I'm a new brewer, just finished kegging my third batch. My first batch was an IPA that I dry hopped with 2 oz of Citra because I heard it smells terrific with tons of tropical. Sounded great so I switched out what the recipe called for (Cascade) and used Citra instead. This batch was so wonderful, I decided to swap out all hops in the recipe for Citra for this go around.
After tasting the way overpowering all Citra brew, I took to the message boards only to find out what most of you probably would tell me - Citra is not a good bittering hop, use toward the end or dry hop! Too late, and I'm not sure I can drink the whole 5 gallons - it is just too overpowering bitterness or pungency or something that I can't describe too well since I am new, but doesn't taste good none the less. It isn't very balanced and totally overpowers any malt or tropical aromas that I got the first time.
So, I'm thinking about blending and hope someone can help me craft a recipe that might blend well with this Citra IPA I already have. I'm thinking a Pale Ale with small amounts of bittering hops since it already is so strong, maybe with Amarillo, Centennial or Cascade. Also, leave out any further additions, except maybe 1 oz of Citra dry hop after I blend to bring back the tropical aroma. Thanks in advance for your expert advice!
After tasting the way overpowering all Citra brew, I took to the message boards only to find out what most of you probably would tell me - Citra is not a good bittering hop, use toward the end or dry hop! Too late, and I'm not sure I can drink the whole 5 gallons - it is just too overpowering bitterness or pungency or something that I can't describe too well since I am new, but doesn't taste good none the less. It isn't very balanced and totally overpowers any malt or tropical aromas that I got the first time.
So, I'm thinking about blending and hope someone can help me craft a recipe that might blend well with this Citra IPA I already have. I'm thinking a Pale Ale with small amounts of bittering hops since it already is so strong, maybe with Amarillo, Centennial or Cascade. Also, leave out any further additions, except maybe 1 oz of Citra dry hop after I blend to bring back the tropical aroma. Thanks in advance for your expert advice!