what to brew?

I think an all Citra APA would be interesting.

 

Extract or AG?

If AG, I brewed an all citra IPA that was very tasty:

Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: White Labs WLP001 California Ale
Yeast Starter: Yep
Additional Yeast or Yeast Starter: None
Batch Size (Gallons): 5
Original Gravity: 1.068
Final Gravity: 1.017
IBU: 64.3
Boiling Time (Minutes): 60
Color: 11.87
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 10
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 7
Tasting Notes: See post

Recipe is formulated to 65% efficiency

ABV:
6.7%


Grains:
14.0 lb American 2-row
1.0 lb American Caramel 40°L
0.5 lb Cara-Pils® Malt

Hops/Schedule:
.5 oz Citra™ (12.0%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 m
1 oz Citra™ (12.0%) - added during boil, boiled 15.0 m
0.75 oz Citra™ (12.0%) - added during boil, boiled 10.0 m
.75 oz Citra™ (12.0%) - added during boil, boiled 5 m
1.5 oz Citra™ (12.0%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 m
2.5 oz Citra™ (12.0%) - added dry to secondary fermenter


The only thing I'd change is taking out the Cara-Pils. It just wasn't necessary in the long run, it made the beer a bit too sweet.

If you are doing Par-mash or extract, just swap out the 2-row with light LME. Just steep the caramel for like 30-60 minutes. I would not change the hop schedule if you want a Citra bomb (yum)

 

I recently made a DIPA with Citra and it turned out fantastic.

APA would be interesting, but certainly it would be purely Citra-dominated.

 

I made an all Citra Rye IPA about 3 months ago and it was fantastic -- best IPA I've brewed out of maybe 6 or 7 IPAs.I don't have my recipe with me, but it was a 1.065 beer with ~3.5 lb rye, ~.75 C40, and the rest 2 row. I used the Citra at 60 (~1.25oz), 15 min (1oz), flameout (2oz), and dry hop (2oz). Tons of big bright mango flavors. Really spectacular.

 

I did something very similar but I used 33% wheat in the grain bill. It was all extract, and I added about 50% of the extract with 20 minutes left in the boil. It was very nice. Making it again in a couple months with all grain for when the weather turns nice. I might even experiment with some different yeasts, like a saison or some brett.

 

Yes, go with the Rye! I want to see more brews with it.

 

That sounds wonderful. I wanted to do this a few months ago but not got a chance. Might try this soon. Citra hops are outstanding.

 

I made a Rye Pale a while back that I was quite pleased with. Don't have access to my recipe at the moment, but if you don't get other suggestions, feel free to message me.

 

You at least need to do a mini mash if you're using rye. It's not a steepable grain.

 

I just did a simple Citra wheat A/IPA (sort of right on the border, but I will go with hoppy APA)

10lbs 2-row
2lbs Wheat
.5 Melanoidin
.5 Crystal 40

1 oz Citra FWH
1 oz Citra 15 min
1 oz Citra 5 min
1 oz Citra 1 min
2 oz Citra Dryhop 11 days

Wyeast 1968 ESB yeast

I just drank the first bottle and it is really nice. I liked the slightly fruitier yeast to complement the Citra. Rye might serve a similar function to complement the single hop varietal.

 

Or Rye Extract (though the rye is limited to 20% of the 'grain bill')...

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/northern-brewer-rye-malt-syrup.html

 

you could also try hopping up a wit and making a white ipa. it's a pretty weird style but if you lean toward the aroma end of the hopping schedule rather than bittering it up a lot it's actually an interesting drink.

 

I don't think the carapils is a problem, personally I would have kept your C40 at 1/2 pound. The reason your beer is sweet is the 1.017 FG, IPA's should finish a bit drier. What temp did you mash at? I typically mash my IPA's at 148F.

 

Of course that Carapils contributed about 2-3 points to the FG...

 

How about an all citra pale weizenbock? Like a Hopfen-Weisse style beer.

 

This piques my interest. I think this may appeal to me in every way a beer can. Have you tried this? Are there any big brewers making this style?

 

i've had two. one's from wormtown in worcester, MA. not the best execution. the other was from blue point on LI. much better. nice hop bitterness and aroma but the sweeter wit flavors still dominate. it's a pretty new style so i have no idea where you'd find some (those two were draft-only batches that I got from the breweries themselves) but my roommates and I just did a batch of our own that we'll be bottling tomorrow so I'll let you know how that goes.