Citra in Imperial Stout?

[Clint Yeastwood]

I want to redesign my imperial stout, KGB Boot Polish. It's sweeter than I wanted, the head is almost as sturdy as upholstery foam, and it's not bitter enough.

I was thinking of using some kind of citrusy hop instead of EKG. Has anyone here tried Citra in an imperial? I have some lying around. I also have Bergamot and Mandarina Bavaria.

When I made this recipe up, I took my regular stout recipe and multiplied everything upward to get 1.084. I now think it makes no sense to jack up stuff that increases head retention, since we're still talking about 5 gallons. Correct? I am planning to reduce the oats and Carapils.

 

[day_trippr]

I wonder if that would bias the result into "hop-forward" territory - I don't think I've ever had a truly hop-forward stout.
fwiw, I've always used Chinook and Cascade in my chocolate stout as the recipe was born when I grew those hops at home.
Actually have a batch furiously bubbling away right now...

Cheers!

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

Pacific Coast told me Old Rasputin comes in at around 70 IBU.

 

[day_trippr]

It wouldn't be about IBUs - my stout is 84 IBUs on paper but it's not the same as if those IBUs were in a pale ale.
It's about character...

[edit] Did you happen to use the AHA Rasputin clone recipe? It uses traditional hops...

https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/homebrew-recipe/north-coast-old-rasputin-clone/

Cheers!

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

As mentioned above, I started with my own stout recipe and multiplied.

I think the guy at Pacific Coast understood how imperial stout bitterness works.

 

[MaxStout]

I say go for it. Otherwise, you'd need a shiat ton of low-alpha EKG to hit a good IBU level.

Maybe bitter with Citra and throw a little EKG in late boil to add a bit of floral/spice?

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I was thinking Citra for the flavor. Or some other citrus hop. People say Pacific Coast uses Cascade, but I would like to use something I haven't used a billion times.

 

[day_trippr]

I think the guy at Pacific Coast understood how imperial stout bitterness works.

"Pacific Coast"?

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

Ha! North Coast. Sorry if my mistake left you confused. Old Rasputin is made by a company called North Coast Brewing, in California.

https://northcoastbrewing.com/beers/year-round-beers/old-rasputin-russian-imperial-stout/

 

[day_trippr]

HA! I was well aware of who actually brewed Old Rasputin.
You, otoh...

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

Okay, be childish. Again.

 

[MaxStout]

I was thinking Citra for the flavor. Or some other citrus hop. People say Pacific Coast uses Cascade, but I would like to use something I haven't used a billion times.

Why not both? Bitter with Citra, then Citra/EKG late addition.

 

[day_trippr]

Puhlease. You invited that with your crack about "I think the guy at Pacific Coast understood how imperial stout bitterness works."

I was actually going to say "That might be your problem" but I showed a tiny bit of restraint...

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I have been polite and patient with you for over a year, and I have repeatedly chosen not to respond on your level, but now it's time for you to take your place in the ignore bin. Beer info is not important enough for me to put up with rudeness over and over.

 

[day_trippr]

UBU...

 

[day_trippr]

btw, a frequent complaint in the HBT forums regarding Citra as an early addition for IBUs is it can go "catty"...

Cheers!

 

[WayFrae]

I think that sounds pretty good but I am a huge citra fan. Isn’t there a style called tropical stout? It might be moving toward that territory but it sounds awesome.

 

[Kickass]

If there was noticeable citra character, I don’t think I’d enjoy it. Citra is over the top citrus and “fancy new hop”, to me. I don’t want that in a big RIS.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

Some vendor on the web claims Old Rasputin contains Cascade, Fuggles, and EKG. If this is true, a little citrus must be acceptable.

 

[Kickass]

Recipes change over the years. Either to use what’s on hand, stay relevant, or simply change things up. There could be several iterations of that recipe.

 

[AlexKay]

I'm a big fan of fruity hops in dark beers, but Citra may be a hop too far. It always hits me much more with tropical-fruit thiols than with actual citrus.

Bergamot gives lovely orange that works very well in stouts. I'd go this way, 100%.

Lotus hits me a lot like Bergamot, and I often use the two together. I've been enjoying First Gold very much lately, and may soon try pairing it with one or both of those.