Results of my Cascade SMaSH experiment.
The recipe:
2.5 gallon batch
4 lbs grain (pilsner or 2 row)
.5 oz cascade (5.4aa) at 60 min
.5 oz cascade (5.4aa) at 5 min
BIAB 2 step (1.5 gallon mash @ 151 for 60 min in pot #1, transfer bag to 3 gallon sparge/mashout @ 168 for 10 min in pot #2, combine runnings for 4.5 pre-boil volume)
90 minute boil (for both batches)
1 pack Notty in each batch
The details:
Pilsner batch OG: 1.045
Pilsner batch FG: 1.009
2Row batch OG: 1.041
2Row batch FG: 1.007
My findings:
- Neither had a very good head thickness or retention (being a SMaSH I didn't add my usual dose of wheat)
- The Pilsner had a bit more ppg as evidenced by the OG's
- Color and clarity after 3 weeks in the bottle were identical
- The Pilsner has a bit of a toffee/maple smell to it, while the 2Row has a very clean smell
- The Pilsner tastes a tiny bit bready while the 2row is a bit more grainy
- The hops have a stronger presence in the 2row (although neither was very hoppy)
My conclusion:
The above finding notes were only perceptible when doing a side-by-side taste comparison. If I had drank one and then opened and followed it with the other, I would be hard pressed to tell if they were two different beers or not. So, either my palate sucks or these two malts that I used were very close to taste in the final product. I mention this because both malts were CMC (Canadian Malting Company) products. Perhaps German or Bavarian Pilsner would yield a much more definitive taste difference.
Anyway, it was a fun experiment (anytime an "experiment" involves making beer it's OK by me) and there are many more to go: 2row vs Vienna, Munich, MO, etc.
Pic below, Pilsner on the left: