CS11 - Demo Brews - Snap, Crackle & Pop

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Permalink Reply by Tilt on July 13, 2014 at 10:27pm

This beer smelt luscious from first crack of the seal. I got a gusher unfortunately (which looks like it stirred up the yeast ) so I let it calm down in the sink for a bit.
Poured into the glass it didn't get much foam, colour was dusty straw.
Flavour wise the malt was pretty light, and the distinctive citra fruit took centre stage.
Mouthfeel was thin - consistent with the FG, but no off flavours which might point the finger at infection producing the high carb. What temp did you mash at? It'd be good to know more about your process.
Thanks for sharing Duncan, I haven't had citra hopped beer for a while, you've inspired the hop bill for my next Pale Ale. Cheers!

Permalink Reply by Duncan Emo on July 14, 2014 at 5:33pm

Hey Tilt - Thanks for the comments - no gushers here down in Wellys (maybe those courier post people gave it a good shake).

I mashed at 67'C for 65 mins - it did drop away in temp by the end of the mash. I don't check ph's or anything like that - keen to explore additives or adjusting ph but just getting my BIAB process sorted...Cheers for the feedback!

Permalink Reply by Tilt on July 15, 2014 at 9:41pm

No worries Duncan.  How much do you reckon your temp dropped away? - just wondering if thats the source of your low end final gravity.  The sugar would have reduced the FG and mouthfeel too. 

Re water adjustments -  the more I read on BIAB beers the more I understand that with a high liquor to grist ratio (as with BIAB) theres more water to buffer pH reducing effects of the mash.  As a result it seems that using a bit of acid malt (particularly if your malt was Gladdies) and/or Calcium Sulphate could be even more important for clarity than with conventional mash ratios.  Check out BIABrewer for more info.

Permalink Reply by Michael_H on July 15, 2014 at 5:29pm

I got a gusher as well.

Appearance: cloudy, good head, can't tell too much about the colour but I'm guessing straw when it clears.

Smell: love citra! Can smell it across the room. 

Taste. Bitterness balanced by the malty ness. Love the hops. Great late additions. Not a completely clean finish, but see later as to why. 

Overall. I opened this then left it in the bench. When I came back it had frothed over. So perhaps the yeast sediment had been disturbed which would account for the off taste and cloudiness. 

Permalink Reply by Peter Smith on July 18, 2014 at 6:04pm

Bottle poured well, no gusher here.    No food match as I am still cooking roast beef and veges, so its a cooks beer.

Lovey golden colour, slight chill haze, I served this pretty cold.  A great level of carbonation, tiny bubbles rising in my IPA glass.  

Maybe i am coming down with a cold, the aroma is citra but its very distant for me.  Smells good tho like beer should. 

One sip and I'm hocked, what a great pale ale.   Light malt with a decent bitterness that lasts well till the end.  Quite light mouthfeel. but that doesn't distract for me at all in this style.   Another easy drinking beer that you could easily give to a non home-brewer.   I would be proud to serve a keg of this at my annual xmas shebeen party / brai.

I am definitely going to investigate pilsner malt in my next pale ale, whoose pilsner malt did you use?

Also why the dme and brown sugar at the end?

Permalink Reply by Duncan Emo on July 19, 2014 at 9:44am

Hey Pete - thanks for the great feedback. I used Gladfields Pilsner Malt - try and keep it NZ on the grains. The reason I used DME and Brown Sugar is I've transitioned from kit/partial mash to BIAB and I've been recreating recipes I did as Extract/Grains - the original recipe had brown sugar/DME - so used that. I've been convinced recently to let go of the additions of sugar etc to kick up the ABV and trust my abilities. Just put down a similar beer with Amarillo/Citra without the addition of sugar/dme.

Permalink Reply by Duncan Emo on July 19, 2014 at 9:44am

Cheers Ian.

Permalink Reply by G S on July 18, 2014 at 9:32pm

Wow. Lovely beer..
A few at vultures before getting Home but this still hit the spot on aroma and taste.
No gusher here, smelt great right from the begin, not crystal clear but ?
Solid head, lasted as long as it needed to! As Peter sad, smelt like a beer should.
Not that heavy on the malt/body a subtle 6+ %er and very pleasant for it. Spot on.

A good beer with citra is a great beer...
Thank you

Permalink Reply by Duncan Emo on July 19, 2014 at 9:45am

Cheers GS!

Permalink Reply by Richard Jack on July 19, 2014 at 8:10pm

Poured off into a couple of large wine glasses, and the aroma jumped out. Looking forward to this!

Ap- slightly hazy gold, thin persistent head and lovely lacing.

Ar- Citra Citra Citra. Love it. Lime zest and passionfruit.

Flav- The hops are definitely front and center, not a lot of contribution from the grain bill here but nice medium body, and a lingering finish that has me coming back for more. Pleasant bittering level.

Well brewed, thanks mate.

Permalink Reply by Duncan Emo on July 20, 2014 at 10:43am

Thanks Richard

Permalink Reply by Crusader-Rob on July 30, 2014 at 7:23pm

Beer #2 for wednesday night:

Appearance: Nice clear golden colour. Slight haze, very minimal. head clings tothe glass as i drink it.

Aroma: Nice aroma, typical Citra. I've done an IPA with 100% of it. Knowthe smell well.

Flavour: Lovely Light taste, Refreshing flavour citra flavour is there and not a kick in the face like other beers of this strength. I like it,

Mouthfeel: Light, very light in fact. I really am enjoyingthis, its like a good Blonde ale, with a little extra hop to it, not bitterness just flavour and aroma. Thin would probably be the word people say, but its good, I feel I should've had this before the other one.

Overall: Great citra focused beer without being too big and bold. to me it doesn't fit a style, although people would call it a Citra Pale ale. I'd say it's a strong Blonde ale with extra hop kick. 

great beer mate, cheers.

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