Are SMaSH recipes worth it?

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El Nino

El Nino

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To anybody who has experience with this? I know by now it'll be hard to make a beer that's undrinkable, but are SMaSH beers actually good? I've had single hop beers that were really good (chinook), but it wasn't single grain.

Thinking of trying a SMaSH soon, but I want an actual good beer. Leaning toward a Chinook, and I do have a bunch of Mosaic, Nugget, and Citra hops on hand as well. Would those be good candidates for a good SMaSH IPA?
 
El Nino said:
To anybody who has experience with this? I know by now it'll be hard to make a beer that's undrinkable, but are SMaSH beers actually good? I've had single hop beers that were really good (chinook), but it wasn't single grain.

Thinking of trying a SMaSH soon, but I want an actual good beer. Leaning toward a Chinook, and I do have a bunch of Mosaic, Nugget, and Citra hops on hand as well. Would those be good candidates for a good SMaSH IPA?
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My first beer was a citra pilsener smash brewed with safale 04 I think. It was a really good beer.

I really love smash beers. In fact I am brewing two at the very moment right now :D

I love Vienna smash and Maris otter smash. If I would need to choose one, I would go for a Maris otter smash.
 
Yeah, I’ve made a number of SMaSH beers that were really fantastic. It’s a great way to break out from all the muck and noise of crystal malt and focus on brewing a basic, delicious beer. I’ve stopped using crystal in almost every style now, and most of my light colored beers are 100% base malt. Any of those hops would be a fine candidate for a SMaSH, and a good way to figure out what hops you like most (not a fan of Nugget, myself, but each to their own).

(I’ve even done a tasty SMaSH traditional bock, just 100% Munich.)
 
ong said:
Yeah, I’ve made a number of SMaSH beers that were really fantastic. It’s a great way to break out from all the muck and noise of crystal malt and focus on brewing a basic, delicious beer. I’ve stopped using crystal in almost every style now, and most of my light colored beers are 100% base malt. Any of those hops would be a fine candidate for a SMaSH, and a good way to figure out what hops you like most (not a fan of Nugget, myself, but each to their own).

(I’ve even done a tasty SMaSH traditional bock, just 100% Munich.)
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Couldn't have said it better.
 
Ok thanks guys! What I needed to hear, I got into the hobby to make good beer, and if it's good, I'm all about it :)

ong - Yeah honestly out of those hops I have on hand, the nugget hops are my least favorite (aroma wise). I bought them to do a deschutes fresh squeezed IPA clone which required them. But the final product was spot on and pretty awesome :)
 
Just to add on to what has already been said...I've done a MO/ Galaxy SMaSH that was really good. So good, I ended up brew 2 batches almost back to back. They make great summertime, poolside beers.
 
I've brewed a bunch of them. Each one turned out excellent, which is something I can't say about all the styles I've brewed. The simplicity is what makes it. Just a good malt and a hop that pairs well with it. Maris Otter with EKG or Fuggles makes a nice English bitter.

For the OP, any of the hops you mentioned would be a good candidate for a SMaSH IPA. And you still have latitude in using the hops--you can do some whirlpool and/or dry-hopping. It's still a SMaSH.
 
AZBeer said:
Just to add on to what has already been said...I've done a MO/ Galaxy SMaSH that was really good. So good, I ended up brew 2 batches almost back to back. They make great summertime, poolside beers.
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What yeast did you use for this out of curiosity?
 
Pretty sure Todd the Axeman used to be a smash beer (GP/Mosaic) but now has two hops:

http://surlybrewing.com/beer/todd-the-axe-man/

Generally, speaking, people think it's pretty good:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/13014/138735/

I think the real question here is what are you trying to accomplish and can/should it be accomplished with a SMaSH? I've made some nice SMaSH APA's. Are you making a SMaSH just so you can say you made one? Or to try to understand the flavor of the base malt? An IPA is going to be dominated by the hops, so your grain choices aren't really going to stand out.
 
Like Miraculix said, Vienna and Maris Otter are your friends for a SMASH. I’ve done a lager with Vienna and saaz, and pale ales with a US Pale Ale malt (similar to MO) and Sorachi Ace. They made me wonder why I would mess with complicated recipes for simple lagers and pale ales. Before this fall I plan to do a Munich Oktoberfest SMASH.
 
You can definitely make great SMASH beers. One of my faves was Pilsner malt & Sorachi Ace hops, but have also done fantastic versions with 2-row & mosaic, and 2-row & Citra. MO probably would have been a bit more flavourful though
 
EDF713 said:
Like Miraculix said, Vienna and Maris Otter are your friends for a SMASH. I’ve done a lager with Vienna and saaz, and pale ales with a US Pale Ale malt (similar to MO) and Sorachi Ace. They made me wonder why I would mess with complicated recipes for simple lagers and pale ales. Before this fall I plan to do a Munich Oktoberfest SMASH.
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I once did a red-x Sorachi ace smash, that was also very good! And very red....
 
I brewed a 100% Belgian pilsner malt ale with Sterling hops recently, and it turned out very nice; one of my best beers ever. I also did a cream ale last yeast with pilsner malt, rice, and Sorachi Ace that was good, but I don't know if that counts because of the rice.
 
Anybody ever do a SMaSH with Golden Promise? Someone recommended it to me, but I have not tried it. Thinking about do an GP and Citra SMaSH...
 
AZBeer said:
Anybody ever do a SMaSH with Golden Promise? Someone recommended it to me, but I have not tried it. Thinking about do an GP and Citra SMaSH...
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I did a version of the English bitter SMaSH that usually used MO. The GP gave it a similar biscuity malt flavor. I bittered with EKG, and used S-04. Very nice.

I think GP/Citra would be a good combination.
 
Saunassa said:
This sounds like the way for someone new to brewing like me to learn about hops and how they taste to me and not someone else.
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It’s great for that. I had always heard Summit was a pretty rough hop that tasted of onion and garlic, but when I made a SMaSH with a huge Summit whirlpool and dry hop addition, it was pure golden pineapple. Became an immediate favorite.
 
ong said:
It’s great for that. I had always heard Summit was a pretty rough hop that tasted of onion and garlic, but when I made a SMaSH with a huge Summit whirlpool and dry hop addition, it was pure golden pineapple. Became an immediate favorite.
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What did you use for the malt? Sounds like i and my wife might like.
 
Wow great info everyone, thanks! I'm looking forward to trying some of these out.
 
one of my best beers ever was 100% Vienna with only Motueka hops (1oz) @ 60,15,5 Used Wyeast 2565 Kolsch yeast fermented at about 62° and another 1oz dry hop in secondary for 8 days at 45°
 
I tend to think of SMaSH as a technique to a) help you best understand what a specific hop can bring and b) to help you focus on your brewing technique by forcing you to brew a naked beer. All you have is one variety of grain and one variety of hop. It's much like the mead maker learning to make a great mead by making traditional meads - meads that use only water, honey, yeast and nutrients. There's nothing to hide behind AND you work to master the protocol that works for you in your make room AND you learn what different varietals of honey bring to the table. Master a SMaSH and you can call yourself a brewer. There's nothing to hide behind; nothing to mask faults. It's a beer in all its nakedness. .
 
just completing a MO/Mosaic SMaSH that has exceeded my expectations, even more so as it's also my first recipe hack attempt from the ground up. Perfect for early summer consumption IMO

60 min boil, 5 gallon batch
Brui'n Water profile: well water adjusted to 140, 18, 26, 255, 48, 87 for 425 hardness and 72 Alkalinity
152F mash with an adjusted 5.2 pH

13.5# Maris Otter
0.5oz Mosaic (12.7%) in first wort
0.5oz Mosaic at 15 min
1.5oz after FO at 180F for 30 min whirlpool
Flagship Imperial yeast
ferment 4 days at 64F, then 11 days at 68F
rack to secondary
1.5oz Mosaic dry hop 4 days
cold crash to 35F for 3 days, keg, and force CO2

1.070 OG
1.013 FG
6.3% ABV

Juicy, hazy, and light mouth feel for the amount of grain used. Originally intended to clarify further with gelatin, but it's such a spot-on NEIPA that I can't bring myself to do it.
 
I did a Maris Otter with Nugget hops. Called it Otter's Nuggets. Innuendo intended. It was interesting. I think some hops make better SMaSH beers than others. I would put Nugget in the lesser category, but it was good.

My latest is Rahr pale 2 row and Centennial with yeast I captured off a Hibiscus bloom. It is one of my better beers out of my 100 batches.
 
Redtab78 said:
How did u capture the yeast?
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I made a weak starter wort (about .25L) using extract, cooled it, put it in a mason jar, dropped in a Hibiscus bloom. In a couple days I could see some evidence of fermentation. I pulled out the bloom, made another weak starter step (.5L) and put it in my flask on my stirplate. Did two more steps one stronger, (.5L) then the last was 1.5 liters at 1.040 which when finished I pitched into my SMaSH.

Each step except the first was cold crashed and decanted.

I intend on sending a sample off to get it analyzed, singled out and identified.
 
The Hibiscus plant that I bought at HD and planted in my front yard. I made the starter where I make all my starters so I could have captured a yeast from the commercial ones I use???

It tastes different than similar recipes with commercial yeasts I have used so I might have something different. It is good so I intend on keeping this strain going in my brewery.
 
SMASH is a great way to learn all kinds of stuff. A variation I did was to do only a mild bittering hop addition (~20 IBU), then split the bittered wort to 1 gal jugs to ferment with different yeasts -- same basic ale background to let the yeast differences shine through.

I also did a split like that to compare different dry hop additions on a constant background -- technically that one wasn't a SMASH, but taught me a lot about which hops I really like.
 
Ok you guys have got me interested in this SMaSH beer, I have some flyer hops that are suited for a dark beer so looking at doing one with 3.5KG of either dark or amber LME and use the flyer hops (19 grams@60 min, 12 grams @15 min and 10 grams @5 min) IBU 20-27 range and ABV of 5.3% which should give something along the lines of an irish red ale going by my calculations on brewers friend. Also this would be fermented with no other sugars added as I would like to try making a beer that only has malt, hops and yeast added to make the wort only time I want to add sugar with this is to carbonate it.
 
Last edited:
rossscottnz said:
Ok you guys have got me interested in this SMaSH beer, I have some flyer hops that are suited for a dark beer so looking at doing one with 3.5KG of either dark or amber LME and use the flyer hops (19 grams@60 min, 12 grams @15 min and 10 grams @5 min) IBU 20-27 range and ABV of 5.3% which should give something along the lines of an irish red ale going by my calculations on brewers friend. Also this would be fermented with no other sugars added as I would like to try making a beer that only has malt, hops and yeast added to make the wort only time I want to add sugar with this is to carbonate it.
Click to expand...

Technically this would not be a SMaSH recipe since the extracts will have been made with several malts.
SMaSH is Single Malt and Single Hop. You would really have to search to see what malts were used in creating an extract. All the dark or amber ones will have used a base malt and a crystal or roasted malt for color and flavor.

But it is still a good way to learn the characteristics of a single hop.
 
It wouldn't be a SMaSH beer, it would be a SHaME beer (single hops and malt extract). Nothing wrong with that. I just brewed my 3 batch of SHaME beer. 1 gallon versions and only 15 minute boils. Takes about an hour twenty minutes for me from measuring out water to being done and all cleaned up. This last one was pale malt extract and Motueka hops.
 

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