Father-in-law Munich SMaSH?

My father-in-law, an Iron City Light enthusiast :cross: commented on our last meeting that he had never tried any of my homebrew. Now he's taken a liking to Amber Bock which, while not great, is leaps and bounds more flavorful than IC Light. So I'm thinking about brewing something somewhat up his alley.

I'm looking at a Munich/Hallertauer SMaSH (two different types of Munich - I'm counting it as a SMaSH!), but most of the Munich SMaSHes on HBT involve a decoction mash, which I'm not really set up to do. Also can't really do lager, but our basement spare bedroom stays nice and cool, low- to mid-60's during the cold months. So:

5.5 gallons BIAB/No-Chill, 75% efficiency
(I calculated the hops for a traditional brew, not No-Chill)

6 lb Munich 10L
5 lb Munich 20L
1 oz Hallertauer (4.5% AA) 60 min
.75 oz Hallertauer (4.5% AA) 30 min
US-05 yeast

Mash: 152 for 90 min
Mash-out: 170 for 15 min
Boil: 60 min

Per BrewTarget
OG: 1.054
FG: 1.013
ABV: 5.2
IBU: 22.7
SRM: 14.7

Thoughts on the recipe? I was shooting for something close to a Munich Dunkel, but not necessarily. If this doesn't work I could do Yooper's Fizzy Yellow Beer, which I've had success with in the past.

Thanks in advance.

Personally, I'd move the second hop addition to a bit later in the boil to get some hop flavor and aroma. I know you don't want overboard hoppy, but maybe putting it at 5 minutes would give a little more character. Perhaps add .25 ounce to the bittering addition and do a half ounce at 5 minutes or so.

I'll second the move from 30 to 15.

Also, how are you not set up for a decoction? You don't have a spare pot in your kitchen? After your mash, scoop out 1/3 of the wort/grain, bring it to a boil, dump it back into the mash and begin your sparge.

bigbeergeek said:

I'll second the move from 30 to 15.

Also, how are you not set up for a decoction? You don't have a spare pot in your kitchen? After your mash, scoop out 1/3 of the wort/grain, bring it to a boil, dump it back into the mash and begin your sparge.

Click to expand...

I do full volume mash BIAB, so I can't really move my kettle off the heating rig, and my glass-top stove just isn't powerful enough to quickly boil a gallon or more of liquid. I've considered building/buying a heat stick to speed it up, but for now no luck.

I could see how a small flavor/aroma addition would be nice. Will take that into consideration. It's a little more difficult with no-chill though. For flavor I usually do FWH (calculated as a 30 min) or add the hops to my cube (calculated as a 20 min), and for aroma I usually dry hop. I am a big fan of cube hopping, so that might be the way to go.

Personally, I'd He-man the kettle down and decoct some melanoidins into my SMASH, but I get where you're coming from.

Two months later, thought I'd touch back on this one. Beer came out nice and malty. Considered calling this a Munich Dunkel (never mind the yeast), but I think it might have a bit too much hop flavor for the style. I'll also have to familiarize myself with the style a little more before I can make that decision.

Here was my final recipe:
5.5 gallons, Brew-In-A-Bag, No-Chill

11 lb Weyermann Munich 9L
1 oz Tettnang, 4.5%, pellet, 40 min (60 if chilling)
1 oz Tettnang, 4.5%, pellet, Cube hop (about 20 min if chilling)
US-05

Mash: 155 for 60 min
Mash-out: 170 for 15 min
Boil: 60 min
Ferment: 58-62 degrees F for three weeks

OG: 1.055
FG: 1.012
ABV: 5.7%
IBU: 23
SRM: mid-20s, BrewTarget calculates 11
Efficiency: 75%

Nice and malty, melanoidins stand out with a firm bitterness to balance. As the beer warms, toast and cocoa come out a little more. Earthy, spicy hop aroma is medium-low. Will find some commercial Dunkels, and maybe a bock and marzen for good measure, and re-assess classification.

Edit: forgot to add, clean and lager-like, medium-dry finish.

eulipion2, I am never happy with my cube hoping. It just seems underwhelming. Can you explain your process for that, and FWHing a little more? Or maybe some recipes that have a very nice, proven hop flavor/aroma from FWH or cube hopping?

For cube hopping I usually calculate it as a 30 minute addition. If it seems too low, calculate it as a 20 minute instead and adjust accordingly. For the rest of that, off-topic, answered in a PM.

bigbeergeek said:

Also, how are you not set up for a decoction? You don't have a spare pot in your kitchen? After your mash, scoop out 1/3 of the wort/grain, bring it to a boil, dump it back into the mash and begin your sparge.

Click to expand...

:smack:

eulipion2 said:

Thoughts on the recipe? I was shooting for something close to a Munich Dunkel, but not necessarily.

Click to expand...

If your looking for fun, use only the 10L munich and toast some of it in your oven. Otherwise F the SMaSH, throw in a few ounces of Carafa III Special. And to go a step further, make that last hop addition at flame-out. Be sure the full boil addition gets you into the low 20 IBU's.

But that's just the thoughts of a drunk old man. :cross:

AnOldUR said:

:smack:

Click to expand...

?

AnOldUR said:

If your looking for fun, use only the 10L munich and toast some of it in your oven.

Click to expand...

My LHBS had 9L. Didn't toast any myself, but SRMs came out in the mid-20s. I was surprised with the complexity of the Munich by itself!

eulipion2 said:

My LHBS had 9L. Didn't toast any myself, but SRMs came out in the mid-20s. I was surprised with the complexity of the Munich by itself!

Click to expand...

I did a Munich / Tett SMaSH using the Weyermann grain that's in that same color range. Toasted a couple pounds and did a double decoction (one thick, one thin for mash-out). The beer came out excellent. Like yours, surprisingly complex. Congrats on making a great beer!

Here's a look at mine:

That is one pretty pour!