Etcitra, Etcitra (my rendition of Widmer's Citra Blonde)

[Kealia]

Great timing. A buddy of mine just sent me a pic a few days ago of the 6-pack of Widmer he picked up. I've been craving it ever since and have been on the fence about buying versus brewing.
I've decided to brew my Nelson Sauvin and buy the Widmer Citra for two reasons:
1) I can't find a good local NS beer
2) I will have the Citra beer to drink ASAP

I was at a small local brewery two weeks ago that brewed a "Solely Citra" and it was phenomenal. I don't think they do growler fills, though - but it DID re-spark my interest in a Citra beer NOW.

[philm00x]

I've just really been trying to schedule some brews that will be easy to drink and won't take long to ferment and condition. As much as I'd like to do the LSS (steam beer) or the oktoberfest, I don't want to tie up the ferm chamber that long especially since having Olivia around won't allow me to brew as often as I used to. The iteration I brewed last year was good, but a little too sharp in bitterness. Omitting the dry hop helps with the grassy bite I picked up in the beer as well.

[Beer-lord]

I'm experimenting with different hops as well and hope to try a few of the lighter styles of ales but in my case, with hops that make me think I'm drinking a full on, IPA.
I'm very, very, very pleased with the mix of El Dorado and Galaxy though I think the Galaxy is the best of the 2 hops used.
We don't get Widmer's here but Oskar Blues is coming to town next month and their Pale Ale is supposed to be pretty good.

[Rebel_B]

I sampled a very tasty Pacific Brewing & Malting Citra Pale Ale at my Homebrew club meet last week. It is an excellent brew! They are unsure about the continued availability of the Citra hops going forward though. The head brewer spoke about hop contracts , & securing hop supplies. They scored some 200lb from another microbrewery, but weren't sure when they could get more. He was hopeful that he would be able to get more this year; but nothing 'for sure' yet.

[mashani]

1) I can't find a good local NS beer

Anchor Humming? I love that stuff when I can find it.

For some reason the only beers with mostly/all Citra that really make me happy are wheat beers. I don't know why.

[BlackDuck]

For some reason the only beers with mostly/all Citra that really make me happy are wheat beers. I don't know why.

Really... I never thought of Citra in a wheat beer, it just never dawned on me. But now that you say it, I can see where those two flavor profiles would play really well together.

Things that make you go "HHMMMmmmmmm"

[Kealia]

I've had a number of wheat beers using both Citra and Citra/Simcoe and they have been a fantastic combination IMO.
Now that I think about it, the Gumbalhead "clone" that I brew has a decent wheat base in it, too.

This weekend, I'm going to use the Gumbalhead grain bill but use Nelson Sauvin with a clean yeast (WLP001) and see how that comes out.

[philm00x]

I bottled a revised batch of this last Friday... or maybe it was Saturday... I can't remember. But anyhow, I digress. The recipe change omits Falconer's Flight and uses solely Citra hops as a FWH addition, T-15, T-5, and a 10 minute steep after flameout. Also, switched up the yeast to WY1272 American Ale II that is supposed to be a bit fruitier than WY1056 which should help accentuate the hops flavor and also finishes a tiny bit sweeter.

[Kealia]

Having been really disappointed withe the Widmer when I tasted it this year (my buddy agreed that it is much weaker), I brewed up a test batch a few weeks ago to see if I can scratch my Citra itch.

I did a 15-minute boil with some DME, C-20 and Carapils (that was steeped) and Citra at 15, 5 and a 30-minute hopstand at the end. I'm going to test one later this week but don't expect it to be really good - IF it's going to be - for another few weeks yet.

[philm00x]

I drank the trub bottle of this the other day, and it tastes good, but I wish it had a touch more hop flavor. It's actually quite tasty, and at 4.8% abv, very sessionable. The aroma is actually reminiscent of Fruity Pebbles cereal, which is pretty awesome! One more tweak to the hop schedule and I think I will have this down pat.

[Kealia]

Fruity Pebbles cereal? Nice.

My test bottle of my Citra Pale Ale was pretty good so I threw a sixer in the fridge today. They will cold condition for 2 weeks while I am away so I'll get a really good sense of how it is at the end of the month when I come back and try one. I was happy with the aroma and taste of the tester, though - that's a great sign.

[philm00x]

The latest batch of this has been sitting in a cold chest freezer for a few days now, after adding gelatin to clear it. I'm going to hopefully bottle it tomorrow evening, but I don't want to let it sit too much longer as it was dry hopped over a week ago.


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[philm00x]

Poured the trub bottle just to QC the clarity on the beer. It's damn well crystal clear! This gelatin did some amazing work, and though I know it's only a day in the bottle and knew it would be carbed, the flavor and aroma were fantastic and not diminished by fining.


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[Beer-lord]

That looks extremely awesome to me!