Happiness is a Cold Homebrew

I’ve brewed this beer a few times, but always as an extract recipe. With my recent transition to all-grain brewing, I’ve decided to revisit the recipe and make a few changes to the hop additions to account for better utilization and decrease the amount of IBU’s. However, I love the floral, fruity aroma of the relatively new Citra hop variety, and have therefore increased the amount of dry hopping in secondary fermentation. Here’s what I have so far for a recipe, which is my standard “base” IPA recipe I plan to use for all of my single-hop beers, and is calibrated for a 5.5 gallon batch. Feel free to add any input or suggestions!

CITRA IPA

GRIST (Mash at 148F for 60 min)
- 10.25 lbs American 2-row
- 0.6 lbs CaraPils
- 0.6 lbs Crystal 30L

HOPS
- 1.5 oz. Citra (60 min)
- 0.5 oz. Citra (30 min)
- 0.5 oz. Citra (15 min)
- 0.5 oz. Citra (5 min)
- 2 oz. Citra (dry hopping, 7 days)

SPECS
- Pre-boil gravity=1.047
- Post-boil gravity (OG)=1.057
- Final gravity=1.013
- Est. ABV=5.8% 
- Est. color=5.5L
- projected IBU’s=72 

FERMENTATION/BOTTLING
- 1 pkg Danstar Nottingham ale yeast pitched into a 1/2 quart starter
- 2-stage fermentation, in primary for 5-8 days at 68F or until FG hits 1.016-1.013
- Secondary fermentation with dry-hopping at 64F for 7 days
- Prime with 3/4 cup of dextrose

I typically like to use the DanStar Nottingham yeast for my IPA’s and pale ales because it produces a nice clean, neutral flavor and has good attenuation and flocculation. I should probably use the WLP001 American Ale yeast for this bear or the Wyeast 1056, but those are very expensive at my local homebrew store, and I don’t feel like it makes a significant difference in the overall character of my beer. However, I am open to suggestions to the contrary.

I also like to do a 1/2 quart to 1 quart starter for all of my medium-gravity beers to ensure a larger, healthier yeast culture. I do this my mixing 1/2 cup extra light DME with 1 pint of boiled, cooled water in a sanitized glass jug fitted with a bung and airlock a couple days ahead of time. Typically, I will pour off the fermented beer on the top and pitch only the creamy layer of yeast on the bottle of the bottle.

So that’s my Citra IPA recipe! I love this hop and I love this beer, but this will be my first time creating an all-grain version of it. If you’d like the extract recipe, send me a message and I’ll be happy to provide it. The only difference is that I use Light LME and more hops to account for the smaller wort boil. Also, it tends to be a bit dark due to the extract, whereas this beer should turn out much lighter. I may end up increasing the amount of Crystal, but am undecided at the moment.