amarillo/citra coming out nasty

I know it's nigh impossible to troubleshoot a recipe without tasting it or seeing the whole recipe/process, but I thought I'd ask:

I bought a lb each of amarillo and citra, and all my beers are coming out with a nasty aftertaste. I'm not sure if it's "Catty" note exactly, bit's somewhere between astringent and bitter; it comes in late in the palate and pulls the corners of my mouth down. The "tropical fruit" comes off more like "rotten fruit".

My suspicion is that I left the wort on the hops for too long; recipe (1) had a 2-week dry hop of 5oz in 5gal, and recipe (2) had a similar amount of hops in the boil but spent 6 weeks in primary with all that trub.

I remember reading that one of these 2 hops was "catty" if used incorrectly... I made these a while ago and don't have access to my recipe or state of mind.

Are beta-acids relevant?

Any input appreciated, thnx

2 week dry hop is excessively long imo. I'm not saying this is necessarily the cause but extraction normally occurs within 3 days at room temperature.

Citra can be "catty", though supposedly so can Simcoe or virtually any hop is seems. I have never experienced the catty flavor, if i have then it hasn't bothered me.

Citra can be very bitter though when used as a bittering hop, a sort of resinous and dank bittering that lasts a long time in the mouth, not particularly pleasant in large amounts. Its a flavor than can completely dominate. When I use Citra I keep it out of the boil if I can and certainly would add it before 20mins from flameout.

As you point out, people need to see the recipe and details of your process to help for fully.

The only comment I can make is that when I used Citra as a bittering hop, I did not enjoy the flavor. Other people seemed to enjoy the SMASH APA, but I didn't. On a trip to NOLA I talked to the owner of a small micro-brewery (Courtyard, I can highly recommend), and he had a Citra single hop IPA on tap. He mentioned he only added it as first wort and then at 10 minutes or less (actually I think he said FWH and hop stand only). No cattyness. Not a great datapoint since there are a thousand things we could have done differently, but I don't think I'll be using Citra anywhere before 15 minutes anymore.

All I have to say is hell with Citra. I whirlpooled an IPA with a few ounces and it ruined it. Hate the stuff and will not use again.

I the aroma is awesome though

I'm hesitant to let anyone else taste it cuz I don't really like it, but most folks who enjoy free beer seem to really enjoy it, compared to no beer at all.

Two week dry hop, does it taste grassy at all?

I've dryhopped with simcoe for 2 weeks without any issue.. How old were your hops? And I would just give it time, hops flavors almost always mellow after a month or two.

Citra can taste/smell like cat pee. In my experience, that fades with time and eventually disappears. This will sound bad, but I actually like Citra and add more dry hops or a Citra hop tea to the keg when the taste/smell fades.

pvpeacock said:

Citra can taste/smell like cat pee. In my experience, that fades with time and eventually disappears. This will sound bad, but I actually like Citra and add more dry hops or a Citra hop tea to the keg when the taste/smell fades.

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You would hate my beer then because almost none tastes like cat pee.

[emoji250]

Well now my secret ingredient is out of the bag!