Father-in-law Munich SMaSH?
 

My father-in-law, an Iron City Light enthusiast :cross: commented on our last meeting that he had never tried any of my homebrew. Now he's taken a liking to Amber Bock which, while not great, is leaps and bounds more flavorful than IC Light. So I'm thinking about brewing something somewhat up his alley.

I'm looking at a Munich/Hallertauer SMaSH (two different types of Munich - I'm counting it as a SMaSH!), but most of the Munich SMaSHes on HBT involve a decoction mash, which I'm not really set up to do. Also can't really do lager, but our basement spare bedroom stays nice and cool, low- to mid-60's during the cold months. So:

5.5 gallons BIAB/No-Chill, 75% efficiency
(I calculated the hops for a traditional brew, not No-Chill)

6 lb Munich 10L
5 lb Munich 20L
1 oz Hallertauer (4.5% AA) 60 min
.75 oz Hallertauer (4.5% AA) 30 min
US-05 yeast

Mash: 152 for 90 min
Mash-out: 170 for 15 min
Boil: 60 min

Per BrewTarget
OG: 1.054
FG: 1.013
ABV: 5.2
IBU: 22.7
SRM: 14.7

Thoughts on the recipe? I was shooting for something close to a Munich Dunkel, but not necessarily. If this doesn't work I could do Yooper's Fizzy Yellow Beer, which I've had success with in the past.

Thanks in advance.

Personally, I'd move the second hop addition to a bit later in the boil to get some hop flavor and aroma. I know you don't want overboard hoppy, but maybe putting it at 5 minutes would give a little more character. Perhaps add .25 ounce to the bittering addition and do a half ounce at 5 minutes or so.

I'll second the move from 30 to 15.

Also, how are you not set up for a decoction? You don't have a spare pot in your kitchen? After your mash, scoop out 1/3 of the wort/grain, bring it to a boil, dump it back into the mash and begin your sparge.

I do full volume mash BIAB, so I can't really move my kettle off the heating rig, and my glass-top stove just isn't powerful enough to quickly boil a gallon or more of liquid. I've considered building/buying a heat stick to speed it up, but for now no luck.

I could see how a small flavor/aroma addition would be nice. Will take that into consideration. It's a little more difficult with no-chill though. For flavor I usually do FWH (calculated as a 30 min) or add the hops to my cube (calculated as a 20 min), and for aroma I usually dry hop. I am a big fan of cube hopping, so that might be the way to go.

Personally, I'd He-man the kettle down and decoct some melanoidins into my SMASH, but I get where you're coming from.

Two months later, thought I'd touch back on this one. Beer came out nice and malty. Considered calling this a Munich Dunkel (never mind the yeast), but I think it might have a bit too much hop flavor for the style. I'll also have to familiarize myself with the style a little more before I can make that decision.

Here was my final recipe:
5.5 gallons, Brew-In-A-Bag, No-Chill

11 lb Weyermann Munich 9L
1 oz Tettnang, 4.5%, pellet, 40 min (60 if chilling)
1 oz Tettnang, 4.5%, pellet, Cube hop (about 20 min if chilling)
US-05

Mash: 155 for 60 min
Mash-out: 170 for 15 min
Boil: 60 min
Ferment: 58-62 degrees F for three weeks

OG: 1.055
FG: 1.012
ABV: 5.7%
IBU: 23
SRM: mid-20s, BrewTarget calculates 11
Efficiency: 75%

Nice and malty, melanoidins stand out with a firm bitterness to balance. As the beer warms, toast and cocoa come out a little more. Earthy, spicy hop aroma is medium-low. Will find some commercial Dunkels, and maybe a bock and marzen for good measure, and re-assess classification.

Edit: forgot to add, clean and lager-like, medium-dry finish.

eulipion2, I am never happy with my cube hoping. It just seems underwhelming. Can you explain your process for that, and FWHing a little more? Or maybe some recipes that have a very nice, proven hop flavor/aroma from FWH or cube hopping?

For cube hopping I usually calculate it as a 30 minute addition. If it seems too low, calculate it as a 20 minute instead and adjust accordingly. For the rest of that, off-topic, answered in a PM.

:smack:

If your looking for fun, use only the 10L munich and toast some of it in your oven. Otherwise F the SMaSH, throw in a few ounces of Carafa III Special. And to go a step further, make that last hop addition at flame-out. Be sure the full boil addition gets you into the low 20 IBU's.

But that's just the thoughts of a drunk old man. :cross: