First taste of citra

I had Green Flash Citra Session this afternoon. It did not change my opinion about Citra. :shock:

Put me in the Citra fanclub. I’ve never picked up any cattiness from it, but maybe I’m so used to cleaning the litter box that I don’t notice it. I think it’s pretty monotone on its own, but it lays a pretty strong fruity base note that other hop varieties can play off of. Citra + Amarillo and Citra + Mosaic are great starting points for a nice fruit-bomb IPA.

I have a question on the comments above about using Citra with other hops to add complexity or balance the flavor. Are people suggesting these other hops be used at the same time like late boil additions or dry hopping or is it a suggestion to bitter with one hop like Centennial or Magnum and then use Citra for its aromatic contribution?

Thanks for clearing this up for me.

[quote=“scottNU”]I have a question on the comments above about using Citra with other hops to add complexity or balance the flavor. Are people suggesting these other hops be used at the same time like late boil additions or dry hopping or is it a suggestion to bitter with one hop like Centennial or Magnum and then use Citra for its aromatic contribution?

Thanks for clearing this up for me.[/quote]
I’m referring to late kettle additions and dry hopping. I prefer to always blend when using Citra for aroma/flavor additions, and to never use more than 1/3 Citra overall in a recipe (because of the very high oil content).

I had the Deschutes Fresh Squeezed IPA tonight, which is primarily Citra and Mosaic. Didn’t get any cattiness from it so I’m thinking all of the Citra were late additions. Really good beer.

IMO the Mosaic dominates that beer. Based on a few commercial examples I’ve tried, that’s another hop I don’t like. Unlike Citra, I don’t see a place for it in my brewing recipes.

Fresh Squeezed was also the first IPA from Deschutes that I didn’t dig.

Seems like the current crop of new hops are all tending towards the sweeter, tropical end of things. El Dorado, Citra, Galaxy, Mosaic. I didn’t like my El Dorado pale ale, but I think it would work in a blend with the grapefruity hops.

I like Citra, but Mosaic is downright nasty. Both are very strong hops, and they share some similarities, but where Citra still tastes pleasant, Mosaic just takes it way over the edge with the litterboxiness, IMHO.

I’m planning to split a batch of pale ale wort and do a Mosaic and a Galaxy beer so I can decide about them. I only have 2oz of Mosaic, should be enough for late additions on 3gal.

I can’t wait to order a lb. or 2 of Mosaic. The reviews sound mighty tasty. " cat scratch fever".

I make a Deschute’s Red Chair NWIPA clone which uses Citra, Simcoe, Amarillo and one more for dry hops. I think the sweet hoppiness is sometimes over powering so I had to back off a bit on the Citra.

Citra = beer sex.

And Citra never has a headache.

I just tapped my IPA with one charge of Centennial for bittering and lots of Citra at the end of the boil and as a dry hop. It turned out nicely. The citrus nature is excellent and I got the more aroma, less bitter beer I was hoping for.

The next iteration will have a blend of hops (Citra, Cascade, Amarillo, etc) at the back end of the boil, but this was a tasty experiment.

[quote=“Steeler D”]Citra = beer sex.

And Citra never has a headache.[/quote]

I’d tap that.