California Common with Citra/Cascade?

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by honkey, Dec 6, 2012.

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  1. honkey

    honkey Maven (1,326) Aug 28, 2010 Arizona
    Trader

    Tomorrow I am brewing a one barrel batch of California Common and I plan on using Citra and Cascade. Anybody tried this before? I actually really wanted to use Sorachi Ace but I can't get it until mid-January.
     
  2. OldSock

    OldSock Maven (1,406) Apr 3, 2005 District of Columbia

    Sounds delicious, as long as your plan isn't to brew something that would do well in competition as a Cal Common.

    I just did a "cream ale" with Cascade, Crystal, and Summit. Really delciious, but a competition cream ale it is not.
     
  3. honkey

    honkey Maven (1,326) Aug 28, 2010 Arizona
    Trader

    No, I want to brew something unique. I love Anchor Steam Beer, but I wish we would see more people doing variations on the Cali common style.
     
  4. AlCaponeJunior

    AlCaponeJunior Grand Pooh-Bah (3,326) May 21, 2010 Texas
    Pooh-Bah Society

    I think it sounds great and I don't see how you can go wrong with citra and cascade. Obviously you're not going to try and enter a beer competition with it, so do what you like and enjoy your beer! Just remember, you're making a LOT of beer there so make sure you're going to like it!
     
  5. mattbk

    mattbk Savant (1,099) Dec 12, 2011 New York

    what yeast you plan on using?
     
  6. WickedSluggy

    WickedSluggy Savant (1,105) Nov 21, 2008 Texas

    I like Citra, but I don't know how it would compliment the character of that that yeast. If your lucky it will taste kinda like peach pie.
     
  7. honkey

    honkey Maven (1,326) Aug 28, 2010 Arizona
    Trader

    Wyeast 2112. I have only ever used it once before and I used Amarillo that time. I thought it was very good.
     
  8. premierpro

    premierpro Savant (1,060) Mar 21, 2009 Michigan

    The Cali strain is a very clean yeast that lets the malt and hops shine. I usualy use Mt.Hood,Spalt,Tettn.,Hallertau,Sazz,and Cluster.
     
  9. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,181) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    I have used Citra a number of times in my making of IPAs. My personal experience is that it is a VERY POTENT hop from a flavor/aroma perspective. To my palate Citra provides flavors and aromas of tropical fruits. I am unsure whether this is what I would enjoy in a California Common.

    I have used Cascade many times in making California Common beers to complement the classic hop for this style of Northern Brewer:

    · 2 ounces Northern Brewer for 60 minutes of boil
    · ½ ounce Northern Brewer & ½ ounce Cascade for 15 minutes of boil
    · ½ ounce of Cascade at end of boil

    I always thought the above hopping schedule made a tasty California Common.

    I hope to be able to obtain California Cluster (Ivanhoe) hops someday to make a California Common beer. That hop sounds like it would be perfect for a California Common from a taste and historical perspective:

    “California Ivanhoe Organic Whole Hops

    8% AAU. 4.6% Beta. The original California Cluster variety has been rejuvenated for the first time in more than a half century. Similar in profile to a Cascade with a moderate alpha in the 8% range, it has a nice aroma with mellow hints of citrus and pine and the strong floral/herbal notes typical of English aroma hops. The exact origins of the Ivanhoe hop are unknown but the original California Cluster hop parent was a cross between English and American varieties. Great for American style ales, California Common, stouts, and IPA's. Try in recipes that call for: Galena, Cluster, Northern Brewer.”

    You can read about my experiences with Citra hops in my all Citra hopped IPA here (I made multiple posts to this thread): http://beeradvocate.com/community/threads/hop-schedule-feedback.53561/#post-702595

    Cheers!
     
  10. mugs1789

    mugs1789 Initiate (0) Dec 6, 2005 Maryland

    I brewed a CalCommon last winter with citra. It may have even been with citra and cascade but I forget the details at the moment. I was very happy with how it turned out and sad to see it go.
     
  11. Eriktheipaman

    Eriktheipaman Initiate (0) Sep 4, 2010 California

    Sounds really awesome to me! Much better than with Sorachi Ace :wink:
     
  12. mugs1789

    mugs1789 Initiate (0) Dec 6, 2005 Maryland

    Total and complete lie. I checked my brew log and saw that I never brewed a CalCom w/ citra. Last Dec. I brewed a pale ale with citra and then in January I brewed a CalCom. ItCalCom with citra sounds delicious anyhow.
     
  13. pweis909

    pweis909 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,176) Aug 13, 2005 Wisconsin
    Pooh-Bah Society

    If you want to brew to BJCP guidelines, use Northern Brewer.

    If you want to brew to best understanding of historical steam beer, use Cluster and serve it while it is still green, apparently: http://morebeer.com/brewingtechniques/library/styles/2_1style.html (interesting article that tries to piece together the historical steam beer).

    If you want to brew something you want to drink, brew what you want to drink and forget about guidelines.
     
    mattbk likes this.
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