Smola American Amber

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MattHollingsworth

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 19, 2009
Messages
1,609
Reaction score
54
Location
Samobor, Croatia
Recipe Type
All Grain
Yeast
Wyeast 1056
Yeast Starter
Yeast Slurry, 140 ml
Batch Size (Gallons)
5.68
Original Gravity
1.046
Final Gravity
1.009
Boiling Time (Minutes)
120
IBU
37.1
Color
14.5
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
21 days at 68.
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
None.
Tasting Notes
Very malty with a good level of hops in aroma and flavor. Bread+bitterness lingers.
This was one of those magical beers where the whole brewing day is a disaster but the beer comes out fantastic nonetheless. Smola is a Croatian word that means either "disaster" or "sap" as in "amber", so I thought the name was appropriate.

The beer has a surprising amount of hops in the aroma and especially the flavor given the numbers of what was added. I think this is from the First Wort Hops but can't be certain. The malt is pronounced and there's a nice balance between the two. It's not super bitter, being bittered to the level of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, but with a lower gravity. This is not a crazy hophead beer but one with more balance between the hops and malt. It has a full mouthfeel but a dry finish. Very happy with this one, so thought I'd post it. It's one of the favorites with my friends out of my recent beers.

Type: All Grain
Date: 8/28/2009
Batch Size: 21.50 L
Brewer: Matt
Boil Size: 31.50 L
Boil Time: 120 min (longer boil to bring out that malt more)
Equipment: RIMS and 10 gallon boiler

Ingredients

Grain (percentages posted rather than amounts on grain so people with different efficiencies can just plug in a percentage instead):

Castle Pale Malt (Belgian)(3.6 SRM) 86.31 %
Crystal Malt - 50 (25.4 SRM) 4.96 %
Munich Malt (7.6 SRM) 3.57 %
Crystal Malt -350 (177.7 SRM) 2.38 %
Crystal Malt -150 (76.1 SRM) 1.59 %
Chocolate Malt (340.0 SRM) 1.19 %

Hops(all plugs):

12.00 gm Centennial [9.10 %] (120 min) (First Wort Hop) 15.4 IBU
7.00 gm Chinook [14.00 %] (120 min) (First Wort Hop) 13.8 IBU
10.00 gm Cascade [8.70 %] (15 min) 3.0 IBU
4.00 gm Chinook [14.00 %] (15 min) 1.9 IBU
10.00 gm Cascade [8.70 %] (2 min) 1.9 IBU
4.00 gm Chinook [14.00 %] (2 min) 1.2 IBU


1.50 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 15.0 min)

Yeast slurry repitched from previous batch. No starter used.

Measured Original Gravity: 1.046 SG
Measured Final Gravity: 1.009 SG
Alcohol by Vol: 4.82 %
Bitterness: 37.1 IBU
Est Color: 14.5 SRM


Mash Profile

Sparge Water: 23.55 L
Sparge Temperature: 169.0 F
Mash PH: 5.4 PH

Add 1.24 quarts per pound or 2.58 liters per kilo of water to achieve:

60 min Step 153.0 F
10 min Step 167.0 F

Table sugar used for priming at bottling, carbonated to 2.55 volumes.
 
Did you make your crystal 350? I'm thinking about brewing this in a few months and was wondering where I might get crystal 350? I have a friend who has a croatian girlfriend and I think it would be really cool to make her some brew inspired from her homeland.
 
Did you make your crystal 350? I'm thinking about brewing this in a few months and was wondering where I might get crystal 350? I have a friend who has a croatian girlfriend and I think it would be really cool to make her some brew inspired from her homeland.

Naw, I've never made Crystal. I got it from a pro brewer up in Slovenija.

This beer isn't very Croatian, though. It's very much an American beer. Your Croatian friend might like this, but not because it even remotely resembles anything from here. This is a land of bland lagers for the most part.
 

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