SMaSH Swap?

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PintOfBitter

PintOfBitter

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I'd love to brew a series of SMaSH brews to gain a better palate for specific ingredients (especially hops, which I really have no discernment for), but I really don't have the time or motivation to brew a bunch of 'boring' batches for tastings' sake. Is anyone else interested in participating in a SMaSH swap? Probably open to AG brewers who have their process figured out well enough to eliminate off flavors.

What do you think? Any interest? Shipping would be a bit of an obstacle, but could be worth it.
 
I'd be somewhat interested, as I feel the same way you do about SMaSH - but here are a couple concerns:

How many 2-row + cascade beers would you want? :D

I'd be fearful that my "opinion" of a SMaSH could be biased if I got a beer from a "bad" brewer or a "bad batch.

Regardless, I'd probably participate.
 
It sounds interesting, but you could run out of combos quickly as most people have similiar styles of hops in bulk. On the bright side hops are cheap right now from Hopsdirect. It might work best if someone made up a list beforehand, then marked off each style after it was chosen by maybe 1 or 2 brewers. It sounds fun but could be tough to coordinate.
 
Yeah we'd coordinate the brewing so that we don't get a bunch of the same beers.

Let's say for example, my brew will be a Maris Otter and EKG. I'll specify how many bottles/sixers I'm willing to ship. Anyone else who wants MO and EKG for tasting will sign up for it, and either negotiate a trade or PayPal me the shipping cost. It might also be good to work out a standard shipping method for our "yeast samples."

Shipping is the part I'm most concerned about.
 
I'm in. I've been wanting to do a Vienna/Hallertau for a while. Can one do a SMaSH with Munich Malt?

Edit: Looks like Beersmith is recommending a max of 80% in a batch. Beersmith also recommends a max of 90% Vienna in a batch. I suppose you would just be sacrificing efficiency though, so it could work.
 
uwjester said:
Looks like Beersmith is recommending a max of 80% in a batch. Beersmith also recommends a max of 90% Vienna in a batch. I suppose you would just be sacrificing efficiency though, so it could work.
Click to expand...
I've done Vienna/Vanguard and Munich/Tett. Both were good, but the Munich/Tett combination was excellent!





Edit:
Stole the idea from mmb. :cross:
 
I sampled AnOldUR's Munich/Tett SMaSH. Very, very tasty!

My favorite has been a Maris Otter/Willamette to an Ordinary Bitter standard.. but I love British Bitters...
 
Friday I'm bottling my 'Wet & Wild SMaSH'd Blonde'. I picked 15 oz. of wild hops, and added them to 8lbs of two-row. No idea if it'll be worth a damn, but I'd be willing to send some out.
 
I've had a Golden Promise/Brambling Cross on my list for ages. Kind of going for a UK theme on this one. If we get this going, I'm up for a swap.
 
No, if you had the correct number of participants everyone should have tomake the large shpment towards the end. I think it is a pretty neat idea.
The only issue might be the people who had to make the large shipments a further distance would have a higher shipping cost.
 
Zen_Brew said:
No, if you had the correct number of participants everyone should have tomake the large shpment towards the end.
Click to expand...
In the example with a six member swap you'd ship:

1st package = three bottles
2nd package = four bottles
3rd package = two bottles

This only give you one of each of the other brews, but you could just double up if you wanted a swap where you get two of each sample.





Zen_Brew said:
The only issue might be the people who had to make the large shipments a further distance would have a higher shipping cost.
Click to expand...
But this is true in any swap. If you're the only east cost member in a swap with mostly west coast brewers, be prepared to pay.
 
I see - you're right, it would work fine. As long as nobody in the group is a deadbeat who fails a shipment, everything should be good.

Side note, my business laid off today, and I am so new that I feel like I may be on the chopping block next if there's another round. I may actually need to opt out of this for financial reasons...
 
PintOfBitter said:
Side note, my business laid off today, and I am so new that I feel like I may be on the chopping block next if there's another round. I may actually need to opt out of this for financial reasons...
Click to expand...

Ouch. Nice job ducking the axeman. Stay nimble.
 
I've been thinking about doing a SMaSH and just got 5 Lbs from Hops Direct today, so I'm in and I'm sure I can find a good American hop to use.
 
so who wants to organize this? lets determine how many this swap can realistically accommodate and set a date to allow for brewing!

I'm in for a Munich10L/Sorachi Ace SMaSH IPA
 
I was thinking it may be helpful to lock down OG, IBUs and yeast variety if the point is to compare ingredient profiles. opinions?
 
PintOfBitter said:
I was thinking it may be helpful to lock down OG, IBUs and yeast variety if the point is to compare ingredient profiles. opinions?
Click to expand...

That makes sense. I nominate CA ale yeast WLP001/Wyeast1056/Safale US-05. It's a pretty clean all purpose yeast and should be readily available to all in one of the forms.

IBU's maybe in a range. The IBU's will be trickier as I know I sometimes adjust boil times based on boil off rate which changes that some, and water profiles will change how the hops are presented in the beer, but we can probably shoot for maybe a +/- 10 point range.

OG's will need a range too I would think for efficiency variations.
 
A standard could used so that IBU and OG would be in balance.

I brew my SMaSHes to 6B Blond Ale standard with OG of around 1.045 and 22 IBU with additions at 60, 30, 15, and 5 minutes. Makes an easy drinking beer that alot of people seem to like.
 
PintOfBitter said:
I was thinking it may be helpful to lock down OG, IBUs and yeast variety if the point is to compare ingredient profiles. opinions?
Click to expand...

PoB, I saw this was your thread and got excited because I thought you were in Wichita too, but then I looked at your location and you are in ID now. Too bad because I'm thinking of starting to do some smash brews to help develop my palate and it would have been great to find another smasher in town to trade with.
 
I'm planning on doing a couple SMaSH brews in the not too distant future. I wanted to do a Vienna/Simcoe and a MO/Saaz.

A UPS/FedEx swap could be extremely educational. I'm in if this gets enough momentum.
 
tmoney1224 said:
PoB, I saw this was your thread and got excited because I thought you were in Wichita too, but then I looked at your location and you are in ID now. Too bad because I'm thinking of starting to do some smash brews to help develop my palate and it would have been great to find another smasher in town to trade with.
Click to expand...

yeah, sorry. Got laid off at Cessna (who didn't?) and now I'm up here just south of Canada...

Still contemplating the smash swap, though I need to estimate the total shipping cost to see if I think it's still a good idea.
 

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