Dry hopped my DIPA with citra ugh

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Irrenarzt

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I just kegged my ultrabadass DIPA after 10 days in dryhop with 2 oz of citra (6 gal batch). Man it tastes like a dead hookers a$$. It tasted sublime during my last hydro sample and thought I was gonna jiz my pants. Now it's got an odd flavor I can't place but is not favorable. I had a similar taste with a 60 Minute IPA clone last year but I used Simcoe and Amarillo that time.

I was just about to submit this beer for competition, now I'm not so sure. Anyone else had a similar experience with dryhopping funking things up?
 
A SNPA with Cascade was awful after 2 days of dry hopping. Pulled them out and after about a month it finally mellowed out to be drinkable. Sometimes it just plain fails.
 
Yeah, 2oz of Citra may be a bit much. Citra is great for flavor, but I prefer other varieties for dry-hopping.

SAMC is right, though. It will mellow.
 
I made a IIPA that had (combo of chinook, amarillo, centennial, nugget, crystal (17oz total brew+dry)) an extreme, but delicious, grapefruit taste before dryhopping. After dryhopping with 1oz Simcoe, 1.5oz Citra, 1oz Columbus, 1oz Chinook, at bottling it tasted slightly herbal, slightly citrusy. After 1 week in bottle it tasted like extreme Garlic & Herb. After 3+ weeks in bottle it is damn delcious, citrusy, herbal, floral, piney.

I would just give it a few weeks. Hop flavors/aromas change quite a bit during the initial conditioning.
 
And by all means, put it in the competition. At best it will be back to awesome by then, at worst (hopefully) the judges can help pinpoint the off flavors.
 
I did an American Ale dry hopped with 1 oz. of citra and it was really aromatic, very nice. Anything more might be overkill since it has such high Alphas. :)
 
I dry hopped an IPA with 1 oz Citra ...thought the same thing...shat..it tasted better before dry hopping!.....but I supose time will tell, hopefully the flavors will mellow and turn out well
 
I dry hopped a PA and Wheat with 2oz of Citra and they turned out awesome. The Citra paired with a late addition of Citra and Amaillo in the PA is very grapefruity.
 
I recently (1 week ago) dry hopped an IPA with about an OZ of Citra and man is it a unique and pronounced flavor. It seems fruity to me (not in the way that esters are fruity) but I guess the official description is floral. It's a bit much. I've been blending it in the glass with a similar IPA with Cascade dry hops and the combination is good. Based on the posts here I'm looking forward to seeing how it changes.
 
Citra was designed for it's high alphas not for an amazing aroma. While I have used it in small amounts towards the end of a brew, even 1/2 an ounce in the last few minutes will leave a strong lingering aroma/flavor so dry hopping 2oz would be over the top IMHO. I actually was thinking about dry hopping with it, in something I have in primary now. It's a American Honey Brown Ale that had 1/2 oz Citra @ 60 and 3/4 oz at 10 min. With those small amounts I smell Citra the second I walk into the room it's fermenting in. I was debating putting even 1/2 oz in as dry hopping (although it's not any sort of IPA either).

Most articles/books I've read from "experts" always recommend using low alpha hops for aroma/dry hopping (i.e. noble hops). They were designed to save large breweries money per IBU not because they have the best flavor/aroma. Beta acids, aroma oils, and other flavor compounds do not always scale up the same as alpha acids do.
 
I think 90% of IPA's are dry-hopped with at least one "high alpha" hop. Centennial, Amarillo, Simcoe, Columbus, Nugget, Chinook, Magnum, Warrior, are all used in commercial beers as dry-hops as well as bittering and flavor additions.

One of Citra's early appearances in a commercial brew was in Sierra Nevada Torpedo IPA as one of the dry-hops.

It's strong and not remotely spicy at all, like most of the common hops, which I think is a big part of why some don't like it.
 
I have a hard time not dry-hopping everything with Amarillo. I'm trying to restrain myself though. :)
 
I love amarillo, it is easily my favorite hop. Next time it's back to amarillo. Hopefully this flavor will mellow in two weeks for the competition.

On a positive note, it's getting more drinkable by the day. I had a pint yesterday afternoon and it was definitely smoothing out a bit.
 
I dry hopped a stout with an ounce of citra and an ounce of sterling and it came out really nice. I only dry hop for a few days. A week at the most.
BTW, Dead Hooker's Ass is a great name for a beer. :rockin:
 
Man I shouldda done research before dry hopping 2oz citra and 1oz centennial into my ipa yesterday. Now you guys have me worried. I plan on bottling on Friday.
 
m3n00b said:
Man I shouldda done research before dry hopping 2oz citra and 1oz centennial into my ipa yesterday. Now you guys have me worried. I plan on bottling on Friday.

People often, and totally understandably, assume Citra will impart citrus flavors... which it doesn't. Rather, it'll give off passion fruit, guava and... yes, cat piss. At least in my experience. The good thing is the cat piss usually comes from boil additions. Anyways...

3 oz of dry hop in a 5 gallon batch is more than I'd ever use, but the fact 33% is Centennial will likely be a good balance. The beer will be fine, probably really good!

Cheers!
 
People often, and totally understandably, assume Citra will impart citrus flavors... which it doesn't. Rather, it'll give off passion fruit, guava and... yes, cat piss. At least in my experience. The good thing is the cat piss usually comes from boil additions. Anyways...

3 oz of dry hop in a 5 gallon batch is more than I'd ever use, but the fact 33% is Centennial will likely be a good balance. The beer will be fine, probably really good!

Cheers!

Thanks man!! I was trying to avoid the cat urine flavor. I even told the guy at the LHBS that when I was going to purchase simcoe. He recommended the citra instead. I said I was interested in citrus and other fruit. I love hop aroma which is why I went with 3oz.

It's also got:

1oz chinook for 60min
1oz centennial for 15 min
1oz centennial at flamout
 
Thanks man!! I was trying to avoid the cat urine flavor. I even told the guy at the LHBS that when I was going to purchase simcoe. He recommended the citra instead. I said I was interested in citrus and other fruit. I love hop aroma which is why I went with 3oz.

It's also got:

1oz chinook for 60min
1oz centennial for 15 min
1oz centennial at flamout

I'm sure you'll be please with the results. For me, I use Chinook very sparingly, as it tends to impart a more sharp bitterness. For example, in the IPA I made yesterday, at 60 I used 11 grams (just under .5 oz) Magnum (smooth bittering hop) and 4 grams Chinook, just for a touch of sharpness. Centennial is fantastic, one of my favorite hops all around, and your additions are money. Let us know how the beer comes out!
 
right now im drinking a citra IPA that I dry hopped with 4 oz of citra. Its awesome, stong citrus and grapefruit aromas. Dry hopping is mostly for a strong aroma. I'd say wait until your beer is bottled / kegged and not so green. it'll probably be fine. However check the profiles of your hops. some hop flavors just dont mix well with others. 2oz of dry hop seems low for a 2xipa imho.
 
right now im drinking a citra IPA that I dry hopped with 4 oz of citra. Its awesome, stong citrus and grapefruit aromas. Dry hopping is mostly for a strong aroma. I'd say wait until your beer is bottled / kegged and not so green. it'll probably be fine. However check the profiles of your hops. some hop flavors just dont mix well with others. 2oz of dry hop seems low for a 2xipa imho.

Awesome!! Can't wait to try mine!
 
I've found that I dislike Citra as the star of the show, but I like it as a supporting hop. It seems to fit nicely in that middle ground between spicy/earthy hops and citrus/floral hops.
 
People often, and totally understandably, assume Citra will impart citrus flavors... which it doesn't. Rather, it'll give off passion fruit, guava and... yes, cat piss. At least in my experience. The good thing is the cat piss usually comes from boil additions. Anyways...

3 oz of dry hop in a 5 gallon batch is more than I'd ever use, but the fact 33% is Centennial will likely be a good balance. The beer will be fine, probably really good!

Cheers!

I really dislike citra- as was mentioned it's not the least bit "citrus". It's tropical fruit- mango and pineapple (or is that guava?) all the way. I don't get cat piss from it, but I still dislike it.

The thing is, other people love it. They love that mango/Juicy Fruit gum flavor and aroma it gives. I hate it. So each person is different.

If you're looking for citrus, the best bet is cascade or amarillo (which is grapefruity citrus).
 
Im on a Citra / Galaxy kick right now. Just used 1 oz each in a dry hop 3 gal batch. Tastes mighty fine! No hookers ass here :D

Hey wait a minute, how do any of you know what that would taste like!! :confused:
 
I dry hopped my zombie dust clone with 4 oz. That beer used almost 10 oz of citra. It was killer. I've heard the cat piss varies by season and time of harvest.

I get mango pineapple tropical from it.
 
right now im drinking a citra IPA that I dry hopped with 4 oz of citra. Its awesome, stong citrus and grapefruit aromas. Dry hopping is mostly for a strong aroma. I'd say wait until your beer is bottled / kegged and not so green. it'll probably be fine. However check the profiles of your hops. some hop flavors just dont mix well with others. 2oz of dry hop seems low for a 2xipa imho.

4 oz in a 5 gallon batch? I think there's a point of diminishing returns, which is right around 2 oz for 5 gallons. Perhaps I'm wrong. Either way, if you like, you like it!

I really dislike citra- as was mentioned it's not the least bit "citrus". It's tropical fruit- mango and pineapple (or is that guava?) all the way. I don't get cat piss from it, but I still dislike it.

The thing is, other people love it. They love that mango/Juicy Fruit gum flavor and aroma it gives. I hate it. So each person is different.

If you're looking for citrus, the best bet is cascade or amarillo (which is grapefruity citrus).

I'm gonna take a stab in the dark here and guess you really don't like Citra :cross:. I'm right there with you, actually, and much prefer the classic US hops like Centennial and Cascade. Amarillo is great, too, but Centennial has and always will be one of my favs.
 
Man I shouldda done research before dry hopping 2oz citra and 1oz centennial into my ipa yesterday. Now you guys have me worried. I plan on bottling on Friday.

Relax, see this hop bill:

60min 0.75 Columbus (14.2 AA)
15min 0.40 Cascade (5.5 AA)
10min 0.50 Citra (14.4 AA)
10min 1.00 Cascade (6.7 AA)
5min 1.00 Citra (14.4 AA)
3min 1.00 Columbus (14.2 AA)
1min 1.50 Citra (14.4 AA)
Dry Hop 1.50 Citra

Dry Hop 1.00 Mosiac

(dry hop was 4 days)

Got a 2nd place at a local competition and both judges thought it was loaded with Amarillo hops! Could be the batches others got where picked late or something...yours might be really good!
 
Irrenarzt said:
I just kegged my ultrabadass DIPA after 10 days in dryhop with 2 oz of citra (6 gal batch). Man it tastes like a dead hookers a$$. It tasted sublime during my last hydro sample and thought I was gonna jiz my pants. Now it's got an odd flavor I can't place but is not favorable. I had a similar taste with a 60 Minute IPA clone last year but I used Simcoe and Amarillo that time.

I was just about to submit this beer for competition, now I'm not so sure. Anyone else had a similar experience with dryhopping funking things up?

I am a big fan of an abbreviated dry hop. 10days is way too long in my experiences. Recently dry hopped with 1oz Citra/1oz Amarillo for 4 days in primary then transferred to secondary on another round of 1oz Citra/1 oz Amarillo for 4 days and its a fruity mango bomb. I once over used citra with the extended dry hop timing before I knew about this abbreviated method and it was a drain pour so I know what you are talking about.
 
Dead hooker's ass! I'll have to file that description in the back of my mind. Might start using it instead of "catty".

Thanks for the laugh.
 
Man..there are a lot of people on this thread who don't understand hops.

To the OP: something else is goin on..2 oz of any hop is not a significant dry hop for 6 gallons of DIPA. For a DIPA dry hop my floor is 3 oz, more typically 4 and up.
 
Man..there are a lot of people on this thread who don't understand hops.

To the OP: something else is goin on..2 oz of any hop is not a significant dry hop for 6 gallons of DIPA. For a DIPA dry hop my floor is 3 oz, more typically 4 and up.

Thanks for your input, hopefully we all understand hops better now. Pro? How long have you been brewing?
 
I sampled mine yesterday after 4 days dry hopping and it's a great and unique aroma. Definitely passion fruit, grapefruit, guava and mango. I love it! Needs a couple more days.
 
I've used Citra in a few beers, also as dry hops, and it's always nice, but then I didn't use more than an ounce in a blend. Latest iteration was a Brett Trois IPA with Chinook, Citra and Galaxy in equal amounts in the boil and dry hops (~1 oz each for 27 liter batch for dry hops). Came out awesome. At kegging, the hops were a touch harsh. After 3 or 4 days in the keg, it was amazing.

I've found that with some hops, they simply don't taste the same immediately after pulling off of the hops. Some taste grassy or harsh at bottling/kegging, then after even only a few days off of the hops, they clean up and become awesome.
 
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