All Citra DIPA, Recipe Advice Please!

I would move most of that to late or flameout. Bittering above 100 IBUs is kinda pointless anyway. And I'd consider using a good bittering hop instead of the citra for bittering (not because I'm freaking out about using citra for bittering, but because when you're going for 100 IBUs you can most likely do so more efficiently with something like magnum or warrior, and save the high-flavor citra for the flameout additions).

The thought police, err, I mean the crystal police, will be knocking on your door soon. Hopefully your wife/husband/SO will put five bucks on your commissary card every now and then while you're in crystal malt prison*.

*where the IPAs NEVER have crystal malt, and that's all you ever get to drink

 

That 90 min addition is too much and I would honestly get rid of it. Do a 60 min boil with a hop schedule something like this and it should turn out good. I've done this schedule in a zombie dust clone (which a single citra hop beer) and have had great results. Listed below is the recipe I use and you can adjust accordingly.


Batch Size: 6 gallons

Estimated Original Gravity: 1.065

Estimated Final Gravity: 1.018

Estimated Color: 8.5 SRM

Bitterness: 65.9 IBU

Mash Temp: 152 F



Ingredients Amount Item Type % or IBU

11.75 lb 2 Row (2.0 SRM) Grain 81.7 %

1.13 lb Munich Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 7.8 %

0.50 lb Carafoam (2.0 SRM) Grain 3.5 %

0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 3.5 %

0.50 lb Melanoiden Malt (20.0 SRM) Grain 3.5 %

1.25 oz Citra [12.40%] (15 min) Hops 21.1 IBU

0.75 oz Citra [12.40%] (First Wort Hop) 17.0 IBU

1.25 oz Citra [12.40%] (10 min) Hops 15.4 IBU

1.25 oz Citra [12.40%] (5 min) Hops 8.5 IBU

1.25 oz Citra [12.40%] (1 min) Hops 1.8 IBU

3.00 oz Citra [12.40%] (Dry Hop 5-7 days)

SafAle English Ale (S-04)

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Wyeast 1968

 

there's a Double Sunshine recipe floating around out there too..

 

I've brewed the PtE recipe a couple of times with excellent results. But I used Vinnie's hop schedule. His 90 minute addition is massive by any standard, best handled with hop extract.

Your grain bill is just fine, the basis for a good IPA. But what make PtE shine is the blending of hop flavors and aromas. Your method doesn't take advantage of that. You are giving your wort/beer more hop oils than it can absorb, after XX ounces of Citra you could add a shovelful and not gain anything.

Don't get hung up on IBUs, Pliny calls for maximum saturation of alpha acid which is about 95 units (plus or minus). Some (all?) brewing software can not handle this and just keep summing the IBUs which looks freaky, just ignore what Beersmith tells you. I believe Brewers Friend rates PtE clone at 200+ which of course is not possible.

If I wanted a citrusy tropical hop bomb I would blend Citra with at least two other hops; something like Mosiac, Amarillo, Centennial, or even good ole Cascade. All of this would be added at 15 minutes and later with special emphasis on whirlpooling. Then do an extended double DH similar to Pliny. If I wanted maximum IBUs, I would bitter with Magnum or Warrior or ideally with hop extract.

You don't hear a lot about it, but IMO our own BA APA IPA is superior to Pliny and you will certainly have citrus.

 

If its an all citra beer you're after you need a Zombie Dust clone, not a Pliny. I don't think ZD is technically a DIPA but I've made several batches of a clone recipe using extract/partial mash and I believe my first crack at it came out to 7.0 abv and was delicious. Its very similar to the one Fireslayer posted. Lemme know if you want it and I'll dig it up.

 

I would drop the crystal and substitute in either some Munich at 10L or split your 2 Row with some Golden Promise. Either will add the touch of sweetness you want better than 60L IMHO. I prefer a citrusy IPA myself. I also like a firm bitterness backbone that fades quickly. Go with Columbus for bittering to get that profile if you're looking for that too. Split the dry hops into 2 doses too for brighter results.

 

Shameless plug, but BrewCipher decreases the utilization rate curve/slope above 65 IBUs (each additional IBU takes more additional acids to achieve than the one before it) and caps IBUs at 110.

PtE IBUs were discussed in this thread, and BrewCipher predicted 86 IBUs vs. the standard Tinseth formula's 200+ IBUs for the version of the recipe in the thread. (Believe Vinnie's measured IBUs were ~90.)

 

Seriously, just brew the double sunshine clone. It's amazing.

 

Once again, Brewcipher rises above the competition . . . now if it could just work in Google Docs . . .

 

Yeah, there are technical limitations with google docs, so that's probably not going to happen. But it does run in Apache OpenOffice (which is free) with only minor limitations (no user-added "canned" water profile targets). It does look a lot prettier in its native Excel environment though. OP: Sorry for the semi-hijack.

 

@stb08007 , you should get a hold of some CO2 hop extract for bittering purposes only. If I were you I would do most all of my IBU in the hop extract at FWH and 75 min boil, then hop additions of Citra at 10 min and flameout. Dry hop in keg of you can, at 45 F for 5 days under CO2 head pressure. If you do this, have a keg dedicated as conditioning vessel, cut dip tube 2'' up and jump to 2nd vented keg via CO2 pressure.

 

4 oz. max per addition.

 

I've used 3oz in a 5gallon batch of all citra and I loved it.

 

2 oz for each addition does the trick for me. There are some claims out there about diminishing returns with really big additions.

 

I used 5oz for 5 gallons. It won second place at state fair. Comments on the aroma were all very positive.

 

In Steele's IPA book he had various beers tested. PtE came in at, can you believe it, 65 IBU. One other BA who is in the loop at a CA brewery said they have tested at 65 also.