Does anyone use Citra as bittering hop?

[Elysium]

I have been using citra as bittering hop (2-3 batches) and I think it imparts relatively harsh bitterness.

Is it only my imagination playing tricks on me and citra cant be used as a dual-purpose hop?

 

[masskrug]

It is typically an aroma hop.

 

[Queequeg]

Yes Citra does impart an unpleasant bitterness. There are loads of single variety Citra beers flooding the UK market at the moment. They all have this problem.

 

[WayFrae]

I have an all Citra RyePA in the fermentor right now. I tasted the gravity sample last night and I didn't notice much of a harsh bitterness but I only used 0.25 oz at 60 min for bittering.

 

[Jayhem]

It's a waste to use it for bittering since it's primarily a flavor/aroma hop. I use Magnum or Super Galena for bittering and then Citra in the last 15 minutes, hop stand and dry hop on my IPAs, APAs.

 

[BrewerDan1]

I have done a few Citra SMaSH (Blonde) and each one came out pretty awesome but I do not go crazy with the bittering addition.

 

[ittybittykittycommittee]

I have done a few Citra SMaSH (Blonde) and each one came out pretty awesome but I do not go crazy with the bittering addition.

How much and at what time? I'm thinking about doing a Citra-only pale ale with 1oz at 60 and 2 oz to dry hop in the keg. Threads like this and one that said it smells like cat-piss make me hesitant though...

 

[fuelish]

Threads like this and one that said it smells like cat-piss make me hesitant though...

One man's cat-piss is another man's nectar ... perhaps

 

[dobe12]

NO! And you should be prosecuted for wasting such a great hop for bittering!!!

Love me some Citra. I do get the cat piss thing, but only when smelling the actual hops before tossing them in the boil. I just love the flavor. My house beer, currently on tap, is a Citra Pale Ale. Kinda like Zombie Dust.

I almost always use something like Magnum to bitter. If I want more of a bite, I'll use Nugget, Columbus, Warrior or something similar with more of an edge. I really like bittering with Magnum, but for bigger IPA's, IIPA's, etc a bigger bite is needed, IMO.

EDIT: One thing I've learned about Citra, a little goes a long way. If using it with another hop like Cascade, Amarillo, Centennial, I will use 1/2 as much as the other hop/hops. Example, when dry hopping an IPA I may add 2oz Cascade, 2oz Centennial, and 1oz of Citra. Too much Citra will completely dominate the flavor profile.

 

[strambo]

Well, if you FWH it you will get a smoother bitterness and some flavor. Keep the bittering addition to under half of the total IBUs and get the rest from late kettle additions 20 min or less and whirlpool.


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[mrphillips]

I've heard marvelous things on this forum from people who have brewed Zombie Dust clones (all citra, beginning to end), but my own experience differs. I used a very small amount to bitter an IPA of mine (.25 oz. + .75 oz cascade), and even the .25 addition gave a very weird, lingering finish to the beer. I know it wasn't the cascade because I've bittered with it successfully several times.

I don't use it before 15 minutes, and usually keep it closer to 5 minute additions for that wonderful citrus POP!

 

[Microscopist]

Yes Citra does impart an unpleasant bitterness. There are loads of single variety Citra beers flooding the UK market at the moment. They all have this problem.

Yeh, I tried one the other week simply called 'Citra', the first few sips were fantastically punchy but halfway down the glass I was pining for a palate cleanser.

 

[SpeedYellow]

...Threads like this and one that said it smells like cat-piss make me hesitant though...

Yes, you SHOULD be hesitant! Threads linking Citra to cat piss go back years. Here's one from 4 years ago:
https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=3240.0

Just google "citra cat piss" and you'll be busy for days. Here:
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=citra+cat+piss

I mainly get the cat piss smell when I compare a Citra beer to another beer. Yeah, I suggest NOT doing that.

 

[theck]

I brewed this and people RAVED about it... didn't use a whole lot for bittering:
Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
11 lbs Briess Pale Malt 2 Row (1.8 SRM) Grain 1 89.8 %
12.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 2 6.1 %
8.0 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 3 4.1 %
0.50 oz Citra [12.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 4 19.8 IBUs
1.00 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins) Fining 5 -
0.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 6 4.5 IBUs
0.50 oz Citra [12.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 7 9.8 IBUs
0.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 8 1.8 IBUs
0.50 oz Citra [12.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 9 3.9 IBUs
1.0 pkg English Ale (White Labs #WLP002) [35.49 Yeast 10 -
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days Hop 11 0.0 IBUs
0.50 oz Citra [12.00 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days Hop 12 0.0 IBUs

 

[bzwyatt]

I thought simcoe is the cat piss hop...

 

[BrewerDan1]

My SMaSH is 10# 2-Row, 1/2 oz Citra 60 minutes and 1/2 oz at 5 minutes. Once it has conditioned it makes an excellent summer drinker.

 

[jmendez29]

It is typically an aroma hop.

That's what I said!!!!

I got into an argument with a few guys at work who all insisted its a bittering hop. And in all the recipes I've seen with Citra, it seems more heavily favored as a flavor or aroma addition.

Thank you for validating my position. And consider myself subscribed to this thread. I want to see what everyone has to say on this.

 

[masonacoats]

I have a Belgian-Citra-Extra Light Extract kinda-SMaSH in a 1 gallon fermenter as an experiment and didn't get cat piss/ammonia from the hydrometer sample.

As for the harshness, since this is rather high alpha acid hop, why not skip "bittering" additions all together and hop burst with it (that's what I did for the kSMaSH).

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

How much and at what time? I'm thinking about doing a Citra-only pale ale with 1oz at 60 and 2 oz to dry hop in the keg. Threads like this and one that said it smells like cat-piss make me hesitant though...

I was under the impression that was Simcoe not Citra...although i suppose any hops if they arent good could cause it..

And us being Home brewers we get the bottom of the barrel for hops, all the big breweries get to custom pick what hops they want from a farm to get the best of the best, the smaller breweries get the rest on contract, and the rest of the scraps are what gets put in our 2oz packages

Which makes it hard to clone some recipes, because they just have superior hops.

 

[ram5ey]

I can't stand Citra as a traditional bittering hop. I love it when it's later in the boil, for hop bursting, and for dry hops though.

 

[Calichusetts]

Try a larger hop addition at say 30 and 20 minutes to mimic the bitterness of a 60/FWH. I have used it in a FWH without issues but if you are sensitive to this, try it. I often do a 20/15/10/5 addition when working with hops that don't do well as a bittering addition. Though I have not had this issue with Citra as others have.

 

[brettg20]

Citra + bittering = meow


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[Black Island Brewer]

I scored a 37 on an all Citra IPA where I first wort hoped for bittering and got the rest of the bittering from 15 minutes and under additions. No mention of cat piss.

 

[Natdavis777]

Zombie Dust is an all Citra Pale (IPA tech) and it's pretty F'in awesome. I've brewed about 6 pales replicating this beer and do a FWH and then a big hop burst at the end and it always turns out well. I believe it's 0.75oz for the FWH

It's a high Alpha hop. If you aren't treating your water, or are using water with high bicarbonates, it can cause a harsh bitterness


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[MagooBrew]

I make an all Citra pale ale that turns out great. Bittering addition is usually .75 at 45 minutes. Never experienced the cat piss.

 

[EclecticBrews]

Friends love my Citra IIPA (So do I), using all Citra hops, FWH for ~⅓ of IBU then all the rest in 15m through whirlpool additions. Can't keep that beer around right now, 5g went in three days.

 

[chato]

I've used Citra in two beers lately - one for bittering, flavor and aroma in an all-Citra Zombie Dust clone, and then in hopstand and dry hopping an American pale ale. In both cases I'm not really happy with the outcome. Both beers have an amazing aroma when you first pour it into the glass - beautiful mango and tropical fruit. However, in just a few minutes, it changes and the cat piss sort of thing takes over - both in the nose and taste. I don't know the age of the hops I got (online order from morebeer.com), but I believe that age, oxidation, or some factor related to the vintage/harvest must be the problem. There are plenty of Citra dominated commercial beers that don't seem to have this problem.

 

[peterj]

Well, if you FWH it you will get a smoother bitterness and some flavor. Keep the bittering addition to under half of the total IBUs and get the rest from late kettle additions 20 min or less and whirlpool.


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First wort hops don't contribute flavor. It's almost all boiled off just like a traditional bittering addition.

 

[gwapogorilla]

I wish you guys would stop talking about cat piss and citra. I am planning on doing a single-hop bursted something or another this weekend using citra.
I got rid of my Simcoe because I drank 53 bottles of cat box juice...don't wanna go through that again.

 

[Elysium]

First wort hops don't contribute flavor. It's almost all boiled off just like a traditional bittering addition.

I think people mean that the bitterness won't be harsh when you use a certain percentage of your bittering hops as FWH. Correct me if I am wrong though....

People also say to pay a lot of attention to cohumulone contents.....I might as well start doing so.
Just ordered some Mosaic hops which has low cohumulone content. Hope it works out as a mellow, nice bittering hop.