So I ended up with about 10 oz of Falconers Flight hops blend recently. Now that I am looking at brewing with them I am learning that they are a blend of hops including Citra (along with Simcoe and Sirachi Ace and some experimental varieties).
Typically it doesn’t take much Citra before a beer taste “catty” to me. Can anybody whose brewed with them tell me if Citra is in a notable makeup? I’d rather give them to a friend that loves Citra then use a brew day towards something I’m probably not going to want to drink.
I am not a huge citra fan but have found them to work when blended well. The FF is definitely blended well. I think you will really enjoy the end product. It is a little fruity, however.
I just tapped a keg of IPA yesterday that uses FF for both FWH and dry hopping. I’m not a huge Citra fan, either, but I found the blend is perfectly balanced to give you that classic PNW hop flavor and aroma.
Interesting that you get grapefruit from Citra. To me they’re very “tropical”, like mango or passion fruit. Interesting how different people sense the same thing differently.
You are very right about our tasting the same things differently. I can see the mango/passion fruit quality. I’m still learning to calibrate my tasting skills. I pick up the citrus is in the aroma more than the taste. (While others apparently pick up cat urine–yuck)
Part of likes/dislikes is hormonal. When my (then) wife gave birth to our first child, her food likes/dislikes changed. Her hormones had changed due to pregnancy and that changed her tastes. And part of the difference may be aging. I just turned 60 and my taste buds aren’t what they used to be :-[. They need more intensity in flavor than they used to. That change has made it even more imperative that I not drink bland beer. For me, supposedly bitter IPAs taste sweet to me.
Interesting, FF is a blend? Is it a proprietary kind of thing or like a public domain recipe that folks use? I’ve never seen it locally and had just assumed it was a hybrid cultivar. Sounds delicious.
yeah, it’s a blend of (IIRC) Citra, Simcoe, Amarillo, Chinook, Cascade, and Centennial. I could be wrong about the exact blend but you get the idea. It was made and is marketed by Hop Union to honor Glen Falconer, a PNW commercial brewer and member of my club. He was the first guy who taught me to judge beer.
Here’s what MoreBeer says about Citra: “Citrus, apricot, and overall melon aromas.”
But, you’re right about what it is for you. We all perceive taste somewhat differently. I picked up a description from elsewhere attributing just about everything to Citra: floral, citrusy tropical fruit/lichi fruit aroma and flavor; and one of the key hops in Sierra Nevada Torpedo.
In order to end this whole ordeal, yins can send me the balance of the FF hops that you have. No sense in everyone arguing about them. I’ll brew with them and everyone can sleep easier at this point. I’ll pay for the shipping and all will be well.
No argument on the FF hops for me. You can’t have 'em, and I’m probably gonna order about 66 lbs here in a week or two assuming it is available.
Re: Citra. Last year I made a pale ale around 60 BUs with all citra and I really didn’t care for it at all. It was a beer I made annually and normally used all Amarillo with. The beer reminded me of that fruit flavored tea you find at some restaurants. Yuck! This was during the brewery build and I brought all 10 gallons down there and let the guys have at it. Most of them liked it very well, but not me.
Later I found that a light touch of citra blended with other hops turns out wonderful! I have a couple of pounds of it stored away and plan on using it lightly in a Saison later on this summer. I think the fruity “mango” character would go very well with the tart, spicy and fruity saison yeast.
Thanks for the replies. Think I’ll try 5 gal of a wheat pale and then see if I want to bother with an IPA. If it doesn’t turn out I have a friend that’ll gladly trade some beer.
It doesn’t take much citra before a beer reminds me of cat urine but I have noticed this character fades to a point that it doesn’t bother me.
One of my theories for why this has such a strong association for me has to do with an old friend with a cat that pissed everywhere and love for the dank. I think I might have developed some association between the two or at least the combination smell of his house.
Finally tried it last night in one of Nathan Smith’s IPAs. Seemed like a lot of the Simcoe was coming through. Tasty hop blend, though. It should make a really nice hoppy beer as long as you don’t muddle it up with too much crystal or darker malts.
