Citrus Aroma from Crystal Hops?

[Clint Yeastwood]

I make a pretty simple ale I like a lot. Maris Otter or the like, some crystal 10L, 4 ounces of table sugar, Nugger, and Crystal. I have steeped the Crystal in the past, but this time I dry-hopped because I thought I was steeping too hot in the past and getting bitterness. I usually boil a little Crystal for 15 minutes, but I forgot this time.

I like the weird spicy flavor and aroma of Crystal.

I just checked the gravity and tasted a sample, and it's definitely citrusy, which is not supposed to happen with Crystal hops. Somewhere between lemon and orange. Any idea what's going on? Still tastes great.

 

[DonT]

Glad Beer Maverick is back up and running.... not sure where the citrus is coming from if you look at this comparison

 

[jdauria]

On the link DonT posted, Nugget does list citrus as it's 2nd descriptor, as does Yakima Valley Nugget also adds spicy herbal notes and Crystal has spicy notes too. So maybe the spice is coming from both hop additions and the citrus is just there from the Nugget?

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

It's a mystery to me. Tastes great, though.

 

[DonT]

It's a mystery to me. Tastes great, though.

And that's all that matters!

 

[seatazzz]

Someone may correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I read somewhere that Crystal is the American version of Hallertau Mittelfruh; same plant, just grown on this side of the pond. I use it in my lagers and blondes, as both bittering and late. Gives a bit of floral aroma, a tiny touch of citrus, and some spicy notes. Bonus is that it's usually pretty cheap; a year or two ago YVH had a bumper crop of them, and I was buying 1lb bags for about $5.

 

[day_trippr]

You're not wrong.

"Crystal hops are an American bred and grown variety that is the daughter of Hallertauer Mittelfrüh. Crystal also has genetics from Cascade and Brewer's Gold, but is used mostly for its noble German character. Crystal offers a light aroma of floral and cedar with some soothing spices in the background. Crystal was first released in 1993 by the USDA and is the half-sister of Mt. Hood and Liberty."

https://yakimavalleyhops.com/products/crystal-hops
Cheers!