SMaSH Mosaic IPA

So this will be my first IPA attempt. I have never done a SMaSH recipe before so I wanted to give it a try and have been hearing that Mosaic hops are awesome. What do you all think? I will mash at 152, and carb at 2.3 vol. Co2.

Boil Size: 7.74 gal
Post Boil Volume: 6.24 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal
Bottling Volume: 4.25 gal
Estimated OG: 1.063 SG
Estimated Color: 6.3 SRM
Estimated IBU: 60.3 IBUs
IBU/SG: .964
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 76.4 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes


13 lbs Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.8 SRM)
1.00 oz Mosaic [12.00 %] - First Wort 60.0 min
1.10 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins)
0.75 oz Mosaic [12.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min
1.00 oz Mosaic [12.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min
1.00 oz Mosaic [12.00 %] - Aroma Steep 0.0 min
1.0 pkg California Ale (White Labs #WLP001)
2.00 oz Mosaic [12.00 %] - Dry Hop 5.0 Days

Looks great, please post a follow up when its done.

Having brewed an IPA with Mosaic, I'd break the SMaSH rule by bittering with an ounce of Warrior.

And I'd put a whole ounce in at 10 minutes. I also dry hopped with one ounce, which was nice and not too much, so perhaps two ounces would be better.

I will definitely post results. Still not quite sure when brew day will be, but hopefully soon.

Out of curiosity what are your reasons for suggesting not doing a SMaSH and bittering with Warrior? Did you feel that you didn't quite get that IPA bitterness kick just using Mosaic?

MikeInMKE said:

Having brewed an IPA with Mosaic, I'd break the SMaSH rule by bittering with an ounce of Warrior.

And I'd put a whole ounce in at 10 minutes. I also dry hopped with one ounce, which was nice and not too much, so perhaps two ounces would be better.

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+1

I have also brewed an all Mosaic IPA and have changed the recipe to 1oz Columbus for the bittering charge. Even though Mosaic is a high AA hop, its bittering qualities are kind of weird. To me, it does not give a clean bitter to the beer, which I like in my IPAs.

ChargersSB said:

Out of curiosity what are your reasons for suggesting not doing a SMaSH and bittering with Warrior? Did you feel that you didn't quite get that IPA bitterness kick just using Mosaic?

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Mosaic might be able to bitter your SMaSH, but it isn't a bittering hop; it's a flavor and aroma hop, so it'd be a waste to boil away all it's delicious flavor and aroma. It's also not as easy to find, cheap as, nor clean bittering as Warrior or Magnum are. Nor are you likely to use Mosaic as a bittering hop in any non-SMaSH recipes you devise based on what you'll learn (what does this malt and this hop bring to the flavor and aroma profile?) from your SMaSH results.

Seriously, you're free to brew your beer as you want it. It'll still be awesome. But if you're brewing a SMaSH to learn what Mosaic would bring to a non-SMaSH recipe (where you'd use a bittering hop to bitter, instead of Mosaic), then use your preferred bittering hop to bitter your (mostly) SMaSH. In which case, you'll learn what flavor and aroma Mosaic brings to the table.

Okay, sounds like the general consensus is to have a bittering addition not using Mosaic. I typically use Magnum for bittering. Out of Magnum, Columbus and Warrior, which do you think goes best with Mosaic?

I think I will do that and then use Mosaic for the rest. Won't be a SMaSH, but I just want it to taste good while being able to mainly get the flavor/aroma from Mosaic.

Here is what I changed it up to for now:

.75 oz columbus - 60 min
1 oz mosaic - 10 min
1 oz mosaic - 5 min
1 oz mosaic - flame out
2 oz mosaic - dry hop 5 days

~57.6 IBUs
IBU/SG: .92

That should tell you what you want to know about Maris Otter as a base malt, and Mosaic as a flavor and aroma hop, and be a very interesting beer to drink.

I got lots of "Oh, wow, that's interesting!" followed by "That's really good! Can I have another?" from my Mosaic APA.

MikeInMKE said:

Mosaic might be able to bitter your SMaSH, but it isn't a bittering hop; it's a flavor and aroma hop, so it'd be a waste to boil away all it's delicious flavor and aroma. It's also not as easy to find, cheap as, nor clean bittering as Warrior or Magnum are. Nor are you likely to use Mosaic as a bittering hop in any non-SMaSH recipes you devise based on what you'll learn (what does this malt and this hop bring to the flavor and aroma profile?) from your SMaSH results.

Seriously, you're free to brew your beer as you want it. It'll still be awesome. But if you're brewing a SMaSH to learn what Mosaic would bring to a non-SMaSH recipe (where you'd use a bittering hop to bitter, instead of Mosaic), then use your preferred bittering hop to bitter your (mostly) SMaSH. In which case, you'll learn what flavor and aroma Mosaic brings to the table.

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+1

Now I'll be following your advice this weekend with my mosaic smash!

Just ordered my ingredients. I ended up getting some Columbus for bittering after hearing everyone's advice. So it is not quite a SMaSH IPA, but close enough. Brew day is hopefully going to be coming up soon.

ChargersSB said:

Just ordered my ingredients. I ended up getting some Columbus for bittering after hearing everyone's advice. So it is not quite a SMaSH IPA, but close enough. Brew day is hopefully going to be coming up soon.

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You will not be disappointed with that hop combo. This is my 2nd time using Mosaic in an IPA. The first was all Mosaic and while good, not quite what I wanted.

Just tasted my Mosaic IPA v.2 with Columbus for bittering, just before dry hopping, and it is way better. I also mashed slightly lower so it is a bit drier.

Brewed this last weekend and everything is underway. I had horrible efficiency, still trying to figure that out. I don't know if it is the crush that the homebrew store does or something in my process yet. I'll figure it out eventually. Anyway, fermentation is under way. So far so good, can't wait to see how it tastes. Thanks for the tips, I ended up using Columbus for bittering and Mosaic for the rest.

Took a gravity reading tonight. I love the aroma/flavors I was getting from the Mosaic hops. A lot of tropical fruit. Can't wait to start the dry hopping this weekend! I am definitely a fan of Mosaic. As for the purpose of using Maris Otter only, I guess I should try a more subdued style to be able to really taste that.

Cheers!

I've been considering all all Mosaic IPA as well.

I do make a house IPA w Chinook bittering plus Chinook/Mosaic late addition and dry hop. Maybe I'll still bitter w Chinook and switch to all Mosaic late addition/dry hop next time. Either way I know I'm sold on the combo of these two fantastic hops. Cheers!