Citrus IPA/Pale Ale

All, I’m looking for some advice in integrating citrusy flavors into my beer. Instead of a wheat beer as I’ve most commonly seen posts on, I’m looking to impart some fresh citrus notes to a pale ale or an IPA to replicate some beers I’ve tried from breweries before. I’ve read about everything from adding the fruit itself during the boil to adding zest at the end of the boil and even soaking zest in vodka (or boiling it) and then adding directly into the secondary. I’m looking for some good citrusy notes in the aroma (which I would assume alludes to a late addition), but also looking for some depth throughout the beer itself. Any thoughts?

I recently made my Bell’s Two Hearted Ale clone but substituted Citra for the Centennial in the entire recipe. It is really good and your nose knows what it is long before it reaches your lips. A crowd favorite here at Mullerbrau.

Use this but as I stated, sub Citra for Centennial

You get citrus from Citra? I never have. Maybe the difference is our suppliers.

Also, all Citra brew…ick.

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Mueller I have brewed your two hearted and its excellent. Citra substitute sounds good except I had heard that citra can taste catty if used for early bittering additions. Did you taste or smell any of this. Buy the way I’m sipping on one of your two hearted’s as I type this, very tasty. :smiley:

I never got catty out of Citra but I sure do from Simcoe. Glad to hear you’re enjoying the THA. It’s a mighty fine beer. I’m making that one again soon as I have entry of Centennial hops now.

Most pale ales or IPAs that incorporate citrus flavors get them from the hops they use, not by adding fruit. Take a look at the NB product list for hops and read the descriptions; you’ll get “lemony” “tangerine” “orange” “grapefruit” etc. Just pick a hop or hop combo that sounds good and add some of that as part of your 15 minute flavor, 5 minute aroma, 0 minute flame out, and/or dry hop schedule.

If you want to use citrus fruit, I’ve had good luck with a recipe that adds the zest of 4 oranges and 4 lemons at the end of the boil (15 minutes or less). That was in an American wheat, but it’d be a nice citrus kick for any beer, though I tend to agree with the previous posters that you can get a lot of citrus by using flavor and aroma hops.

You get citrus from Citra? I never have. Maybe the difference is our suppliers.

Also, all Citra brew…ick.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk[/quote]My notes show Citra as being like passion fruit whatever that is.

I get a TON of citrus flavor when using Citra hops. One of the best beers I ever made was 100% Citra. Freaking fantastic. Ever have Zombie Dust from Three Floyds? If not, find some if you can and give it a shot. It’s an all Citra APA and it’s great.

It seems like most people love or hate Citra with very little middle-ground. I’ve had lots of Citra–including commercial and homebrewed single hop versions. I agree with Greg’s passion fruit assessment. Passion fruit is not citrus, although it definitely is tropical.

While I hate Citra used in a single-hop application or used as a dominant hop, I think it can be used with great success if used judiciously with other hops. In fact, Citra is a feature hop in my house IPA.

Must be your supplier. I just bottled my first of two batches of an all-Citra IPA (Zombie Dust clone) and it’s definitely chock-full of citrus hop aroma and flavors. I tasted multiple samples while bottling and get lots of grapefruit with hints of melon, mango and other tropical-like citrus.

For the OP - if you aren’t going for a hoppy citrus, you could try getting sweet orange peel and including that near the end of your boil. Also try dropping it in secondary to “dry peel” your brews. I’d start off with an ounce or two and go from there. You can also add real fruit (instead of just peel/zest) to your brews, if you want. Charlie Papazian and Sam Calagione are a couple examples who advocate that.

The zest of 2 to 4 oranges at the end of the boil is good for an american wheat - but I agree with the theme here that citra hops (and dry hop citra especially) is the way to go for sure.

All, sorry for the late reply. I ended up adding the zest from one lemon, one navel orange and a grapefruit 1 minute before the end of a 60 min boil and I must say it turned out delicious. Kegged it a few days ago and it has some very nice citrusy notes without being too overpowering. Thanks for everyone’s inputs!

Late hop additions and dry hopping with a heavy hand. Lean hard on American hop varieties.