SMaSH Critque

I realize with a SMaSH there isn't much to critique but anyone want to provide their thoughts on the following recipe I'm going to brew up this afternoon?

Simcoe Pale Ale SMaSH
5.0 gal batch, 4.25 gal boil (60" boil).

10# Pale Ale Malt
0.5oz Simcoe (12.2AA) FWH
0.5oz Simcoe 30"
0.5oz Simcoe 20"
0.5oz Simcoe 10"
1.0oz Simcoe (11.8AA) - dry hop 7 days

Mash at 152 (or?) for 60".
Cool to <70F, pitch US-05, primary for 14 days, add dry hop to primary for another week.

I was originally concerned with the color (shooting kind of for an APA/IPA) and was going to toast some of the malt but decided to stick with the SMaSH idea and use the grain as is after trying the Ranger IPA from New Belgium yesterday which is quite light in color.

Estimated OG 1.054 (75% Eff), FG 1.014
IBU 54.5, so pretty balanced. I may adjust the late hop weights if I find my efficiency to be higher/lower than expected pre-boil.

Looking for a balanced beer with nice hoppiness (and a big simcoe aroma/flavor) without being overly harsh. This will be my first experiment with first wort hopping and dry hopping, but it seems like these methods should help me achieve what i'm looking for from the simcoe. Any thoughts or changes I should consider? Should I mash higher for more complexity/body?

Well I went ahead with the recipe as is. Missed my mash temp by 1º at 153. Pre boil efficiency came out at 74%. SG after top off to 5.3 gal was 1.053 (corrected). All in all pretty happy (except for pushing the limit of my equipment for doing a stove top AG with 10# even with a weak sparge).

If I remember I'll try to post back with my impressions as this beer evolves.

I brewed a Simcoe extract smash not too long ago. Came out great. Everyone loves this beer so far, even people that don't like hoppy beers.

I've been drinking a smash i did with Maris otter and amarillo. Wow I can really taste the MO. It's strangely tastes like a biscuit. Not sure if I really like it that much.

I'm not trying to knock your recipe, I'm just looking for clarification. You say OG of 1.054 and 54.5 IBU is pretty balanced, but I imagine that as being extremely bitter. I pull up the little IBU/SG graph from this page, and it's so far off to the right it extends past the 'very hoppy' dark green color. is there a new definition for balance?

Balanced for an IPA ..

lol, good answer. that DOES make sense, there should be 2 different charts.

Opteek pretty much hit the nail on the head. By balance I was shooting for an even 1:1 from OG to IBU. I also have read that the 'perceived' bitterness of the FWH addition will likely be more like a 20" hop addition, even though the calculated ibu's are higher. In the end, my palate will decide if its actually balanced. I've never done an IPA or APA, but love them both. Because of the simple grain bill from the SMaSH concept i'm thinking this will come across like a APA that got slapped by its IPA big brother.

Bottled last night. FG was 1.013 (unchanged from day 7 or day 14 checks). Dry hop/ferm schedule stayed as above (adding dry hop direct to primary for final 1/3 of fermentation). Looking forward to see how the beer clears in the bottle as the dry hopping seemed to cloud the beer quite a bit. I would probably add the hops into a hop bag next time around and possibly add a couple days of cold crashing before bottling. Primed with 4 oz dextrose to hit a carbonation level between an APA and IPA. (Tasting notes to come after a few weeks of conditioning).

Initial thoughts: I'm loving the flavor/aroma of the hydro samples. Crisp with good bitterness but not so much that it masks all of sweetness from the malt and a stong citrus/grapefruit component. Aroma is 'thick' with a balance between citrus and pine.