SMaSH Question - Ordinary Bitter

I recently made the jump to all grain, but decided I need to take a slight step back and try to understand my flavor cominations better. I really like English Ordinary Bitters (and British beer in general) and thought I would start there. I've got (2) 3 gallon carboys, so I was thinking about making 2 different SMaSH batches using Maris Otter as the base and varying the hops. I've got Challenge and Fuggles on hand so was going to do one of each. Recipie below
66% Efficeincy
4.5# Maris Otter
Mash with 1.25qt/lb at 154F H20 for 60 min
Sparge to collect 3.5 gallons
Hop Additions
1/2oz Challenger 6.7%AA 60min
1/4oz Challenger 6.7%AA 30min
1/8oz Challenger 6.7%AA 15 min
1/8oz Challenger 6.7%AA flameout
This gets me to and estimated OG of 1.041 and IBUs at 35 This is at the top end of the style.

If I do a second SMaSH (Same volume and grain bill) with Fuggles at 4.3%AA according to the same schedule I get about 22IBU (3 points below style range.

My question, for research and learning purposes, is should I up the Fuggles ammount to match the IBU's on the Challenger SMaSH, or keep the same ammounts and learn about the diferent bittering qualities; i.e. What should be the control, IBU or Hop ammount?

I would get the IBU to match up with the 60 minute addition and then keep the other additions the same. I think that would give you the best comparison in flavour and aroma.

Oh and you'll LOVE the maris otter/fuggles SMaSH. I've made it a few times now, it doesn't last too long.

So should I up the fuggles ammount at the 60 mark to match the IBU of the Challenger batch keeping the rest of the ammounts and times the same?

That's what I would do, I think it would give you the most direct comparison.

does 35 seem like the right ammount of IBUs. Its at the top end of the range for that style (according to the BJCP guidelines)

Dunno. How hoppy do you like your beers?

I did a SMaSH brew with Challenger hops and Marris Otter but fermented it with Wyeast 2124 Bohemian Lager yeast, so it was kind of a cross between a bitter and a standard American lager. Nice beer. My IBUs were in the low 20s, as I recall, which was a little weak. Somewhere in the high 20s or low 30s with good flavor and aroma additions would probably give you the most direct comparison.

Chad

As Chad said it depends on how you like it. My own ordinary bitter is sitting at 30IBU and 1.040 OG and it's just the perfect balance for my own tastes.

I got of work early today and deciede to do it this weekend instead of next. Just finished brewing. They're both sitting at 1.038OG and 30IBU's. I splurged and bought 2 smackpacks of Wyeast London III and pitched one into each 2.75gal batch(I figured the extra $7 was worth the time to make a starter). I can't wait to sample the finished products.

Let us know how they turned out! I'm curious how the challenger turns out.

I'm also curios about the challenger. I just had a Ridgeway Bitter and from their description it looked like a Chall/MO SMaSH, but I'm sure there was some other specialties in there. It was good so that gave me the idea.

Coniston Bluebird is another Challenger-only beer. I made a clone of it that was mostly MO, with a little crystal in there. It turned out great, and on the basis of that beer, I planted a couple of Challenger rhizomes in my back yard. I bet your beer will turn out great.

[EDIT:] I'm impressed you can get hold of Ridgeway Bitter in Illinois - nowhere around here sells it. Looking on Ratebeer, the description says "Each year we choose our hops not just by farm but by individual garden and time of harvest. One older variety, Challenger, and one new, Boadicea, used as unprocessed whole leaf hops. Extravagant, perhaps, but delicious." WTF is Boadicea? Anyone ever heard of it?

I had Bluebird and Ridgeway on the same night. I guess being in the Chicago area is lucky for me because we have 2 great places for beer variety, Sam's and Binny's. I forgot about the Bodaciea in the Ridgeway. I read that it is a strain specifically bred to be naturally insect resistant.

Looks like you've got it all under control, just lurking here, always happy to see SMaSH experiments

I gotta get around to doing that 2-row/Pacific Gem.

Sounds like you have two half-batches of VERY tasty beer in your near future. Hope both come out well!

Wow, I really feel like a newb today - all the time I have spent reading this forum and I still had to look up SMaSH - the bitter with the fuggles sounds great. I might have to do that myself. I was just thinking about ordering a bitter kit, but hmmmm..

UPDATE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good News:
One of the two batches is really good.
They both ended up about 3.7% ABV. The Challenger/MO SMaSH is light, crisp and very drinkable with a nice head and good lacing. The photo is after only 4 days in the fridge after carbing so I expect it to clear more as the fridge does its thing. It is shaping up to be a great session beer, too bad I only netted (15) pint swing tops from each batch.




Bad News:
The Fuggles/MO Smash was infected.
I suspected it when I noticed tiny bubbles/clusters about 1/16" 1/8" in dia on the surface. I tought it might be CO2 bubbles but they did not go away when when I swirled the carboy. My sample tasted slightly sour but not too terrible. I suspected it when.........



My very first bottle bomb, and it just had to break a "paid for" swing top. Like I said I netted 15 bottles of 16oz swingtops from each batch so my samplers were in a different case. I should have been wary when I noticed the fuggles had a louder *pop* when I opened it. When I tried to move the full 12 bottle cases into the fridge I noticed my casualty to add insult to injury, I stacked the fuggles batch on top of the challenger batch so you'll notice the deformed cardboard which is now on 2 cases. I gingerly moved the rest of the infected case to the beer fridge hopefully the cool will help. I plan on degassing tomorrow. The next question is dump it, or let it cool for a while....

It's Fuggles, I don't know if I *could* dump it. I say drink it quick.

And yes sir, that Challenger looks delicious as hell.

I killed 2 of the fuggles last night for my tasting experiment and one broke. I'll probably try to drink the other 12 over the course of the next week. It really isn't that bad it kind of tastes like a watery/light bodied farmhouse style ale.

Mmmmm Farmhouse Fuggles! You're giving me ideas!

Why do I love wet-dog-in-a-phone-booth so much?