Canoe chuck recipe tweak; subbing citra for saaz?

[gorlox18]

I decided to make another 5gal batch of the crowd pleasing beer Canoe Chuck.

1.5 lb. (680 g) Briess Pilsner dried malt extract @ 60 min

1.5 lb. (680 g) Briess Pilsner drieu malt extract @ 15 min

2 lb. (907 g) rice solids @ 60 min

0.75 oz. (21 g) Czech Saaz, 3.8% a.a.
@ 45 min

Question - I don’t have saaz, or any noble hops for that matter. I was thinking of subbing in a half oz of citra (9.6% a.a) at 30 min.

Can anyone sanity check this or suggest alternatives hop/schedule? This is a light beer and I don’t want to over hop and ruin it, but also want good flavor!

 

[RM-MN]

Just my opinion but I think you would be better off waiting to get the Saaz. I think the flavor/aroma of Citra will carry through and will make a far different beer. It might be a better beer but different.

 

[DBhomebrew]

To keep the bittering consistent, you'd use .3oz Citra.

Using HBUs...

.75oz * 3.8aa = .3 * 9.6

On flavor, agreed with RM-MN. Much different beer. The noble lends itself to "crowd pleasing" and "I don’t want to over hop."

 

[gorlox18]

Thank you both, this is helpful. I’m not immediately opposed to “different beer”… would subbing wheat dme in some proportion balance it out more? I have trouble considering flavor profiles in the abstract, with fewer than 10 brews under my belt.

I know I’m essentially looking for a plug and play answer here, and “if you replace an axe handle, and then later the axe head, do you have the same axe” and all that. I appreciate any info I can get.

 

[gorlox18]

Update: I ran to the store and picked up their last pack of saaz

They suggested mt hood for a future brew with this recipe, so that may be my next project

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

For many of the people I know, noble hops provide a pleasant bitterness. Most bittering hops used in IPAs impart a sticky/piney/hoppy taste that they do not like. Citra is one of the hops that they don't like.

What happens if one does the opposite (an IPA with noble hops)? I haven't brewed one, but I get to sample this one from time to time:

My "peeps" who dislike that sticky/piney taste say they still get some of that sticky/piney taste, but not nearly as much as with an typical IPA.