lesson learned: too much citra

[JohnnyO]

I have an IPA carbing up in the keg right now that I used Chinook for bittering, then Simcoe and Citra for flavor and aroma. The uncarbed, warm sample I tasted when checking the FG was great. It's been carbing up (at serving pressure) for a week now. Going to pull a sample tonight.

As for the onion taste, I have only gotten that once, in Oskar Blues Gubna. Will never touch that beer again. Unless I need to boil some brats.

 

[CHUM_]

well this thread is making me nervous....got a 5 gallon batch with 1oz of Magnum (at 60) and 4.75oz citra staggered throughout boil...

waiting on a 3oz citra dry hop this weekend if FG is achieved...

 

[choosybeggar]

well this thread is making me nervous....got a 5 gallon batch with 1oz of Magnum (at 60) and 4.75oz citra staggered throughout boil...

waiting on a 3oz citra dry hop this weekend if FG is achieved...

Don't be nervous just consume whilst fresh.

 

[Darwin18]

I brewed an APA with a lot of late additions and dry hopped with Citra. It had a huge aroma punch and had a bit too much mango fruit flavor. That flavor mellowed over a few weeks and it was a pretty pleasant beer. I would avoid using too much crystal malt with citra - the two seem to clash.

 

[m3n00b]

well this thread is making me nervous....got a 5 gallon batch with 1oz of Magnum (at 60) and 4.75oz citra staggered throughout boil...

waiting on a 3oz citra dry hop this weekend if FG is achieved...

Sounds delicious.

 

[TriggerFingers]

Yeah man, let it sit for a bit with the dry hop. It will mellow out and likely be super good.

I agree...My best IPA to date was a 2.5 Gallon Batch with 2 dry hop charges (1 oz citra, 1 oz columbus in each)--that would come out nearly 1 oz per gallon of citra. It was a little catty when I bottled it, but after about 3 weeks it was phenomenal! That batch lasted about a week (my neighbors loved it!).

 

[TriggerFingers]

I brewed an APA with a lot of late additions and dry hopped with Citra. It had a huge aroma punch and had a bit too much mango fruit flavor. That flavor mellowed over a few weeks and it was a pretty pleasant beer. I would avoid using too much crystal malt with citra - the two seem to clash.

In fact, I tend to avoid using crystal at all in any heavily dry hopped beer . The hop oils almost lend a "sweet" character to the beer that if you use with crystal can almost amplify the perceived sweetness.

 

[dfess1]

well this thread is making me nervous....

don't be nervous. My house pale (brewed once a month, 10 gal at a clip) is Marris otter and Crystal 20.

2oz Nugget @ 60
2oz Citra @ 20
2oz Citra @ 10
2oz Citra @ 5

1oz Citra per 5 gal for 5 days with American Ale II. This beer has a hard time staying on tap in my house.

 

[m3n00b]

don't be nervous. My house pale (brewed once a month, 10 gal at a clip) is Marris otter and Crystal 20.

2oz Nugget @ 60
2oz Citra @ 20
2oz Citra @ 10
2oz Citra @ 5

1oz Citra per 5 gal for 5 days with American Ale II. This beer has a hard time staying on tap in my house.

Sounds amazing! What's the OG/FG on this?

 

[dfess1]

OG 1.050 ish
FG 1.010 ish

The fruity esters of the American Ale II (1272 I think?) play nice with the Citra.

 

[m3n00b]

I bet!

 

[jonmc8]

I hadn't used citra in a long time and I recently brewed a big double IPA with late extract addition totaling about 100 IBU at 8% abv. Bittered w 1 oz Columbus for 90 and 1 oz centennial at 60 and flavored with an oz of citra at 10 min w centennial and cascade at .5 oz. Dry hopped w an oz of citra and an oz of cascade.

I cracked a bottle at 3 weeks and literally thought that I had fermented at too high a temp here in michigan winter w the heat on or maybe got oxidized during transfers to secondary or bottling. It was so off tastingly fruity that I thought I had screwed up a process. 4.5 weeks in and it has mellowed off of the fruit and now has a great balance of fruit to bitter. Was worried this thing would never come off of its fruit high but I will say it is a beautiful example of American hops at this point.

Goes to show you that flavoring and dry hopping w citra can lead to an uncanny amount of fruity hop flavor when green but will mellow into a beautiful beer. I will log as it ages and let everyone know the best period for citra drinking. I'm guessing between 4-6 weeks will be peak tastings retaining a great balance but will mellow dramatically thereafter. Will most likely drink all but a few the next 2 weeks just in case ha.

Cheers to citra.

 

[zardozap]

Did my first Citra based IPA Almost a month ago at this point (25 Days). I call it Citra Assasin, even though it's not monster hopped, it's generous.

I did a first wort hop with 1 oz. of Citra after pulling the steeping grains and before the boil, then I bittered with 1 oz. Centennial, followed by 3 additional oz of Citra at 30, 15, & 5. Dry hopped it with 2 oz of Citra after fermentation for 8 days then bottled 4 days ago. Looked and smelled amazing. I didn't taste it, as I've done that so many times with other beers, and the flavor profile often changes in a beer so drastically from bottling day through carbing/conditioning I refuse to get a taste stuck in my head and make me paranoid about my beer while it conditions. Waiting 2 weeks or so to try one.

 

[bhanson]

I have also had some all Citra beers that are just too fruity and give an impression of "sweetness" that I dislike in hop centered beers.

However, properly balanced against a nice malt profile, and with the right amount of bitterness, it's a great accent and a unique flavor. I do prefer it in conjunction with something resinous and with a little pungency as well better than by itself.