# All citra beer?



## thisispants (1/1/15)

Hey, has anyone made an all Citra beer? 

I love it! However I'm not sure it's balanced enough to handle the whole hop bill. I guess there's only one way to find out, however if anyone else had made one, I'm more than happy to learn from others mistakes!


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## seamad (1/1/15)

Just drinking this at the moment.




Cube hopped with 30g citra ( nothing in the kettle) and dry hopped 3g/L, probably 25=30 IBU, OG was 1.050, fermented 1272.
I brew double batches and the other cube got the same amount of Simcoe and used the MJ us yeast. The citra brew came out much cleaner and more bitter ( clean bitterness though) and much tastier although the missus preferred the simcoe as it was less bitter.Won't bother with the MJ yeast again.


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## Fat Bastard (1/1/15)

Just blew my second keg of all Citra Black IPA. Was thinking of doing the second with Citra and something else, but I'm kind of glad I didn't. Was bloody lovely. I currently have a Red Saison on tap with equal amounts of Citra and Mosaic, and I reckon they play well together.


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## Dan Pratt (1/1/15)

Look into the Zombie Dust IPA, its a recipe that has a decent malt bill and its all Citra.


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## thisispants (1/1/15)

I've heard enough, all Citra it is!!


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## Three Sheets (1/1/15)

I will help you drink it. I have a all Columbus lined up to drink in about 4 weeks.


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## fletcher (1/1/15)

definitely mate. i made an all citra APA and it was a cracker


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## dr K (1/1/15)

Citra lends itself to a single hop beer, it has plenty of flavours (bit like Galaxy really, that is on the variety of flavours), just don't overdo it, like many US hops it has punch. Next time, for a subtle bang, try Bavaria Mandarina....superb.
K


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## gilmoreous (1/1/15)

I brewed a clone of Kern River Citra DIPA. I dunno what the original tastes like but mine was good.


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## Danwood (1/1/15)

Just include enough malt (crystals and/or munich/vienna, for me) to balance the grapefruitiness of citra (which I personally don't care much for in heavy/single use..see Rogue's Yellow Snow or Oakham's Citra). 

And, as a side note, hello to Dr K...there's an account that hasn't been around for a while.

Good brewing to the OP, post results.


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## Yob (1/1/15)

dr K said:


> Citra lends itself to a single hop beer, it has plenty of flavours (bit like Galaxy really, that is on the variety of flavours), just don't overdo it, like many US hops it has punch. Next time, for a subtle bang, try Bavaria Mandarina....superb.
> K


Agreed, it's quite nice, found I had to use quite a bit more of it than I would citra, would have to use buckets in an IPA but great on a light grain bill.


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## waggastew (2/1/15)

Pratty1 said:


> Look into the Zombie Dust IPA, its a recipe that has a decent malt bill and its all Citra.


Brewed this recently for the second time. +1 on the malt bill to balance, this beer is really all about balance. Lots of malt, sh*tloads of hops, but a very drinkable beer.

ZDC-2
American IPA

Recipe Specs
----------------
Batch Size (L): 19.0
Total Grain (kg): 5.550
Total Hops (g): 223.00
Original Gravity (OG): 1.064 (°P): 15.7
Final Gravity (FG): 1.016 (°P): 4.1
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 6.29 %
Colour (SRM): 9.7 (EBC): 19.1
Bitterness (IBU): 40.5 (Average)
Brewhouse Efficiency (%): 70
Boil Time (Minutes): 60

Grain Bill
----------------
4.500 kg Pale Ale Malt (81.08%)
0.450 kg Munich I (8.11%)
0.200 kg Carapils (Dextrine) (3.6%)
0.200 kg Crystal 60 (3.6%)
0.200 kg Melanoidin (3.6%)

Hop Bill
----------------
21.0 g Citra Pellet (11.1% Alpha) @ 30 Minutes (Boil) (1.1 g/L)
28.0 g Citra Pellet (11.1% Alpha) @ 10 Minutes (Boil) (1.5 g/L)
28.0 g Citra Pellet (11.1% Alpha) @ 5 Minutes (Boil) (1.5 g/L)
28.0 g Citra Pellet (11.1% Alpha) @ 0 Minutes (Boil) (1.5 g/L)
28.0 g Citra Pellet (11.1% Alpha) @ 0 Minutes (Aroma) (1.5 g/L)
90.0 g Citra Pellet (11.1% Alpha) @ 7 Days (Dry Hop) (4.7 g/L)

Misc Bill
----------------
5.0 g Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) @ 0 Minutes (Mash)
0.5 g Whirlfloc Tablet @ 0 Minutes (Boil)
2.0 g Yeast Nutrient @ 0 Minutes (Boil)

Single step Infusion at 68°C for 60 Minutes.
Fermented at 19°C with Safale S-04


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## Yob (2/1/15)

S04 in an American?


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## waggastew (2/1/15)

Yob said:


> S04 in an American?


Apparently that is what 3 Floyds use (or the liquid equivalent). I think the reasoning is for the yeast to leave a bit more ferment character than 05, maybe a touch more body?

Given the amount of hops and malt I am not sure if you would notice the difference between 04/05


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## indica86 (2/1/15)

S04 in a beer?


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## Yob (2/1/15)

Yes, but it's an English ale yeast.. Making, erm.. English ale not American ale.

I can't stand the yeast either, bloody lazy stalling effing stuff.


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## Dan Pratt (2/1/15)

Yob said:


> Yes, but it's an English ale yeast.. Making, erm.. English ale not American ale.


Yob,

I have recently changed from using American Ale strains to English for my Pale Ales and IPA's. Technically that would make them non American but they really do get a better beer, the English strains are more fruity and get more flavor from the hops coming through.

Stone brewery in the US use an English strain aswell as Brewdog in Denmark. I still will use the American strains and they too yield good results, if you haven't tried them yet on an IPA give one a crack with 002 or 007 and yes S04.

I would base the style on the hops used more than the yeast strain and US hops and English yeast I found to pair better for a hop forward beer like AIPA.


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## bigmacthepunker (2/1/15)

I purchased 250g of citra. As a newbie I'm trying to use smash, to get an better understanding of hops and malts. It been really a great experience. I'll be putting on a voyager citra smash when home from holidays. I'm excited about the voyager malt as its from NSW.


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## sponge (2/1/15)

I've been using 1469 & 1968 in a lot of my 'American' ales of late. Just gives a little more character than the 1272 I used to exclusively use for my APAs.


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## droid (2/1/15)

bigmacthepunker said:


> I purchased 250g of citra. As a newbie I'm trying to use smash, to get an better understanding of hops and malts. It been really a great experience. I'll be putting on a voyager citra smash when home from holidays. I'm excited about the voyager malt as its from NSW.


can i ask where you get the malt from mate?


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## jc64 (2/1/15)

Pratty1 said:


> Yob,
> 
> I have recently changed from using American Ale strains to English for my Pale Ales and IPA's. Technically that would make them non American but they really do get a better beer, the English strains are more fruity and get more flavor from the hops coming through.
> 
> ...


I thought Brewdog is Scotland based?


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## Dan Pratt (2/1/15)

jc64 said:


> I thought Brewdog is Scotland based?


it was off the top of my head. thanks for the correction.


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## jc64 (2/1/15)

Two Brewdog's would have made my head explode


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## Dan Pratt (2/1/15)

jc64 said:


> Two Brewdog's would have made my head explode


its still :icon_offtopic: but

http://www.brewdog.com/bars

would be awesome if they set up one in AUS.


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## dr K (2/1/15)

US05..SO4...?
Without going into a long story (very long and very involuted, decidely OT, though happy to do so elsewhere)
American Ale yeasts almost certainly arose from English yeasts (talking 1970's not 1770's).
US05/1056/WLP001/Chico Strain first used by Sierra Nevada may have come one the few ales made in America at the time, Ballantines ( a favorite of HST, though of course indulging in too many of HST's favorites may cause mileage problems).
The origin of Ballantines yeast....almost certainly English.
SO4 in a US ale, may add some English esters (bugger all and given the hop dosage inconseqential). Yes I am sort of back spelling erroz and all.
K


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## Tahoose (2/1/15)

bigmacthepunker said:


> I purchased 250g of citra. As a newbie I'm trying to use smash, to get an better understanding of hops and malts. It been really a great experience. I'll be putting on a voyager citra smash when home from holidays. I'm excited about the voyager malt as its from NSW.


Citra is great for a SMaSH beer, but it does play very nicely with alot of different hops. If anything I think I have maybe been using it a little too often (hahaha yeah right!)

I tend to use it mostly for dry hopping tbh though. But with an AA of 13%ish the flavour profile and that great aroma it is quite versatile.


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## bigmacthepunker (2/1/15)

droid said:


> can i ask where you get the malt from mate.
> I grabbed a sack from Nick at Barleyman for about 55 bucks for 25kg. I'm lucky that that Nicks warehouse in only 3 min away from home.


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## bigmacthepunker (2/1/15)

Tahoose said:


> Citra is great for a SMaSH beer, but it does play very nicely with alot of different hops. If anything I think I have maybe been using it a little too often (hahaha yeah right!)
> 
> I tend to use it mostly for dry hopping tbh though. But with an AA of 13%ish the flavour profile and that great aroma it is quite versatile.


I add a bit of magnum hops for bitterness and Citra for flavour and armour.


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## Fu ManBru (3/1/15)

Planning a Vienna / Citra SMaSH next, due to simplicity and getting to know stuff....

5kg BM Vienna

20g Citra @ 45mins
20g Citra @ 20 mins
20g Citra @ 5 mins 

Thoughts? Malt vs hops mix OK? I'm using wort chiller.


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## bigmacthepunker (4/1/15)

Hi Fu
Off the top oft head. I hot cubed 25 L 
7 kg Vienna 
20 g magnum 60m
15 g Citra 15m
20g Citra 0 m
And will do 20g Citra DH
Hoping to get it in the FV next weekend
Using white labs 051 yeast
Will advise how it ends up


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## Fu ManBru (4/1/15)

Nice one. 

I think I'll move my hop additions to later in the boil and aim for an IBU of around the mid 30's.

15g at 45mins
20g at 10mins
30g at 5mins


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## Yob (5/1/15)

sponge said:


> I've been using 1469 & 1968 in a lot of my 'American' ales of late. Just gives a little more character than the 1272 I used to exclusively use for my APAs.


You know, in a bank of almost +25 yeasts in the freezer, I dont think I have these.. unless it was in what Midnightbrew dropped me off the other day.. will look..

Im more than happy to split a batch and give one of these a go if I have it handy.. been a while since Ive done a side by side with yeast alone, usually my side by side ferments are same wort/yeast same and variable hop.. will be interesting to do same wort/hops with variable yeast..


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## thisispants (6/1/15)

bigmacthepunker said:


> I add a bit of magnum hops for bitterness and Citra for flavour and armour.


Is there anything hops can't do!?


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## Jkpentreath (6/1/15)

indica86 said:


> S04 in a beer?


No point putting all those hops in if your just going to use 04 , it will strip them out of your beer way more than 05. I've heard of peeps using 05 in English ales for exactly that reason.


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## Jkpentreath (6/1/15)

Fu ManBru said:


> Planning a Vienna / Citra SMaSH next, due to simplicity and getting to know stuff....
> 
> 5kg BM Vienna
> 
> ...


Honey and grapefruit beer, interesting.


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## Dan Pratt (6/1/15)

Jkpentreath said:


> No point putting all those hops in if your just going to use 04 , it will strip them out of your beer way more than 05. I've heard of peeps using 05 in English ales for exactly that reason.


That is not correct! SO4 doesn't strip hop character.

When you use the right amount of hops combined with the correct sulphate content those hops will shine through as intended whether its US or English strain. 

What do you use for hop forward beers?


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## Blind Dog (6/1/15)

Pratty1 said:


> That is not correct! SO4 doesn't strip hop character.
> 
> When you use the right amount of hops combined with the correct sulphate content those hops will shine through as intended whether its US or English strain.
> 
> What do you use for hop forward beers?


Have to agree. I don't particularly like S04 (stalls and ester profile is meh,IMO) but never found it strips hop flavour.


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## sponge (7/1/15)

Yob said:


> You know, in a bank of almost +25 yeasts in the freezer, I dont think I have these.. unless it was in what Midnightbrew dropped me off the other day.. will look..
> 
> Im more than happy to split a batch and give one of these a go if I have it handy.. been a while since Ive done a side by side with yeast alone, usually my side by side ferments are same wort/yeast same and variable hop.. will be interesting to do same wort/hops with variable yeast..


1469 is essentially my house strain.. A little bit cleaner at lower temps but still very nice in an APA and gives a nice bit of complexity. Definitely worth doing a split and seeing the difference yourself.


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## Lobby Lobster (10/1/15)

Check out Lord Raja Goombah's 'Smash n Citrash Ale' in the recipe database.
I did it a few times back in 2011 and rate it. Very pale and perfect for a summer afternoon.


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## schtev (11/1/15)

I just made an all Citra IPA today. It was the recipe found here.

Smelt pretty good during the boil...hope it turns out alright!


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## Yob (11/1/15)

You have to try pretty hard to **** up with citra in my experience


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## panzerd18 (12/1/15)




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## Blind Dog (14/1/15)

Yob said:


> You have to try pretty hard to **** up with citra in my experience


Bet you I dont. I can fcuk up pretty much anything without trying at all


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## schtev (3/2/15)

schtev said:


> I just made an all Citra IPA today. It was the recipe found here.
> 
> Smelt pretty good during the boil...hope it turns out alright!


Figured I'd give an update on this batch. It's only been in bottles ~10 days but already it's awesome. Super fruity and tropical, nicely balanced bitterness with a richy malty backbone. Highly recommend this recipe!


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## heyhey (3/2/15)

Try getting Citra though. I couldn't even get it from retailers in VIC. Got a all Citra Saison on the cards this week or next when the Citra actually shows up to my door.


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## Yob (3/2/15)

It's not going to be a good year for citra or many similar varieties..


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## Captain Kimbo (3/2/15)

I've recently picked up a buch of El dorado hops, has anyone made a straight hop APA with these? They smell great and I've used them sparingly alongside citra & Northern Brewer but haven't tried them in straight up brew.


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## Yob (3/2/15)

Great hop.. used it extensively in the last citra drought :lol:


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## Mr. No-Tip (3/2/15)

I find El dorado gives a candy like sweetness that can come off like slight under attenuation.


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## schtev (4/2/15)

Yob said:


> It's not going to be a good year for citra or many similar varieties..


How come? Poor crop yields?


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## Yob (4/2/15)

bit of that, bit of the fact that so many new micro's have started up and have gobbled up as much as they can.

we are on the bottom rung when it comes to the supply chain so it's tough going.


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## pcmfisher (4/2/15)

Mr. No-Tip said:


> I find El dorado gives a candy like sweetness that can come off like slight under attenuation.


I think citra is a bit like that if the beer isn't bitter enough.


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