First time using Citra (Please critique)

So here is what I have come up with so far for a nice summer IPA. This will be my first time ever FWH, and first time using Citra hops. I'm not at home right now so I'm not sure what my est. OG, FG, IBUs are bit i think it was something like 1.065 OG, 1.015 FG, and around 65 IBU give or take a few points. Here is the recipe. I appreciate ANY thoughts or suggestions.

10 lb US 2 row
2 lb Vienna
.75 lb Crystal 60L

1 oz Cascade (FWH)
.5 oz Magnum (60 min)
.5 oz Citra (15 min)
.5 oz Citra (10 min)
1 oz Amarillo (5 min)
1 oz Cascade (0 min)
1 oz Citra (Dry Hop 14 days)

Mash @ 152 for 60 min
Yeast: WLP001

The summers are hot here in Texas so I am looking for a nice, refreshing, back patio, citrus bomb. Let me know if you would do anything different.

Thanks,

 

Looks pretty awesome. Have you considered using a Centennial hops over the Magnum? It might match the profile a bit better.

 

Yeah I agree with him. Centennial would be a much better match

 

Also check out the link at http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/hop-character-wheel-169503/ - there's a hop wheel showing the characteristics of various hops. I was at NHC this past weekend and I think it was Gordon Strong who showed this wheel (I can't remember a whole lot from the weekend - LOL!) who has another great book out on Recipe Building and Competition Tips (Book is Brewing Better Beer). Check out Amazon or eBay for deals on these two books.

FWIW,

 

Magnum is an excellent bittering hop...

I would say drop the FWH...it's just another bittering addition basically.

Good time additions.

Go with all citra for flavor/aroma...I regularly make an all citra IPA that gets rave reviews from everyone who tries it.

Though it will be a flavor profile along the lines of mangos/apricots/etc. Stone fruit basically. Citra is def not citrus...very delicious nonetheless.

I also don't like to use crystal in my IPAs , but that is just a personal preference.

 

Magnum is a very clean nice bittering hop, perfect for that recipe. Meh on the fwh, I could take it or leave it. I would cut out the 10 minute addition and just bump up the 15 to match ibu's with the Citra, nice simple recipe, I like it.

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I like to dry hop with 2oz for my IPA's but this looks good. Nice and simple and citra is definitely a good choice for an IPA. I've got one in primary right now.

 

Agree with the bolded. Citra is not citrus-y at all, it's juicy peaches/apricots/etc. I personally don't care for it.

If you're wanting lots of Citrus I would go for Amarillo.

 

Awesome, thanks for all the input. I'm going to take all this into consideration and post back with what I come up with.

And thanks for the link to that hop wheel. I'll definately check that out.

 

Just brewed a Citra/Munich last week and it's tasting fantastic. Went from 1.062 to 1.011 in less than a week and I suspect it's not done yet.

I love the flavour, aroma and bitterness from the hops and the body from the Munich is great, too. Good combo for an IPA.

 

If you search HBT and other sites regarding Citra, you'll see wildly differing opinions. I like it - it gives almost a berry-like, fruity sweetness while still giving a citrusy zip, although not as much as Simcoe or Amarillo. Others talk about how it tastes/smells like cat pee, which I don't get.

Anyway, like I said, I like it and I've been using it as my go-to IPA hop this year while I can't easily get Amarillo and Simcoe. I'm currently drinking an IPA that has a hop schedule that looks a lot like yours, except I used some Centennial in there too. Yours looks great and happy brewing!

EDIT: I completely get the mango/apricot note from above.

 

Ok so I took yall's (texan) advise and did away with the FWH. I mainly wanted to try FWH just because I have never done it before.

I'm not sure if I'll use Magnum or Centennial for the bittering though. I've never used Magnum before which is why I wanted to try it. I kept reading it's a "clean bittering hop" and I figured that would be perfect for this one. However I've used Centennial many times. So the question is, do I stay safe with Centennial, or venture out into Magnums? (The recipe is listed with Centennial but is subject to change)

So as it stands now here is what I have.

Est. OG 1.064
Est. FG 1.014
Est. IBU 67.1
Est. ABV 6.54
Est. Color 9.3 SRM

Recipe
10 lb 2 row
2 lb Vienna
.75 Crystal 60L

.5 oz Centennial (60 min)
.5 oz Centennial (30 min)
.5 oz Citra (20 min)
.5 oz Amarillo (15 min)
1 oz Citra (10 min)
1 oz Amarillo (5 min)
1 oz Cascade (0 min)

1 oz Citra (Dry Hop 14 Days)
I may also add 1 oz Amarillo (Dry hop 14 days)

Surprisingly, I have never done a simple American IPA. Every IPA I've ever created always turns into a giant IIPA. So this has been a learning experience for me as far as trying to keep IBUs down for once. This is supposed to be my attempt at simple. It's harder than I thought.

 

Brew some up, send me a growler, then I'll give you my feedback.

 

use magnum for your bittering hop. I dont know why everyone was saying you should use centennial...its a bittering addition. The difference in flavor you get from a magnum compared to a centennial bittering addition is negligible.

myself, I wouldve done the FWH. I always do. My hop schedule is super simple. FWH, 60min, 30min, KO, Dry Hop. That said, your schedule will work just fine. I think the citra, amarillo, cascade combo will be really nice. I would consider adding that amarillo dry hop. 2oz for an IPA I feel like should be the minimum. Citra and Amarillo will give you a great flavor and aroma.

if you havent bought the grains yet, I would consider using a lower crystal malt. Im not a big crystal in IPA guy...as I prefer none...but if you must use it, I would go with crystal 20 or 40 at the highest. The vienna will give you some color and a nice malty backbone to your beer.

Also, what yeast are you using? Depending on the yeast, you may get more fruit character from the hops, or it may dry out more letting those hops shine even more. I would aim for 1.012 with your finishing gravity.

 

I was going to use WLP001. Would you recommend differently?

Also, I definately DON'T want a sweet IPA. I hate that. Will the crystal 60 give it too much sweetness? What is it that you don't like about the crystal? What can i sub in for some color? Or should I just leave it pale?

Thanks

 

FWH is not just a bittering addition. It has a unique flavor contribution and smoother bitterness than standard hopping. I am a very big fan of citra. I think your recipe looks great. I like the use of Vienna, a second base malt lends a depth to the profile without overshadowing the hops at all. Good luck with this one.

 

You're way over thinking this bittering addition, it's only 1/2 an ounce. While magnum is a fine choice, either way is going to be hardly discernible, if at all.


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I just kegged an Ed's Haus pale ale, with some hop modifications - including my first citra experience:

1oz Citra (60), .5oz Cascade (30), .5oz Cascade (15), 1oz Cascade (5).

Nice and bitter (~70 IBU), TONS of grapefruit. After reading more about citra, I probably should have reversed the hop order.

 

Personally, I would either use magnum at 60, or use the 60&30 min centennial additions as FWH and skip the 60 min addition. As previously stated, FWH will add flavor and a nice smooth bitterness. 60 min is just bitterness. Neither hop will add much flavor at 60, but centennial would have much more flavor than magnum as a FWH.

I also use Safale S-05 dry yeast. It is the same strain as wlp001, but less than half the cost and higher cell count per package.

 

Oh...and I am in the Citra fan club. It high onmy preferred hops list. I have a couple IPAs I make with it amarillo and centennial/cascade. Good stuff. Actually I just bought 3lbs of Citra today, used 2lbs in the past 1.5 months

 

My experience... the one time i dry hopped with 1 oz of citra, the beer, although tasty, smelled like a freaking pina colada for about a month until it mellowed out, which wasn't bad, just distracting. I will use a citra dry hop again, but will definitely let it have a good proper conditioning period afterward.

 

I've been brewing an IPA on a pretty similar recipe. The grain bill is from Union Jack and I do a FWH, 60, 10, 0 additions + dry hop and a 90m boil.

I use Magnum for the 60m and whatever aroma/flavor profile for the rest. Makes a great IPA.

First attempt was here (drinkable after some serious time has passed, but I'll never mix hops like this again)

http://hopville.com/recipe/371657/american-ipa-recipes/c-hop-ipa

I just brewed this one two weeks ago with more traditional Cascade/Citra/Crystal/Centennial.

http://hopville.com/recipe/684745/american-ipa-recipes/ipa-v2

 

I find that too much crystal malt + citrusy hops gives off a sweet tea character. Just not my thing. Obviously there are tons of IPAs made with crystal so don't be scared away, just only use enough to add some flavor but not too much that it becomes dominant. I think 4-6oz of a lower crystal malt is fine.

As for yeast, us-05 is a great IPA yeast. I also like s-04 as it brings out the fruity notes of the hops nicely while still being a relatively clean yeast profile if kept under 68 degrees

 

I'm just worried it's going to be too light. I changed the malt to look like this.

10.5 lb 2 Row
2 lb Vienna
.5 lb Crystal 40L

Now my color is down from 9.3 to 7.0 SRM. Ideally I would like to have the deep orange/reddish color of a SN Torpedo, or at least close to it. I just don't see how I can get those SRMs up without risking getting a sweet IPA. I know I am way over thinking this, but that's just how I am. I think I'm going to have to push brew day back to next weekend.

However, I think I've finally settled on the hops:

.5 oz Centennial (60 min)
.5 oz Centennial (30 min)
.5 oz Citra (20 min)
.5 oz Amarillo (15 min)
1 oz Citra (10 min)
1 oz Amarillo (5 min)
2 oz Cascade (0 min)

1 oz Citra (Dry Hop 14 Days)
1 oz Amarillo (Dry Hop 14 Days)

I'm really excited about this! I'll definitely look up these dry yeast strains, do a little reading and choose from there. Just not sure about the malt now...

 

Put a little chocolate in for color. Like an oz or 2.

 

That looks really good. Cheers!