I am now drinking from a 12 gallon batch I made. This time I used
80% Thomas Fawcett Golden Promise Malt
20% Instant Oats
Ca 119 ppm
SO4 75 ppm
Cl 150 ppm
Rager IBU calc 20 IBUs
165F mash with mashout
OG 1.059 FG 1.017 WLP095
I did a 12 gallon batch and split it into two. Both were fermented with WLP095.
I added only bittering hops to the kettle again and then at about day 4 into the primary, I added
-12 oz citra to one
-6 oz citra + 6 oz mosaic to the other
I am very impressed with the hop character. They are dripping with hop aroma and flavor! I love doing split batches and then dry hopping differently. It tastes a little too dry to me though. I am thinking of dropping the kettle IBUs or maybe adding in some crystal 10L or crystal 20L next time to get a little more perception of sweetness. it is fantastic though, and i tend to drink it colder than i should. I should also drop the SO4 down to levels in my water (no salt addns - around 15 ppm) to see how that tastes.
comments on the hop flavor:
100% citra: i really LOVE citra! what a fantastic hop. It imparts such a smooth, clean, soft hop flavor. I think there must be fewer beta acids in it, as I don't get as much bitterness from the dryhop in this version. sometimes when i drink it, i crave more grungy, dank quality (thinking of CTZ, Summit, Galaxy), but sometimes I just sit back and really enjoy the flavor as-is, very clean.
50% citra + 50% mosaic: this one has a really great aroma as well, with more that grungy, dank aroma, but just a little of that. it is definitely more complex and definitely more bitter. I really crave this version sometimes. It does come across as a very slight kind of faint butterscotch or something reminiscent of that at times. I am almost certain I don't have diacetyl, it is just a hop flavor coming from the mosaic that in this case comes off as kind of that character at times, depending on what I have consumed, etc. I think I like this version better, but then I hit the 100% Citra, and that probably is the winner for me.
After this attempt, I think I am interested in doing the original citra:mosaic:galaxy and then a citra:galaxy. I think the galaxy has that dankness that I am looking for. I am also interested in doing another single-hop version, maybe simcoe to see how that is. it's a great way to learn about what hops contribute since you can taste the flavor so strongly in these beers!