'll know where to look. :mug:
 
I would use the American Ale, I generally like the outcome of it and use it often. I only went with nottingham because I was on a tight budget.
 
Jayhem I get what your saying, If you wanted to truly showcase a hop cut back on that toasty/sweet to truly let the hops shine. Honestly the beer is amazing as is though, but I'm going to brew another batch in a few weeks(this time Amarillo), maybe I'll give it a try with reduced caramel and see how it turns out...but maybe not.

Dont fix whats not broken?

If you never change your recipe you'll never know if you might like it a little different. I have made my "House Pale Ale" recipe 7 times now and every time I tweak it just a little...eventually you find that you really like something more than the previous version of the same recipe and that is how Epic Beers are created! :rockin::D

One thing I have learned about pale ales: The hop flavor and aroma will be dominant for the first week or 2 after carbonation but then it will fade into the background and more of the malt will come through and it will taste about the same from week 3-10.

I have also learned that if you want maximum hop aroma and flavor you are better off bottling your beer and keeping the beer at 60-70F until you are ready to drink it. If you chill it only an hour or 2 before you drink it maximum hop aroma is retained. If you chill it for days or weeks before enjoying you will notice significantly less hop aroma/flavor.
 
Citra is by far my favorite hop. have a Citra single hop IPA on brew toad that is excellent.
 
Hey Jay, now that the beer is a little older I might have switched to your way of thinking. The bold hops have mellowed out a bit and its still a very delicious beer, but if you truly want to taste and smell those hops past the 1 month mark I will ease back on the caramel a wee bit and maybe even go with a full oz in the last 5 minutes or flame out.

My beers normally dont last this long so I rarely think about shelf life, but I am on a bit of a diet....

Red, if ya aint made it yet you might wanna try that tweak, if you did make it it will still be amazing :)
 
Hey Jay, now that the beer is a little older I might have switched to your way of thinking. The bold hops have mellowed out a bit and its still a very delicious beer, but if you truly want to taste and smell those hops past the 1 month mark I will ease back on the caramel a wee bit and maybe even go with a full oz in the last 5 minutes or flame out.

My beers normally dont last this long so I rarely think about shelf life, but I am on a bit of a diet....

Red, if ya aint made it yet you might wanna try that tweak, if you did make it it will still be amazing :)

I'm still drinking my Citra pale ale, been over a month since it was carbonated. It's still great but the hop aroma has drastically faded. I use 1.5 oz of hops (Citra/Cascade) at flame out and 1.5 dry hop per 5 gallons. This is by far my favorite session beer of all time. :mug:
 
JRapp said:
6.6lb golden Light LME
1lb light DME
1lb Caramel 20L
-Steeped in 2 gallons for 25 min, then topped up to 3 1/2 gallons to start the boil.

Started off boiling 3.3lb LME and started hop additions, added rest of LME and DME at 10m mark. Wanted a nice light color on this, which I got.

.5oz Citra(13.9) @ 25m
.5oz Citra(13.9) @ 15m (also added irish moss at this point)
.5oz Citra(13.9) @ 5m
.5oz Citra(13.9) @ 1m
1oz Citra dry hop for 10 days

I brewed this up because I never tried Citra, and really wanted to get a good feel for the hop. Was concerned it would be overwhelming, but it turned out fantastic with crazy fruity notes. Good body, great aroma and head. Flavor and bitterness are spot on.

Took it to my new brew club, everyone confirmed my suspicion that it was good, so I dont think its just me......

So is this still a 60 min boil or do you just start the full boil for 25 minutes?
Thanks!
 
JRapp said:
Hey Jay, now that the beer is a little older I might have switched to your way of thinking. The bold hops have mellowed out a bit and its still a very delicious beer, but if you truly want to taste and smell those hops past the 1 month mark I will ease back on the caramel a wee bit and maybe even go with a full oz in the last 5 minutes or flame out.

My beers normally dont last this long so I rarely think about shelf life, but I am on a bit of a diet....

Red, if ya aint made it yet you might wanna try that tweak, if you did make it it will still be amazing :)

Ha! Well I ordered an extra ounce and they came in at 15.6% so I think I have plenty. :mug:

Hopville actually yelled at me for having too much. That and I wanted to try a full boil. So I think I'll go with:

.25, .5, .75, 1, and dry hop 1.5

That should keep it American enough for me.
 
Very Nice! Please let me know the results!

I have one 6 pack left that I rediscovered and Its burning a hole in my pocket. I need to make more of this and fast.
 
I think I'll try this hop schedule tomorrow.
I've got the grains ready to go. Im using:
60% Pale 2 row
30% Golden Promise
10% Crystal 20L
 
Any reviews or tastes yet for those who have tried this?

I had one last night, still great, with awesome grapefruit and citris(and maybe even a bit of mellonish) notes, even if my aroma has deminished a bit.

I love this hop, trying to come up with a IPA recipe with this, Amarillo and Cascade
 
Did anyone give this a try? Had a few people about to bite and it seems they swam away.

Still my favorite pale ale to date....depending on how this Amarillo, Citra, Sorachi ace pale ale turn out anyway. If I get good reviews on it this weekend I'll post that one too.
 
I'm close. Had to completely revamp my setup. My boil kettle was destroyed by some spilt bleach. So a keggle, blichmann burner, plate chiller later I'm just about back in the game.

I know excuses excuses...
 
I have 2 carboys bubbling away this morning. I had a few friends stop by yesterday so I ran a 10gal batch with my new setup (finally).

Recipe:

12lb golden LME
5lb German pilsner
1lb crystal 20

60min at 154 (actually bounced between 156-153)
10min at 170

60min .5oz citra (15.6% AA)
30min .5oz citra (15.6% AA)
15min .5oz citra (15.6% AA)
10min .5oz citra (15.6% AA)
5min 1oz citra (15.6% AA)
0min 1oz citra (15.6% AA)
15min steep

I split the batch between 'merican 1056 and British 1098

I'll probably divide my last oz between the two carboys if I can't find another oz by that time.

OG was 1.065
Ran oxygen for 4min @ 1/4LPM in each carboy

Super excited, it's been too long.
 
Very Cool!

Im excited to hear how the citra will work with the english yeast. I personally cant get enough of this hop, great both solo and mixed with other citrus hops. You have a whole lot of late editions, its gonna be awesome.

Thinking about ordering a plant to replace the poor yield magnum in my yard, would much rather go with a flavor then a bittering for homegrown, and I think it would go great with my already grow chinook.

Good luck!
 
I'm glad I found this thread. I gave my newly constructed brewstand a "shakedown brew" making a Citra SMaSH. 12.5 pounds of GW Premium 2 row, and 14.5 AA citra with 1.5 oz at 15, 1.5 at 10, 1 at 5 and 1 at flameout. 4 more dry-hopped on Day 3 of fermentation, after it slowed. Used San Diego Super, OG 1.063, currently 1.010. Hydrometer sample tastes like pineapple mango juice, since the malt is so subdued. Since the hops seem to drop fast (from what's been said here), I hope the single malt will stay in the background and let the hops keep shining.
 
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