Recommendations on 5x1gallon dry-hopped APA learning experiment

I've decided I've got some learning to do so I picked up 5x 1 gallon bottles with complimentary airlocks and stoppers.

One idea I have is to make a basic American Pale Ale, do the primary fermentation in a 6 gallon carboy, then rack to my 1 gallon bottles and dry-hop with 5 different hops to learn about each hop on its own, then mix and match to find combinations I enjoy. I figure the bittering hop should be fairly neutral, as the hop flavor should come from the dry-hopping.

Here's the recipe I was thinking:

5.5lbs Light Extract (dry)
2lbs Caramel Malt 40L
0.6oz Cluster Hops (60min)
S05 yeast

Dry hop in secondary (1 gallon/0.25oz) with:
- Amarillo
- Cascade
- Nugget
- Simcoe or Warrior
- Williamette or Fuggle

OG: 1.050
FG: 1.013
Color: 13.5
IBU: 13.0
ABV: 4.8%

Any suggestions/comments?

its more work, but I'd look into SMASH (single malt and single hop) brewing instead if you want to learn about the hops. single malt is ideal, but same extract/grain bill and just varying the hop will create similar results. dry hopping gives a different effect than boil additions of the same hops, and IMO im not sure you'll get much more learning from dry hopping than you would by just rubbing some up in your hands and taking a big whiff.

dcp27 said:

its more work, but I'd look into SMASH (single malt and single hop) brewing instead if you want to learn about the hops. single malt is ideal, but same extract/grain bill and just varying the hop will create similar results. dry hopping gives a different effect than boil additions of the same hops, and IMO im not sure you'll get much more learning from dry hopping than you would by just rubbing some up in your hands and taking a big whiff.

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Hm... I was hoping to catch enough character of each hop through dry hopping.

I thought about SMASH but I wouldn't want to do full batches of each, and it seems silly to do 1 gallon batches. I could do two at a time quite easily so I guess it wouldn't be too difficult, but if what you're saying is true, I suppose it's the only way.

I guess I'd have to grab a bit of blowoff tubing from the hardware store for my stoppers and wind up with about .85 gallons for each batch for enough head space.

you'll certainly get a decent amount of character with the dry hopping, but those characteristics aren't the same as what would happen in a late boil add or even aroma-steep add. the most prevalent effect from a dry hop is the aroma, which certainly lends something to the perceived flavor, but IMO how a dry hop will effect your brew can essentially be guessed by smelling the hops. you'll certainly learn something from doing the initial plan, but I'm not sure its as much as you want to.