Citra Summer Ale

[Bada Bing Brewery]

Hello all

I've done Ross's Nelson Savin Summer Ale and it was a beauty. I now want to try some citra hops. Never having used or even tasted them I was looking for some input on the brew. This is the same recipe but substituting NS for Citra. Should I go more/less or stay the same with the same schedule? And while I'm at it, can someone give me a one fruit answer - what does citra mostly taste like ????

any comments welcomed
Cheers
BBB

OCD Citra Ale (BIAB)
American IPA

Recipe Specs
----------------
Batch Size (L): 20.0
Total Grain (kg): 4.000
Total Hops (g): 65.00
Original Gravity (OG): 1.049 (P): 12.1
Final Gravity (FG): 1.012 (P): 3.1
Colour (SRM): 5.3 (EBC): 10.4
Bitterness (IBU): 33.6 (Average)
Brewhouse Efficiency (%): 77
Boil Time (Minutes): 90

Grain Bill
----------------
3.600 kg Maris Otter Malt (90%)
0.400 kg Wheat Malt (10%)

Hop Bill
----------------
15.0 g Citra Pellet (11.5% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil) (0.8 g/L)
10.0 g Citra Pellet (11.5% Alpha) @ 20 Minutes (Boil) (0.5 g/L)
10.0 g Citra Pellet (11.5% Alpha) @ 10 Minutes (Boil) (0.5 g/L)
30.0 g Citra Pellet (11.5% Alpha) @ 0 Minutes (Boil) (1.5 g/L)

Misc Bill
----------------

Single step Infusion at 66C for 65 Minutes.
Fermented at 18C with Safale US-05

 

[brendo]

I recently used a heap of Citra in an APA, finally dry hopping it at 1.5g per litre so it packs a real punch.

Initial hit is lemon, but I find that there is quite a bit of depth to it and secondary flavored suggest passionfruit and grapefruit. Tasty!!

 

[Nick JD]

It's a cross between rose water and lychee with a hint of blood orange.

If you're kegging, put the 30g in the keg.

 

[Bada Bing Brewery]

Thanks brendo - I won't be shy then and stick to the above schedule. I really liked the NS so Citra should be a winner too.
Cheers
BBB

 

[Bada Bing Brewery]

Thanks NickJD - Jesus you are not shy - 30g in a keg. Never done that before - how do you do that ? Just chuck it in the keg freestyle or in a ??????
Cheers
BBB

 

[Nick JD]

Thanks NickJD - Jesus you are not shy - 30g in a keg. Never done that before - how do you do that ? Just chuck it in the keg freestyle or in a ??????
Cheers
BBB

I get a square of new swiss voile and dowse it in Starsan along with a bit of cotton string - shake out the excess and then make a little swag of hops and chuck it in.

My last Citra Ale had 20g in the keg and 35 IBUs of Citra at 15 minutes only. Citra kicks Nelson's ass.

 

[Bada Bing Brewery]

Nice - Thanks for that Nick. I'll have a crack at that.
Cheers
BBB

 

[mika]

So it's the sort of hop that when used in late additions comes thru heavier than the calcs suggest ? That's been my experience with N.S.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

+1 to all these comments. I'm a lover of NS and Citra. If you want a tried and tested recipe, see Smash n Citrash, I loved it and I had another member PM me about using it and he liked it as well. Just wished I remembered to ask him to vote for it, but thought that it was too shameless.

This is a subjective comment, but I find the perceived bitterness to be lower than the actual measurement, personally. The comments I had from SWMBO was that this beer has "no bitterness", despite the 39 IBU.

+1 to nick about dry hopping. This hop lends itself to being treated in this manner. Doesn't leave a grassy hop flavour when dry hopped.

Goomba

 

[Nick JD]

The comments I had from SWMBO was that this beer has "no bitterness", despite the 39 IBU.

I find that when it comes to "tasting" things the nose trumps the tongue every time. Citra's fruitiness on the nose tells the drinker that they almost have to be tasting "sweet".

An alarming version of this is vanilla in a wheatbeer. I have one now that's got 18 IBUs (low, yes) and yet I find it difficult to believe the FG compared to the taste. It's sweet - like only half way to fermented out, sweet - and it's all because I associate vanilla with sweetness. The beer tastes like vanilla icecream. Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad one. A great quaffer for 5 year olds, but.

 

[Bada Bing Brewery]

Thanks Goomba. I've already smahed the grain so I'll have to go with the above. But I will be definately dry hopping a good whack. Instead of in the keg can I simply chuck a heap in after racking to secondary and CC'ing before kegging? Any difference??? Never dry hopped before ........
Cheers
BBB

Edit - Is it worthwhile dropping out the aroma hop at 0 minutes and adding that amount to the dry hopping (beit secondary or keg) ????

 

[Lecterfan]

This is a subjective comment, but I find the perceived bitterness to be lower than the actual measurement, personally. The comments I had from SWMBO was that this beer has "no bitterness", despite the 39 IBU.

My Nelson SMASH should have been 36IBU yet when drinking it's like someone has crushed up teddy bear biscuits its so friggin sweet! Used JW trad malt...should've used some pilsner malt in it in hindsight.


BBB - give dry hopping a go...the aroma is amazing, but only chuck them in a few days before you transfer the beer. (from primary fv to secondary fv or from fv to bottle/keg) I've found some of the grassiness can be exaggerated by dry hops being in the fermenter for more than 2 or 3 days - especially the "big" hops like chinook. Having said that I'm not bothered by dry hopping so I reckon Nick's method would give a hell of an aromatic boost!

I was going to try a citra smash this season also but never got around to it (got 100gms vac sealed though), let me know how it goes!

edit: I generally dry hop in secondary, but am thinking of changing that process to add them to primary (AFTER the primary attenuation phase has finished) for a few days before racking to secondary for ccing.

 

[Nick JD]

I reckon Nick's method would give a hell of an aromatic boost!

You can smell Citra from the other side of the kitchen when someone opens the tap and pours. It's one of the few hops that I'm happy to leave in the keg for as long as it takes to empty, in a US05 APA I've never got any ill flavours at any time. I often get about 1/4 through the unhopped keg and think, MORE! And dry hop it - it's cool to have the next maybe 5 glasses slowly get more and more aromatic and flavoursome. After about 4 days it actually tapers off a little.

This kind of APA (only 20 minutes or less kettle hop additions with dry hopping) can be almost IPA bitter and not offend megaswill drinkers and their pathetic "ewwww, it's too biiiiiter" pink blouses.

I only have two kegs in my fridge, so paired with a Boh Pils, going from one to the other in successive glasses is magic.

 

[Bada Bing Brewery]

Lecter and Nick - thanks
No blouses here in country WA .... just real men drinking fruity beers ..... :unsure:

edit - lecter .... no fish big swell - but of course monday will be perfect weather

 

[Online Brewing Supplies]

Lecter and Nick - thanks
No blouses here in country WA .... just real men drinking fruity beers ..... :unsure:

edit - lecter .... no fish big swell - but of course monday will be perfect weather

Yes Monday will be great, I think I will go fishing and drink girlie beers (English IPA) whilst doing it. :icon_drunk:
GB

 

[Bada Bing Brewery]

Nev - could start a breakaway clandestine group - www.girliebeers.com.au/blouseswhilefishing

there's got to be a dollar in that ......

 

[Online Brewing Supplies]

Nev - could start a breakaway clandestine group - www.girliebeers.com.au/blouseswhilefishing

there's got to be a dollar in that ......

Transgender fish tours and girlie beers, I love it , cant wait for my snip and tuck .
"Is that a Sauvin beer your sipping" ?" No silly its a double Citra mocha latte IPA."
:icon_chickcheers:
GB

 

[Nick JD]

If you dry hop your Citra beer with PoR you'll instantly want to find a guy wearing a pink shirt and headbutt him in the nose.

PoR's aroma is the same as the armpits of a guy who operates a sawmill cutting Victorian Ash logs.

 

[Bada Bing Brewery]

Transgender fish tours and girlie beers, I love it , cant wait for my snip and tuck .
"Is that a Sauvin beer your sipping" ?" No silly its a double Citra mocha latte IPA."
:icon_chickcheers:
GB

I can see it before me - pulling away from the dock on the Bada Bing, Citra double macciato frothy in hand with Helen Reddy blaring from the flybridge speakers - I'm welling up here....

 

[Online Brewing Supplies]

I can see it before me - pulling away from the dock on the Bada Bing, Citra double macciato frothy in hand with Helen Reddy blaring from the flybridge speakers - I'm welling up here....

No wonder we have all those inter staters moving over here, its every man's dream .
GB