Advice needed on all citra pa or ipa

[brewvandal]

So I have nine pounds of brewers gold DME and three pounds of Pilsen light DME. I have 1 lb of citra whole leaf hops. I've never brewed my own recipe before so need some advice. I want to make two identical or similar 5 gallon batches with this. Here's the recipe I'm thinking.
4.5 lbs brewers gold
1.5 lbs Pilsen light
1 lb sugar
8 oz citra? Not sure how I want to do the hop schedule but definitely want a pretty hoppy beer and want the citra to shine through.
Any advice, criticism is greatly appreciated

 

[brewvandal]

Oh and I also have 2 lbs of crystal 20L and 1 lb of crystal 60L

 

[inflictor-of-grimness]

Try to find a different bittering hop. I've heard that citra can be "catty" as a bittering hop. I like Warrior or Columbus for bittering.

Put a lot of citra late in the boil. I usually do additions at 15, 10, 5, and flameout. Save a couple ounces for dry hopping.
I've never used whole leaf hops and don't know how it would be different than pellets

 

[sweetcell]

i would skip the crystal malts. you've got some in the DME.

a full pound of sugar is a bit on the heavy side, IMO. i'd go with half pound.

if you want to use a lot of citra, why not make it all late additions? 1 oz at 15 min, 1 @ 10, 1 @ 5, 2 @ flameout, 3 oz dry-hop = 8 oz total.

 

[johngaltsmotor]

Here is an all Citra IPA (3 Floyds Zombie Dust Clone). This is for an all-grain, but the hop schedule could be used directly. As for the extract, you can just use one of the online calculators to make sure you're getting the O.G. you're looking for.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f69/three-floyds-zombie-dust-clone-303478/

 

[brewvandal]

Thanks for the link, very helpful. If I make all the citra late additions, do I need a bittering hop for the full boil or will I get enough bitterness just from the lAte addition citra?

 

[sweetcell]

Thanks for the link, very helpful. If I make all the citra late additions, do I need a bittering hop for the full boil or will I get enough bitterness just from the lAte addition citra?

enough can come from the late additions.

if you are going to get into making your own recipes, i would strongly recommend that you get some dedicated brewing software. i'm a big fan of BeerSmith, there are other options out there. there are online versions that aren't as powerful, but are free - like hopville.com.

by plugging the amount, AA% and time of your hop additions you can see how many IBUs you are adding. these are estimates but should give you a good idea of how bitter the beer will be.

 

[brewvandal]

Awesome thanks for all the help. Will brew it up tonight and do the late hop additions. Is 8 oz of citra hops too much for the grain bill?

 

[sweetcell]

Is 8 oz of citra hops too much for the grain bill?

it's not just the quantity, but also when you use them. adding all 8 oz at 60 minutes wouldn't be a good idea. the two hop timings suggested so far - the zombie dust clone and mine - should make for a very hoppy but not out of control (well not entirely) brew. it will be very hop-heavy, tho.

which is just fine by me since i believe in MOAR HOPZ, but those with more sensitive palettes might not abide.

 

[brewvandal]

I also am a hop fan so I'm gonna go with the full 8 oz or late addition. Thanks everyone for the help

 

[pkrath84]

Would this brew benefit from keeping any of the Citra for a bittering addition for (60+ mins) even if just a small amount? Would boiling it for 90-120 min smooth out the "catty" flavors out?

I'm just curious as I'm still learning how the flavors develop and starting to make my own recipes.

.5 oz Bittering @ 60-120 min
1.5 oz Flavor @ 20 min
2oz Aroma @ 5 min
4 oz Dry Hop, (2) 2oz additions @ 5 days each AFTER fermentation has completed

How does this look? I've had good results from shorter dry hops, great fresh afroma.

 

[TNTgill]

I did an all citra pale ale-ish beer. I call it that because was basically partigyled from a DFH 90 recipe with a few other leftover grains in the mash as well.

OG 1.045

Hop Schedule
0.5 oz Magnum for 60 min
0.5 oz Citra at 15, 10, 5, 0
Dry hopped with 1 oz Citra and 1 oz Amarillo for 7 days.

It is perfect on the bitterness but light on flavor. If I brewed again I would double or triple the flavor additions used. The aroma is great and its super easy to drink.