Citra

[raiderman]

Nah not at all tekkie, I'm the least tecknucal brewer going. Stuff it all in one pot and let the magik happen! Hops are down to confidence. A couple of years ago I dabbled, then I came across people who dabble big time and that was inspiring and having come across an article about getting all the bitterness from late hopping I really started having fun with hops. The only technical bit is a set of digital scales and the GW calculator so as to control the bitterness after which you can't go wrong, theres loads of info out there on hop types and usage that you can have a fair guess whether you'll like a hop and how to use it after which - like with your citra its have a go. My biggest problem is that there are too many things I want to try and then having to drink it all, ...if thats a problem!

[soupdragon]

My biggest problem is that there are too many things I want to try and then having to drink it all, ...if thats a problem!

I know the feeling.

I've got loads of hops in storage ( Apollo, Amarillo, Centennial, Cluster, Galaxy, Simcoe ) that I want to try and only one mouth to pour the resulting beer down
I've tried N.S. and Citra as a single hop, Chinook and Cascade together and am happy with the results. "Chincade" has been the nicest so far though, could be because it was the two together?

Cheers Tom

[raiderman]

Chinook and Cascade go well, but all Cascade is good too. Cascade and challenger are v good. Cascade and its ilk seem to like malt and go well n a blonde with a little cara or even amber - I've been trying aromatic even. My sons just brewed what he hoped would be a brownish bitter with biscuit and amber which is malty but lighter than he wanted and the hops, Willamette and challenger have come over slightly sharp, so we've bunged 80g of chinook in the cornie to help round it out and give it a bit of aroma! To think when I first started I thought that I was making aromatic beers with 3oz of hops!

[soupdragon]

To think when I first started I thought that I was making aromatic beers with 3oz of hops!

I know what you mean.

When I first moved away from kits I was scared of using any more than about 50g in any recipe but the Chincade I did earlier in the year was 200g. Nothing compared to some recipes I've seen posted on here though. One that I'm now thinking about putting together will use at least that much just in late hops alone. I'm learning from every brew and getting more and more adventurous as time goes by. As has been said many times and they are wise words, brew it and see how it tastes.......
It really is the best ( only ) way to learn

Cheers Tom

[soupdragon]

Small update......

Just put this in a corny. Had a sample while I was at it and to be honest, I'm a bit underwhelmed.
There's no big citrus hit either in aroma or flavour. So either Nottingham has knocked most of the life out of the hops or I really should have dry hopped it. The Kipling I'm still drinking was spot on in the couple of bottles that I had but in the mini kegs it's not as nice. I know a bit of co2 will bring out the hop flavours so I'm hoping that once the corny has carbed up it might improve. Having said that, the Kipling tasted great straight from the fermenter when kegging but this Citra is just ok.....
Fingers crossed anyway

Cheers Tom

[jonnyt]

I've done something very similar to this but used 100g Citra steeped in a cube for two days from around 85C.

It's been bunged in the fermentor today so in a couple of weeks I will report back on the initial taste. I'm hoping for a Citra Bomb!

[soupdragon]

100g steep eh?

Should have just a little bit more flavour than the 40g I used

Cheers Tom

[soupdragon]

Just been going over Sara Carter's Bombay IPA recipe again as it's next up on my list.

Not so sure that Nottingham is the problem now. Sara used Nottingham for her brew
Maybe a bigger addition for the steep is the answer? Maybe there's something in adding hops at flame out ( as she did ) rather than at 80c?

Cheers Tom

[raiderman]

Just been going over Sara Carter's Bombay IPA recipe again as it's next up on my list.

Not so sure that Nottingham is the problem now. Sara used Nottingham for her brew
Maybe a bigger addition for the steep is the answer? Maybe there's something in adding hops at flame out ( as she did ) rather than at 80c?

Cheers Tom

Theres a long thread elsewhere on the pro and cons of adding immediately after the boil and cooling to 80 which is worth a read. From memory I think cooling was preferred.

[jonnyt]

According to the Scientists a steep at 40C or lower is optimal. The lower the temperature the longer the steep needs to be.
This is due to different components evaporating above 40C.

Now with my Cube Hoping all the evaporates are captured and contained

[Skittlebrau]

Just been going over Sara Carter's Bombay IPA recipe again as it's next up on my list.

Not so sure that Nottingham is the problem now. Sara used Nottingham for her brew
Maybe a bigger addition for the steep is the answer? Maybe there's something in adding hops at flame out ( as she did ) rather than at 80c?

Cheers Tom

Theres a long thread elsewhere on the pro and cons of adding immediately after the boil and cooling to 80 which is worth a read. From memory I think cooling was preferred.

That was this thread. It's a corker!

[soupdragon]

Theres a long thread elsewhere on the pro and cons of adding immediately after the boil and cooling to 80 which is worth a read. From memory I think cooling was preferred.

Yeah, I read that with interest as it was developing.

I think that in my case I just need to add more steep hops, lots more hops. Sara's Bombay IPA uses over 3 times the amount of steep hops than I did

According to the Scientists a steep at 40C or lower is optimal. The lower the temperature the longer the steep needs to be.
This is due to different components evaporating above 40C.

Now with my Cube Hoping all the evaporates are captured and contained

Do you have a link to some more detail on that jonnyt?

Cheers Tom

[soupdragon]

Another little update

Just poured the first pint from a corny. It's as foamy as fook ( that's another story ) but it actually tastes rather nice now.
It's been kegged for 7 weeks now, if I can sort the foaming issue out, or even if I can't, this isn't going to lake too long to polish off
I'm now happy that it wasn't really a mistake to use Nottingham with this

Cheers Tom

[Uncle Joshua]

Drinking a pint of mine right now...

It fist mouthful is a bit of a shock but very nice.

[soupdragon]

Oh yes

Cheers Tom