Citra, dry hopping

[raiderman]

This is a do it or don't do it dilema. Do it and I may screw up something wonderful, don't do it and I'll always wonder what if! I brewed a pale 25l, mainly MO, with a killo of wheat malt, a few hundred gram of shredded wheat and 200g carapils to give a little body and maltiness, fermenting with SO5 and simply because theres been no one around the house durring the day a coolish fermentation which should help aromas. I used 200g of citra, 100g at intervals durring the last 15m of the boil, then chucked some ice in to bring it down towards 80c and chucked another 100g in for a couple of hours. 3 days into the ferment it smells bloody marvelous, huge aroma of grapefrit citus and fruit salad.
I had been planning on adding another 50g citra at this point. I'm stll leanng in that direction, but it smells so good that I do worry about over doing it. I can't split the brew and do half and half because I only have 1 spare cornie. So has anyone done this before and can tell me whether I'm going to totally screw it or make it unbelievably good?

[gnutz2]

I've never dry hopped with citra but with over 200g of hops in there i dont think 50g dry hopped would be too over powering.

How many IBU's is the beer? (Just curious) Also are you bottling it? I would. Hoppy beer allways taste better bottled to me, they come across grassy in a keg.

[raiderman]

I like yu're thinking, what harm can it do! I'm starting to thnk about drying hopping in he cornie too! Projected IBU is 61. Its going in a cornie, simply because I don't have room for bottles. This one came out at 5 gallons so there'll be a few bottles to take up the slack. It'll make an interesting comparrison.

[Paddy Bubbles]

Do it!

I'm recently did a 15l batch of IPA that had around 200g of Cascade and Summit. One of the best beers I've done to date. Providing you keep an eye on the IBUs, I don't think you can overdo the hopping in an American pale/IPA. What's the ABV of your beer?

[Stoat on a rope]

This evening I'm filtering an American ipa that I put 50g citra dry hops in a wek and a half ago, quite happy to say its the best beer I've ever brewed. I was nervous too as it was such a good beer pre dry hopping. You won't go wrong with the dry hops.

[Stoat on a rope]

Sorry, that was 50g into 20ish litres.

[far9410]

as you have the option, it may be worth doing a 50/50 dry hop/ no dry hop purely for experiment, incidentally, what does shredded wheat give to a brew?

[jimp2003]

as you have the option, it may be worth doing a 50/50 dry hop/ no dry hop purely for experiment, incidentally, what does shredded wheat give to a brew?

I would go for a split batch experiment too. Rack the beer equally into two secondaries and dry hop one.

[raiderman]

as you have the option, it may be worth doing a 50/50 dry hop/ no dry hop purely for experiment, incidentally, what does shredded wheat give to a brew?

I'd go 50/50if I could but I've 1 free cornie so its one or tother! I think go big and be damned - I'll regret it if I don't

Shredded wheat gives a crisper wheat flavour to a pale beer, I'm anti adjuncts, but I've always liked shredded wheat in a brew!

[Jocky]

Go for it.

I doubt you're going to overdo it at this point, and even if you do find it too pungent, it'll fade over a few months of age/conditioning.

Out of interest, how are you intending to dry hop? Pellets/plugs/leaf in weighted bag/hop puree?

[raiderman]

The deed is done. The taste is amazing, like tropical fruit juice not beer! god knows what the dry hopping will do. I've hopped with whle hops, in a bag weighed down by a mug and with a ramekin balance on the surface to help keep the whole thing underwater. Heath Robinson couldn'tve done better - there must be an easier way!

[raiderman]

fianally got round to kegging this and I'm massively impressed, its already drinkable and its loosing that amazing tropical fruit juice taste and starting to taste like a very floral beer, I think it'll be fine when its conditioned

[raiderman]

Supping the first pint kegged a fortnight and cleared nicely. Awesome it smells like a newly opened bag of citra slight resin on the nose but a real grapefruit citrus aroma. The beer isn't too dry or too thin so thres no astringency and the flavour is suberb with quite low levels of residual bitterness which stops the slightly resinous taste being over powering I may drink a lot of this!