Do citra hops smell like sweat?

[amcclai7]

I have always love citra. Most commercial beers I have had with citra in them I have loved (Zombie Dust in particular which is 100% citra). I have brewed beers with a little citra in them from time to time (most b/c its so hard to get here in TN) but recently I did an IPA in which roughly half of the flavor and aroma hops were citra. I tasted a sample after about a week in the primary (hasn't been dry-hopped yet) and I really liked it, but there was an unmistakeable aroma of sweat. Not three day old sock sweat but as my friend said, "fresh ***** sweat." It was not unpleasant but idk if this is something I want in my IPA.

We then opened an Otter creek Citra Manta. Damn! it was like I had just walked into a pre-shower locker room. Again, It wasn't necessarily unpleasant but not my fave.

My questions are these.
1. Has anyone else expirenced this with citra?
2. If I dry-hop my current beer with citra, as I was planning to, am I going to get even more of the funk?

 

[McLovinBeast577]

I don't think a week in the primary will taste much like the final beer.. If it's subtle, it will most likely disappear after conditioning.

Citra will taste differently dry-hopped vs. boiled but many people use them and love them...

That being said, some hops will have odd flavors when used for dry-hopping. Summit hops for example can have a garlic/onion flavor, and some people say that Simcoe will smell like cat piss.

You should be fine using the Citra though!

 

[amcclai7]

ok, that sound like good advice. I have heard people saying that this year's harvest of citra was not as citrusy as in years past and in fact did have a little bit of body sweat goin on, idk if that's true.

 

[McLovinBeast577]

Could be true, I'm not sure though since I haven't used this years citra yet haha

 

[scottyb710]

I used this year's smelt like grapefruit.

 

[snowtires]

I am drinking an all citra IPA I kegged just last night. It smells like passionfruit, lychee, peach, apricot, mango. And taste is full of fruity zestiness. I just love it

 

[amcclai7]

Was it this year's harvest?

 

[snowtires]

I don't think so. Unless it was from new Zealand but even then I got them before their harvest, do they grow citra down there?

 

[tagz]

I'm with you. I perceive it more as a musty aroma, but when the apricot/mango fades, I definitely pick it up. It's a spicy kind of aroma that one might associate with body odor, but it's not unpleasant in any way. It actually provides some depth.

I actually think this is the true character that you should expect from a citra beer. The tropical aromas are so short lived, that when I plan on using citra, I plan for the musty citrus aroma in the final beer.

On a side note, I find that citra works best with a dank partner. It lays down a dense fruity hop foundation, but it needs something on top to really shine.

 

[amcclai7]

I'm with you. I perceive it more as a musty aroma, but when the apricot/mango fades, I definitely pick it up. It's a spicy kind of aroma that one might associate with body odor, but it's not unpleasant in any way. It actually provides some depth.

I actually think this is the true character that you should expect from a citra beer. The tropical aromas are so short lived, that when I plan on using citra, I plan for the musty citrus aroma in the final beer.

On a side note, I find that citra works best with a dank partner. It lays down a dense fruity hop foundation, but it needs something on top to really shine.

That makes sense. I wonder how 3 floyds makes zombie dust such an incredible beer.

1. They use all citra hops which should make the beer lacking in complexity as you mentioned.
2. They use citra hops for bittering which nearly everyone says not to do.
3. They use London ESB yeast (1968) which is supposed to muddle, rather than enhance hop flavor.

Yet, Zombie Dust is one of the best beers I have ever had and is consistently rated as one the very top beers on the planet by multiple websites. WTF??

Any ideas how they pull it off?

 

[JonM]

I made an all-Citra beer a while back and it definitely had a dirty gym clothes aroma to it for a week or two when the beer was young, but that all faded away and turned into something really good.

 

[amcclai7]

I made an all-Citra beer a while back and it definitely had a dirty gym clothes aroma to it for a week or two when the beer was young, but that all faded away and turned into something really good.

that sounds promising.

 

[thaymond]

That makes sense. I wonder how 3 floyds makes zombie dust such an incredible beer.

1. They use all citra hops which should make the beer lacking in complexity as you mentioned.
2. They use citra hops for bittering which nearly everyone says not to do.
3. They use London ESB yeast (1968) which is supposed to muddle, rather than enhance hop flavor.

Yet, Zombie Dust is one of the best beers I have ever had and is consistently rated as one the very top beers on the planet by multiple websites. WTF??

Any ideas how they pull it off?

Its made from the dust of actual Haitian zombies, voodoo, and tears of children that live in tropical climates, hence the pronounced citrus flavors.

 

[ddrrseio]

yeah, i've always thought citra (especially by itself) had a bit of a BO element. for whatever reason, i still enjoy using it in my IPAs

 

[ron,ar]

I always thought citra had an order or even a taste of cat pee, not that I have any idea what cat pee tastes like.