Maris Otter/Cascade SMaSH + Dry Hop Experiment

[RacingRam]

I was thinking I might do a 5 gal Maris Otter/Cascade SMaSH, split it into 1-gallon batches after pitching, and dry hop each batch with a different variety. I thought this would be a fun experiment to test different hop aromas in the same beer.

Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: Safale US-05
Yeast Starter: 2L
Batch Size (Gallons): 5.5
Original Gravity: 1.058
Final Gravity: 1.016
Efficiency: 60%
IBU: 31
Boiling Time (Minutes): 60
Color: 7
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 10 days @ 64 deg
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): none

Grain
14 lb Maris Otter

Hop Schedule
0.5 oz. Cascade @ 60 min
1 oz Cascade @ 15 min
1 oz Cascade @ 5 min

Mash Schedule
Mash @ 154 for 90 min with 4.38 gal (strike at 165)
Batch sparge with 6 gal (strike at 185)

After pitching yeast starter and mixing it in, siphon into 1-gal batches (or use bottling bucket?). I have a bunch of empty 1-gal apple juice bottles from making EdWort's Apfelwein - could I just drill a hole in the top, put a grommet in there and add a blow-off tube?

After ~10 days of fermentation, dry hop each batch differently. I was thinking a ~7 day dry hop with 0.25 oz of:

1. Cascade
2. Centennial
3. Amarillo
4. Simcoe
5. Citra

Then bottle each batch and label properly so I can compare the different dry hop aromas. Here are my questions:

(1) What do you think of the recipe? I'm going for a pretty neutral APA so the dry hopping stands out, but I still want a little malt flavor.

(2) Any recommendations on improving my efficiency? I usually end up with too much pre-boil wort and I leave about 1-1.5 gal in my boil kettle after whirlpooling. My brewhouse efficiency ends up around 60% (57% yesterday on a white IPA). Am I using too much sparge water?

(3) How do the methods sound? I wanted to distribute to 1-gal batches before fermentation so I don't have to worry about oxidizing. Fermenting in apple juice jugs sound okay? I don't have any 1-gal better bottles or growlers.

(4) Thoughts on dry hop varieties? I've used all those hops at one point or another. I would be interested to use something different too. Falconer's Flight and Mosaic might be interesting too.

Thanks!

 

[LakewoodHomeBrew]

Maris Otter is wonderful in SMaSH beers. I did a 4 beer series of MO SMaSH's with a different hop in each. They key to that was to keep the BU:GU the same for each.

Now to your recipe - with something so simple it's hard to go wrong. Just keep the BU:GU in a range you know you like, and you'll have an excellent base to start your experiment with. Personally, I would ferment the entire batch together to maintain consistency in the base beer. Then for secondary, rack into the 1 gallon jugs (well sanitized, of course) and dry hop as you see fit.

With the dry hop varieties, use whatever you like. This is your experiment - and even if you don't care for the aroma imparted by one of the varieties, you learned something. That's what makes this sort of thing fun.

As far as efficiency, unless you intend to leave 1-1.5 gallons behind - I would say yes, you are using too much sparge water or you need to boil harder/longer. In my system, I always leave behind 1.25 gallons - it's just where my valve is positioned, but after whirlpooling and resting for 30 min, it's mostly trub in that last gallon anyway. Now I just account for that loss in my system model.

Happy brewing. Cheers!

 

[RacingRam]

This is awesome, thanks! Good point on having consistent fermentation between the 1-gal batches. I'll ferment with a 5-6 gal carboy, flush the 1-gal jugs with CO2, and *carefully* rack into them.