SMaSH: Use Bittering Hops?

If the point of a SMaSH is to isolate flavors, why use a bittering addition with your hop of choice? I'm thinking FWH, 5, and 0 min addiitons.

In other words, is there something about boiling a hop for 60 min that can teach me about its flavor?

I sure think so. I don't need to SMaSH to learn what a variety of hops will add in the aroma department. I can smell it fresh. To me it smells pretty much the same in the beer and out. I could recognize aroma hops in beers before I ever did any SMaSH beers. I feel like I'm getting different types of bitterness from different hops. I do SMaSH's more for the bittering component than for the aroma.

where do you plan on using the hop in the future? for its floral, flavor or bittering attributes? personally I like the 60, 30, 1 additions, equal weight amounts so i get ~15 IBU ~7 IBU and ~2 IBU respectively. I recently made a super taste Simcoe/Vienna with that. They tend to be blondish beers, so I tend to shoot for blonde guidelines. Whats you malt?

its a SMaSH...no guidelines, so control the variables you are interested in

I guess the real question is: are you interested in bittering with that hop in the future?

I think the subtle hop flavor that you get from low aa bittering hops cant hold up against just about any additions in the last 20 min.

Check out this article on late hopping if you have not already done so. the recipe at the end is freakin' delicious.

philrose said:

I guess the real question is: are you interested in bittering with that hop in the future?

I think the subtle hop flavor that you get from low aa bittering hops cant hold up against just about any additions in the last 20 min.

Check out this article on late hopping if you have not already done so. the recipe at the end is freakin' delicious.

Click to expand...

wow, that recipe does look pretty good. I would imagine it might come out tasting like DFH Indian Brown Ale.

In response to the question, I'm looking at a chinook/maris otter SMaSH, and a separate batch of Magnum/Light Munich SMaSH. Both hops are high alpha acid, but honestly, I've seen so many traditionally "bittering" hops used for flavor and aroma, I don't know what to think anymore.

I ask my original question because I'm worried that a "general hop bitterness" might overpower the distinctive hop flavor I want to isolate and analyze in my SMaSH recipes.

its not completely "general hop bitterness," as each hop, even boiled 60min, will have a different taste. It won't be as prominent as a 20min or less addition, but it's there.

There are no laws stating a high alpha hop is only good for bittering, nor is there one stating low alpha is only for aroma.

Beezer94 said:

its not completely "general hop bitterness," as each hop, even boiled 60min, will have a different taste. It won't be as prominent as a 20min or less addition, but it's there.

There are no laws stating a high alpha hop is only good for bittering, nor is there one stating low alpha is only for aroma.

Click to expand...

Bitterness doesn't really mask hop flavor- they're different sensations. I mauntain the hop flavor from a 60 min addition will be masked by a late additions flavor. I think most people can agree to that.

alcibiades said:

In other words, is there something about boiling a hop for 60 min that can teach me about its flavor?

Click to expand...

A fwh will be boiled for 60 minutes, it will just provide a "smoother" more rounded bittering.