Summer Citrus Ale

Greetings there all...

Just looking for some thoughts on this recipe. Trying to shoot for a clean, crisp hoppy citrus ale with a little color to it. Im down in Florida, so i'm looking not only for a lawnmower beer, but a crisp easy citrus drinking beer.

Grain Bill 30Min @ 150deg
8oz Honey Malt
8oz Carafoam

3.3Lb Pilsen Light LME
3.3Lb Extra Light LME
2Lb Orange Blossom Honey 5Min

1Oz Citra 60Min
1Oz Amarillo 30Min

1Oz Tangerine Peel 5min

Actually thinking about using not only the Safale us-05, but also the Wyeast 1010 American Wht for the dry, clear crispness that I am looking for. Historically I have under fermented my beers, but having done some research and a few people who are better brewers than I have pointed out, calculating the yeast that I need. I have learned that one pkg of liquid yeast doesn't usually ferment my brews.

Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.

I'd leave the honey malt out. It tends to lead to a thicker mouth feel in my experience. I think you will get plenty of nice color just by using liquid extract. Also, you won't get much hop aroma without a late hop addition in the 5-0 minute range. Good luck with the beer!

2 lb of honey is too much. 1 lb should be just right.


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You are going to need more hops if you want it to be citrusy hoppy. And other than your 60 min bittering addition, there is no need to add hops before 15 min EOB. I just did a batch that is almost exactly what you have described you are going for, here's the hop bill:
3/4 oz centinnial - 60 min
1/3 EACH Amarillo & citra - 10 min
1/2 EACH Amarillo & citra - 5 min
3/4 EACH Amarillo citra - FLAMEOUT
1 oz Each dry hop.

It might look like a lot of hops (compared to what you've already planned) but the hops aren't overwhelming at all. ( and I'm not even a hop head).
Also, know what OG/IBU ratio you are going for.


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Some good tips here already. To use what you already have and keeping it Florida lawnmower worthy this is what I would suggest

1/2 oz Amarillo @ 60
1/2 oz citra @ 20
1/2 oz citra @ 5
1/2 oz Amarillo @ 5

...the Kama Citra Session IPA extract kit from Northern Brewer. It's in primary now, after which I plan on holding it in secondary for three weeks. Five days before bottling I'll do the dry hopping, adding the zest from two grapefruit. I'm hoping for something close to the Abita Grapefruit Harvest IPA...

If it were me, I too would decrease the honey. As for the hops, I would start with 1 oz Cascade at 60 and push the Amarillo and Citra to 1/2 oz each at 15 and again at zero. Soak your citrus zest in just enough vodka or rum to cover and leave it covered in your fridge while your beer is in primary (This sanitizes the zest as well as extracting flavor). Dump the liquor and citrus zest into secondary and rack your beer onto it and bottle about 4 days later.

Hey there all. Thanks for all the ideas and input.

I did the brew on 5/26 as I initially wrote it out, but with a few changes. The Grain and Malt was all unused left overs from other batches as well as Hops that I got and decided not to use. I did go and buy the yeast(s)

Used 5.5Gal of Distiled water ( since FL water sucks)

Steep at 160Deg 30 Min.
8Oz Carafoam
4Oz Honey Malt( for color)

60Min Boil
6Lb Extra Light LME
1/2Oz Citra 60min
1/2Oz Citra 20 Min
1/2Oz Amarillo 15 Min
1/2Oz Amarillo 5 Min
2Lb of Honey ( for alcohol boost, plus it was orange blossom, so maybe it adds a little bit) for 10 Min.

Added 1Oz of tangerine peel at 5Min, and left in fermenter.

Irish Moss and Yeast Nutrient at 15 Min

Ended up with 5.5Gallons in Fermenter, Pitched Yeast(s) 1010 American Wheat, and 2 packets US-05 at 64Deg. with a SG of 1.060. ( as I stated before I have traditionally under fermented my brews so I didn't want to leave anything short. )

Checked it today

FG 1.008. ( brewers friend calculated FG of 1.012 )

Great citrus pop, good hop bitterness and aroma. Not too bitter with the Citrus staying in the Fermenter. Will be transferring to Secondary in the AM. Will be adding one oz of Orange Peel to the secondary ( after being soaked in rum) ///will be dry hopping with a 1/2 - 1Oz in secondary. What hops other than Citra or Amarillo would ya'll suggest. I was thinking of Cascade or Centennial....

Only question I have now... is that it is still too dang cloudy, and still feels "dense" ... am I going to have to cold crash this beer in secondary, or will the 2 weeks give it time to settle? Need some options here.

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and ideas.

Well IMO you went the other way on your yeast this time and overpitched. I would have just used one pack of US-05 (rehydrated) without the 1010 Wheat. Mrmalty suggests 1.1 packs of dry yeast that is 2 months old.

I have read that usually one type of yeast will take hold and over power the other so you will only get the characteristics from the dominant one. Though there are commercial blends on the market.

How long has it been in primary? You may just have a lot of yeast in suspension. I would leave it in primary for 2 weeks and do a 1 week secondary, longer if it has not cleared.

It has been in Primary for 4 Days. I figured since it was at FG to get it off the trub and into the secondary.... Am I wrong in this thinking... Or will it be o.k. to leave for an additional week?

Alrighty there my fellow homebrewers

little update here on the beer.
FG: 1.012.
Racked to secondary this last week and dryhopped with one oz of Citra and one Oz of sweet orange peel. I added another ox of sweet orange peel today, really shooting for a citrus pop and flavor. I did sample the brew and it has a nice hoppy note to it, with a more pronounced hop aroma, and the citrus is there and present .. but ya dont feel like you're drinking a bitter, un ripened, hopped orange juice.

Will be letting this sit for a few more days... and then let the bottling begin.

any other thoughts or ideas, are always appreciated. thanks for all the suggestions so far.

Mosaic adds a wonderful citrus flavor and aroma. A local brewery does a smash IPA with mosaic and some batches literally remind me of orange juice. I've used Citra, Amarillo, and mosaic together with great results also.

Mosaic you say... is this a commonly found hop, or a more regional local thing that would require sending off for....also is it a combination/experimental hop? I cant recall seeing it in my LHBS. Maybe Im not looking directly for it and just looking it over.

Not sure how widespread Mosaic is, but I can find it in SW Ohio just fine, and Ohio sucks. Your beer looks good; I love the hint of Honey Malt. Going to have a hell of a citrus kick to it. Let me know what you think about the 60 minute Citra addition, I've heard mixed things about it before 30 minutes (YMMV, don't take hearsay as gospel).

Zeb

It's not regional and should be carried by most shops. It is a fairly recent descendant of simcoe, I think. It has been very popular of late, so shops can have trouble keeping it in stock. My LHBS had trouble keeping it and Amarillo in stock for a while before getting contracts for larger amounts.

TastyAdventure said:

You are going to need more hops if you want it to be citrusy hoppy. And other than your 60 min bittering addition, there is no need to add hops before 15 min EOB. I just did a batch that is almost exactly what you have described you are going for, here's the hop bill:
3/4 oz centinnial - 60 min
1/3 EACH Amarillo & citra - 10 min
1/2 EACH Amarillo & citra - 5 min
3/4 EACH Amarillo citra - FLAMEOUT
1 oz Each dry hop.

It might look like a lot of hops (compared to what you've already planned) but the hops aren't overwhelming at all. ( and I'm not even a hop head).
Also, know what OG/IBU ratio you are going for.


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Click to expand...

I used a very similar hop schedule and it turned out great, not at all over powering.

I would step mash to keep it thin. Use bry-97 not 05. Better results less work. No honey law mower implies low abv. I FWH, bitter, hopstand and add fresh orange zest to my lawnmower citrus. Add more hops as you want the bry-97 knocks out the bitter.


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2 strains and 3 packs of yeast is definitely unconventional and would explain the cloudiness. Wyeast 1010 is a low Flocculation yeast so your beer may not be as clear as just pitching the US05. Not that there is anything wrong with a cloudy beer, just cloudiness from yeast is great in a hefeweizen (literally translates to yeast-wheat) it may seem out of place in an American pale ale. The citra dry hop is a great addition. I just dry hopped a pale ale with citra and Nelson Sauvin and got loads of tangerine. Keep us posted on how it turns out. A picture would be awesome as well when you start drinking them.