I don’t brew a lot of IPAs so this is uncommon territory for me.
I’m kegging a batch of IPA bittered with Simcoe and Centennial.
I was planning to dry hop with more Simcoe, but I also have Citra. And more Centennial. And Amarillo and who knows what else.
Just looking for opinions on a dry hop.
Simcoe and Citra in a 2:1, respectively, dry hop ratio work well.
Simcoe and Amarillo also pair very nicely. Don’t have my notebook handy for prior history. I think it was 1:1 ratio.
If you love cat piss, use Simcoe and Citra.
If you hate cat piss, use Centennial and Amarillo.
If you are indifferent to cat piss, then just pick one at random and see how you like it.
Cat piss from Simcoe? You need a better hop source! 
Sorry, I should be more specific: Bobcat piss.
I like all of those hop varieties. I am currently going to dry hop an IPA with Simcoe, Amarillo, and Citra. Centennial plays well with those also. So, it’s really up to you and I don’t think you can go wrong with any of those hops, but what do I know I might be sniffing too much bobcat piss[emoji16]
Dave, where do I get the sensory training kit to learn to distinguish bobcat piss from other cats’ piss?
Go to the zoo.
It’s also not far from meerkat piss.
I took a sensory evaluation of wine class at UC Davis many years ago and it made me appreciate the wide variation in how people taste and smell. This reinforces the need to do tasting panels when doing experiments.
I wonder if people have a 'love-it or hate-it" genetic predisposition to Citra or other hops. In the same manner that some despise cilantro (they detect a soapy taste) and others love it. Or how some people get stinky pee from eating asparagus and others do not.
I’ve long suspected that’s the case. I’m one of those averse to cilantro. There are also people (me included) who cannot detect bitterness in many cruciferous vegetables, while others find them intolerable. These seem to me to be two different phenomena: in one case we perceive a detected chemical differently, in the other some simply can’t detect it at the same threshold. In the case of these hops, Simcoe and Citra indeed have among the highest levels of 4MMP. But people’s perception of it seems to vary. Not their ability to detect it, but how they react to it, finding it pleasant or not. Study needed.
Thanks for all the opinions. I was leaning toward Citra, but am aware of the cat piss legends. Never experienced it, but that doesn’t mean its not real.
Tasting panel last night said it’s good as it, don’t mess. So I’m going to skip the dry hopping. Unless I change my mind.
First, my pee smells when I eat asparagus.
Second, you can’t go wrong. Those are all great hop varieties. I have brewed the same IPA 10X or more and just played with the hops. Each was different but awesome.
Warrior bittering 65-70 IBU
6oz whirlpool hops and 6 oz dry hops
I have used the following in equal amounts:
simcoe centennial citra =delicious
Simcoe centennial mosaic = delicious
Simcoe centennial amarrillo = delocious
Columbus centennial = danky AF but delicious
All different but delicious. Oh. And just used great western 2 row and munich.
I like the aromas of Simcoe, Citra, Mosaic and so on. My wife will turn her nose up and say cat pee smelling the same beer. It is genetic, Stan Hieronymus has talked about that.
The IPA, non-dry hopped, was a hit and the keg floated.
I’m planning to re-brew for our fall block party and may throw some dry hops at it that time.
Good to know. I don’t suppose you have a handy reference?
Outstanding!
I’ve been goofing with different flame out/whirlpool/hop stands and I can’t tell much difference.
Just ran across it in the book “For the Love of Hops” by Stan Herionymous. See pg 39 in the section “Why You Smell Tomahto and I Smell…”
On the next page is a quote from Keller at Rockefeller University, who says “Everybody’s olfactory world is a unique, private world.” That quote is referenced as coming from a Scientific American Article from 2011 titled “You Smell Flowers, I Smell Stale Urine”.
Thanks. I’ve got that book but didn’t remember that being in there. I’ll have a look!
It’s quite probable. I encountered the phenomenon early in life when my science teacher tested the class for PTC tasters.