Love/Hate Relationship with Citra

I think you are correct. I get those two mixed up often. Either way, that original Gubna was a stanky brew.

 

@leantom I'm right there with you. I can't do Citra only beers, they taste like piss. I love Citra when it is used with other hops, funnily enough, but I've had multiple citra hopped only beers that just don't do it for me.

And thank you @hopfenunmaltz for posting about the specific compounds in there and breaking up the "WHATDOYOUMEANCATPISS!?!?!? YOULIKETOSMELLCATPISSHAHAHAHADUURRRRHHHHH" bullshit circle jerk that this always inevitably ends up becoming.

 

I feel like some of my Citra faves walk the fine line between cat piss and high grade marijuana... I guess I've never really thought about it as a bad thing.

 

For anyone who has not smelled it, the sulfur chemical in tom-cat marking spray (felinine) has a distinct pine-sap scent that dog pee does not. More here for anyone interested in the science:
http://www.scienceminusdetails.com/2011/05/why-pee-is-cool-entry-2-why-does-pee.html

For those who can smell it in hops (I'm one of them), the odor we're talking about can slide from more piney to more catty depending on the drinking temperature, as noted above, and on what else you're eating or drinking. I will say that Citra hasn't been a hop that I've noticed a lot of cat pee in ... Simcoe seems to be the worst offender for me. (Check out Mark Starr's old review of Weyerbacher's Double Simcoe for his take on that. )

 

I love Citra hops. I love brewing with them and I love Zombie Dust, Citra Dog, Torpedo, and pretty much every other commercial beer that I've encountered that featured Citra as a single hop or in conjunction with other hops. With that said, I've never encountered any that came off as catty or cat-piss-like in flavor or aroma (can't say the same for Simcoe). As one or two others mentioned, Zombie Dust does change fairly drastically from being fresh off the truck to after a month or two in the bottle, but it always tastes amazing.

 

Cats are descended from desert dwelling animals and have their kidneys concentrate the urine very strongly to recover water. This is why they tend to have kidney issues in old age. Cats usually have the highest urinary specific gravity of mammals including dogs. Since urine is composed of water and waste material, a higher specific gravity means that cat urine has a higher amount of waste material per volume excreted.

 

Citra is my favorite hop right now. I guess I've been lucky since the cat urine issue has never happened to me.

 

Citra my favorite hop too. One beer I have noticed that gets maja funky after a month or so is Kern Citra. I'm not sure it's a cat piss aroma --- more vile. Subtle - but not good.

 

Love Citra, hate that it seems to have a very short shelf life at peak.

 

Love right now

 

Taste? I don't know. The aroma from cleaning the cat box I do know. I get that in some beers that are over the top, but not usually.

 

LOVE Citra and Simcoe hops!! Dry, bitter and citrusy tastes great to me, not a sweet malty guy............

 

Wow that looks incredible. Visually a perfect beer for me.