American Pale Wheat Take IV - Tasting Notes

This is a recipe I've brewed 4 times now (2 in the last couple months since kegging).  It features a high percentage of Wheat and Citra Hops.  I very much enjoy the bold citrus flavors imparted by this hop.

For this batch I've gone with 8 oz of dry hop (this includes 2 oz of Amarillo) which is the most for these beers so far.  I split the hops in 2 batches:  One half at the end of fermentation (3 days) and the other half after 7 days.  On my previous batches I'd added half the hops to the serving keg.  I decided that might be causing some harsh bitterness/grassy flavor after my last hoppy beer so I opted for this new approach.

This beer has been in the keg for 3 weeks now and the hop flavor is holding up great.  I think this dry approach is very good and will use it next time.  Another potential difference from previous batches was that for this beer I purchased a small CO2 tank which I used to apply 2 PSI of gas during the dry hop and cold crash - this may have offered some extra protection from O2 that could have helped the beer - I'll also continue this approach

I can't say if this is really any better or worse than any of my previous batches or how the hop flavor compares.  I think the most I can say is if it's a good beer or not - which it is.

Tasting Notes:

• Aroma:
• Strong hop aroma dominates - is a citrus fruit (orange and grapefruit) and, a little fainter, piney character.  Has a bit of a sweet candy kind of character to it as well - also kind of reminds of overripe fruit.  Can't really pick out anything I'd call malt or yeast contribution here
• Appearance:
• Pours with a 1 finger head that fades down to a thin ring after several minutes - leaves lacing.  The beer is very clear and is a golden color
• Flavor:
• Sweet up front with a bold fruity hop flavor - citrus like the nose.  This lingers into the finish where it is balanced by a bit of bready malt character.  It has a medium level of bitterness that is then overwhelmed on the swallow by continuing hop flavor on the palate.  The flavor profile is overwhelmingly towards the hops in this beer but there is so much hop flavor that the bitterness is balanced by it  There is also a sort of vanilla like character in the mix in the finish
• Mouthfeel:
• Medium light bodied and pretty dry on the palate.  Smooth drinking without any hash bitterness
• Overall:
• Nice bold hop aroma and flavor to this beer with a good amount of complexity in the hop character.  I really like drinking this beer - the bitterness and dryness of it really call for me take another sip and to pour another pint.  Also a really easy drinking beer at 4.6% ABV.  I am pleased that the hop character has remained very strong after 3 weeks in the keg