I’ve brewed this recipe a few times now and it has always turned out good. However the first time I brewed it, it had a really nice apricot/peach aroma to it. I’ve never been able to re-capture that smell/taste, following the recipe exactly. Any help as to which hop might be contributing that flavor would be greatly appreciated. This is my first original IPA, so there’s quite a smattering of different types of hops!
Kyptonite IPA
13# 2-row
1# C-40
.5 # Caravienne
.5 # Carapils
Mashed at 147 for 75 minutes
Batch Sparge…
Boiled for 75 mins
1.5 oz Chinook 60 min
1 oz Galena 60
1 oz Chinook 30
1 oz Warrior 30
1 oz Simcoe 10
1 oz Citra 10
Fermented at app 68 degrees for a week then added:
1 oz Amarillo
1 oz Crystal dry hopped with both of these for a week, cold crashed for one day, then kegged @ 12 psi. Served one week after kegging.
OG 1.070
FG 1.013
I would really love to recapture that taste. I’ve had a lot of commercial IPA’s and never tasted it before. Help!! ???
I’ve always heard Simcoe was THE ‘piney’ hop - not having brewed with it, I was going to get a pound and try a few batches. So is it peach or pine in others experiences?
I used Fermentis US-05 in all three batches. And it didn’t ferment too high. If it did, this was definitely an on-flavor!! ;D Also, I brewed an all Maris Otter, Simcoe recently and no peach or apricot. It was all dank/spicy/peppery, but quite tasty.
the ones i used were fresh or well stored. i’m not sure about other peoples.
i had first read some threads about citra resembling it, but i never got it. this was over a year ago. since then i have googled it and found plenty of references for citra and simcoe.
I recently brewed a double IPA using Simcoe (along with other hops) at flameout. When I opened the bag of Simcoe hop pellets there was a noticeable apricot/peach aroma. When fermentation was complete there was a noticeable apricot/peach aroma to the beer. Based on this I would say the apricot/peach aroma is from the Simcoe hops. Just my $0.02
US-05 can give a slight peach character - but Citra is probably the culprit here. It has a distinct “artificial-like” mango/peach flavor. To me it tastes like artificial-mango flavoring in fruit tea. I’ll admit, I’m not a big fan. Simcoe has more pine than citrus, but it can have “some” fruity character as well. But Citra is absurdly peachy/mangoy.
Also, Crystal has a distinct lemon character to it. So the character you are getting is probably a combination of more than one hop. But if your really want mango/peach Citra is your key.
I like both citra and simcoe. I’ve made a very good IPA using those hops (along with cascade and summit). Yes, it was very fruity, and the aroma and flavor profile did change over time (less peach/apricot within weeks).
It is hard to find good info about various hop profiles. Wiki is weak in this regard. You might find this site helpful–it does a good job listing various flavors and aromas you may encounter. I find lists like these helpful when creating recipes or trying out a beer that uses a hop I haven’t encountered before. http://roguebrewers.com/Hop_Profiles.html. It states the following:
CITRA 10-11% All Purpose
Very fruity Citrus, peach, apricot, passion fruit, grapefruit, lime, melon, gooseberry, lychee fruit, pineapple, mango, papaya and other tropical fruit flavors and aromas. A very new high alpha Hallertauer Mittelfrüh, Tettnanger, EKG hybrid with distinctive citrus aroma.
Use For: Pale ales, IPA
Substitutes: Simcoe ,and other fruity citrusy “C” hops
SIMCOE - 12-14% - Bittering - Flavor
Aromas of passionfruit, apricot, Intense pine and woodsy aroma adds to the fresh, youthful vigor of this complex hop. Dual purpose but generally considered a bittering hop.
Used For: American Ales, IPAs, Double IPAs
Subs: Amarillo Cascade Centennial (a blend of these might come closer)
Yeah, Amarillo does have some peach as well (more than Simcoe IMO) - but Citra is a peach/mango explosion. I tried an all Citra pale ale once and I found it undrinkable. But others actually enjoyed it. Me thinks they were nutz.
