The Big Fat SMaSH experiment

[Redwulf]

A few weeks ago I got dragged out to get some teaching resources by the wife on the other side of Leeds and came back via the homebrew shop in Morley where I stocked up on supplies in the way of 25kg Maris Otter, and a selection of hop pellets namely citra, centennial, chinook, galaxy and simcoe along with a few packets of yeast.

My original plan was to do a couple of DIY dog recipes but I've got a couple of big complex beers ready for the silly season, so I am thinking that there might be real benefit in knocking out 3-4 batches of sessionable SMaSH and getting an idea of what each hop can bring to a beer in terms of bitterness, flavour and aroma.

I'm thinking 10 litre batches using 2-2.5kg of MO and 50g of hops per batch.

Would I be right in thinking that the hop schedule should be something like

60min - 5g Bittering Addition
15min -10g Flavouring Addition
0 mins -10g Aroma Addition
Followed by a 25g Dry Hop towards the end of fermentation.

If there any thing else I need to consider when trying showcase the hops in this way?

 

[chopps]

One of my regular brews is a Maris Otter + Citra smash.
Citra's a bit harsh for a long boil so it goes in quite late - but this recipe I really like.

100% Maris Otter to OG 1.059
Citra 15 IBU at 20 mins
Citra 15 IBU at 10 mins
Citra 15 IBU at 5 mins
Hopstand 80C for 30 mins (I use 25g in 29L)
Dry Hop 25g
US-05 @ 18C for a few days then 20C until you're done.

 

[NPi]

Your hop schedule should relate to the AA% of your hops and the intended IBU (bitterness). It may be best to plug your recipe into an app or online calculator, this will tell you your expected IBUs. The bitterness of your beer will vary by the quantity, type, even region of your hops.

If you are looking to mirror a particular recipe, ensure your quantities and timings are adjusted.

 

[buddsy]

Hi @Redwulf how did your SMASH turn out?

I have some Crisp No.19 floor MO extra pale and was considering making SMASH with it.

I have 100g each of Citra, Simcoe and Chinook hops. I do like hoppy beers and I think I know how Citra tastes in a beer so was thinking of trying Simcoe or Chinook.

Ive considered going slightly off SMASH topic and using Chinook for bittering and Simcoe for the aromas.

Im also thinking about doing it full volume mash.

Yeast will be Mangrove Jacks M44 US West Coast Yeast

Any thoughts would be welcomed.

buddsy

 

[Redwulf]

So far I've done a Citra smash which was really good, I kept the citra bittering really low about 5g @ 60 mins for an 11 litre batch. But the star of the show so far has been the Galaxy which used about 50g for 11 litres and was really good. Subtly tart and blackcurranty with a lovely tropical aroma.

I have a chinook, centennial, ekg, styrian, simcoe and challenger on the list do. I am steadfastly sticking to the 5g-10g-10g-25g to understand each hop a little better rather than create a "good" beer.

Sadly the project has gone off the rails over Christmas and I've brewed up a hoppy dead pony-esque session ipa and I've got some more standard beers to brew once My Grainfather arrives on Thursday but once I've built up a supply of drinkable beer again I'll get back into experimental mode.

 

[chopps]

Or to reverse your previous go, bittering with galaxy, then citra later will get you a decent Kona Big Wave clone.
I do 5g Galaxy at 60, then 8g Citra at 15,5 and 0 mins in a 29.5L boil. Grist 93% pale ale, 4% Honey Malt, 3% Caramalt.

 

[Redwulf]

Or to reverse your previous go, bittering with galaxy, then citra later will get you a decent Kona Big Wave clone.
I do 5g Galaxy at 60, then 8g Citra at 15,5 and 0 mins in a 29.5L boil. Grist 93% pale ale, 4% Honey Malt, 3% Caramalt.

Quite like the look of that, I'll add it to my list.

 

[chopps]

If you look up the Clawhammer Big Clona video on youtube, thats where I found it

 

[Crappyfish]

I've done a couple of SMaSH beers and they have been great to learn about hop characteristics.