Problems with a CITRA IPA

I have brewed a very similiar Citra IPA twice (just a few months apart).
It is a 10 gallon batch system. Both times the malt bill was almost all 2 row, with a touch of caramel 40. I used S05 for both batches and it ferments down to 1.010 and was about 7% alcohol both times.

Both were fermented for the same time period (a few degree temperature difference). Both batches had the same hop addition. 4 oz of citra at 10, 4 oz at 5, 4 oz at 0, and after a week of fermentation I dry hopped with 4 oz of citra for 6 days. Then bottled and began drinking about two weeks later.

The first batch was awesome. The beer had great tropical fruit flavors. I got a lot of mango, a little pinneapple, some peach, etc. The beer changed a lot as it aged for a few weeks in the bottle, but was always really good.

The second batch not so good. In fact I can barely drink it. It tastes a little buttery and tastes like apricot and something else unpleasant. I am relatively sure its not an infection issue, because I have tasted similar flavors in some commercial examples using citra (although never as bad as my second batch of homebrew).


Anyone have any ideas as to what might have gone wrong?

 

The temperatur

Batch one was around 62, batch 2 around 65. so it sounds like the yeast needed more time, according to the first two responses. Why the difference in hop flavor (tropical fruit vs apricot/weird fruit flavor)? Could that also be due to the diacetyl?

 

The reason i don't think its a sanitation issue is its not getting worse. If anything, it might be getting a little better.

 

Next batch:
Should I feremnt around 60 for a few days, then raise temp up to 70 for a few days to help the yeast clean up? What temperature should I dry hop at?

 

Yeah, I am not sure how to describe the weird fruit flavor (maybe its a combo of the hops and diacetyl). Thanks for the info.

My first guess was a freshness issue with the hops since it is so different. The mash might of been different by a degree and fermentation was different by a couple of degrees, but to be that different I think it might be the hops too.

 

Trying to get a cleaner flavor in the beer.

 

Good the first time, not so good the second time. So ferment around 65, then what should I turn it up to?

 

How long would you leave it at each temperature?

 

On our normal beers we usually ferment them in the high 60's for a week, then transfer to secondary for two weeks at the same high 60's. Should we follow a similiar schedule with the citra IPA? Ferment at 65 for a week, then secondary at 68 or so for two weeks (adding dry hops a few days before we bottle)?

Or will putting it into secondary cause a problem?

 

I have been called that before.

I just thought that even after fermentation is complete, the yeast might have some stuff to clean up. If I moved it to a secondary, then there would be less yeast to clean up the mess. I wasnt sure if the Diectyl rest could happen in secondary.