Munich - Nugget SMaSH?

[bergman1118]

I was thinking of doing a Munich - Nugget SMaSH (probably an IPA).. Munich seems like it would be better suited to a noble hop for a SMaSH, but I have a lot of Nugget right now (which I've actually never used yet) and am curious about combining the malty deliciousness of Munich malt with some Nugget.

Anybody out there ever tried this or at least have some experience with Nugget that could indicate whether this would be a good combo?

I also have plenty of Willamette and Chinook, both of which I could see going pretty well with Munich malt..

 

[pernox]

Nugget makes a good single-hop brew - I do an IPA with half Pale, half Munich, a small shot of C40, and all Nugget. The Nugget is robust enough to stand on its own for bittering, flavor, and aroma. I think your idea sounds tasty!

 

[sleepystevenson]

I have never done an "all Nugget" beer, however, I have done a couple brews with mostly nugget and they turned out great! Check out my recipe for an American Amber Ale made out of 95%+/- nugget hops in the pull down. Based on my experience, I would certainly not be afraid to use exclusively nugget in a batch.

I would definitely be interested to hear the results of your smash - sounds great!

 

[bergman1118]

Well, it's settled - I believe I'll give the Munich-Nugget SMaSH a shot. I think I will make this more of a pale ale (maybe amber) and try to balance out the malt and hops. I'll brew it up this weekend and post the recipe and results when I can give this a proper sample.

 

[bergman1118]

Well, the keg's about kicked, and I have to say that this turned out to be a GREAT beer. I don't have the recipe with me since I'm at work, but it turned out to be a malty, smooth, and well-balanced IPA. When I first tapped into it, it was tasting too sweet (it finished around 1.018 after all), but after an additional 2 weeks of cold-conditioning, it turned out great. Bitterness was not overpowering, hop flavor was perfect. The only area where it was somewhat lacking was aroma - it was noticeably there, but I just don't think Nugget is great as an aroma hop (which obviously makes sense as it was not intended to be one in the first place). Super thick, creamy tan head with belgian lace following it down to the bottom of the glass.. Color turned out ruby red. Overall, an awesome beer, and surprisingly complex given the simple recipe. I'll post the recipe and specifics when I get home.

 

[dmbsteve]

Well...waiting on the recipe

I'm growing nugget hops at home this year and looking to do a SMaSH to see how I like them and get a rough idea of the AA% of the homegrown.

 

[bergman1118]

Oops, sorry! Totally forgot to post the recipe!

Here it is:

Munich-Nugget SMASH IPA
Brew Type: All Grain
Style: American IPA
Batch Size: 6.00 gal
Boil Volume: 7.94 gal
Boil Time: 60 min
Brewhouse Efficiency: 85.0 %

Ingredients Amount Item Type % or IBU
13.00 lb Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 100.0 %
1.00 oz Nugget [12.20%] (60 min) Hops 34.6 IBU
0.50 oz Nugget [12.20%] (20 min) (First Wort Hop) Hops 11.5 IBU
0.75 oz Nugget [12.20%] (0 min) Hops
1.00 oz Nugget [12.20%] (Dry hop) Hops
1 Pkgs California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) Yeast-Ale

Beer Profile Estimated
Original Gravity: 1.068 SG (1.056-1.075 SG)
Measured Original Gravity: 1.068 SG
Estimated Final Gravity: 1.015 SG (1.010-1.018 SG)
Measured Final Gravity: 1.018 SG
Estimated Color: 11.4 SRM (6.0-15.0 SRM)
Bitterness: 46.2 IBU (40.0-65.0 IBU)
Alpha Acid Units: 3.1 AAU
Estimated Alcohol by Volume: 6.9 % (5.5-7.5 %)
Actual Alcohol by Volume: 6.5 %
Actual Calories: 309 cal/pint


Mash Profile Name: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge Mash Tun Weight: 9.00 lb
Mash Grain Weight: 13.00 lb Mash PH: 5.4 PH
Grain Temperature: 72.0 F Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F
Sparge Water: 5.40 gal

Name Description Step Temp Step Time
Mash In Add 17.42 qt of water at 165.1 F 154.0 F 60 min

This turned out super malty for an IPA, but that's what I was going for. I thought that the bitterness was just about right for what I was trying to achieve, and the FWH hops smoothed everything together nicely. It had a good hop flavor going on, but the hop aroma was definitely lacking. Basically, I've found that Nugget is a really nice bittering hop, and a pretty good flavor hop.. it's just lacking in aroma, or rather, it doesn't serve as a good aroma hop (unsurprisingly). I've also learned that Munich can make a DELICIOUS single malt beer, easily standing on it's own without assistance from other malts, IMHO. I would recommend doing a protein rest @ about 130*F to improve head retention (mine had a thick head but dissipated faster than usual.. still a great lace on the glass though), and if you wanted to dry this out some (mine finished @ 1.018) the Hochkurz mash schedule would probably be fantastic for this beer. If I have a surplus of Nugget, I'd try this again.

NOTE: I calculated the FWH as a 20 minute addition, as I have agreed with the assertion that this more accurately reflects the perceived bitterness that FWHing contributes. Do what you will, to each his own.

 

[Biscostew]

Ive used Nugget as the only hop in a Wheat IPa with great results, Id say go for it!

 

[noodle23]

This looks awesome might be making this soon.

 

[drkaeppel]

Just ordered a pound of Nugget hops from Hopsshack! This is next on my list.

I varied the hop schedule a bit from yours, but here's my plan.

Nugget SMaSH

Batch size: 5.50 gallons

13 lbs Munich

Mash at 154F for 60 mins

0.5 oz Nugget (13%) - 60 min
1.0 oz Nugget (13%) - 15 min
1.0 oz Nugget (13%) - 10 min
1.0 oz Nugget (13%) - 5 min
1.0 oz Nugget (13%) - 1 min

Yeast: US-05

Dry hop for 1 week with 2.0 oz Nugget (13%)

Bitterness: 61.0 IBUs (according to Beersmith)
Est. ABV: 6.24%

Based on what I have heard so far from you all, I'm really looking forward to this brew!

UPDATE 03/30/2012:

Trying to go from memory here. My numbers looked something like this.

OG: 1.062
FG: 1.012

I've had this bottled for a week or so. Cracked open a bottle the other night to see how it was coming along and it tastes very good so far! The bitterness is nice - maybe a bit like Magnum, only earthier. Flavor and aroma from the hops are kind of resiny, pine, with some floral and fruit flavor. Definitely not as much citrus as Cascade or Amarillo. Even with all the hops, the flavor of the Munich Malt comes through well. It also gives the beer some body.

Great beer, overall. This could definitely be tweaked to be an IPA. I would like to use this recipe as a base, but maybe add some Crystal malt and swap out some of the late hop additions for Cascade or Centennial.

 

[bergman1118]

Definetly give it a shot! This was a great, malty IPA, and I think your recipe looks solid. Since you aren't doing a FWH, I think cutting back on the bittering hops is a good move. Increasing the dry hops should give you a better aroma contribution as well. I learned from this beer that I really like nugget hops and use them regularly in my pale ales, ipas, and brown ales. Like I said before, Munich works really well on it's own IMO and goes well with nugget in a SMaSH. Brew 10 gallons of this if you can - it'll go quick!

 

[Boleslaus]

What is the hop flavor like? I've never used Nugget extensively.

 

[bergman1118]

To me, it has a resiny, herbal/floral/spicy flavor and aroma. Sources say it's similar to Northern Brewer, but I've never used NB so I can't confirm that notion. I DO know that I enjoyed the all Nugget beer very much.. YMMV if you use another malt besides Munich, but I thought they paired together quite well.

 

[boss13]

Noob question,

what do you think wouil using a 1lbs of Honey Malt (Gambrinus) and 12lbs of munich do with this beer?

 

[bergman1118]

I have limited experience with honey malt (maybe one or two batches using it), but it would add some sweetness for sure. It might complement the Munich nicely, but the beer would be sweeter - more along the lines of an amber ale. So.. if you want to go with the IPA recipe, I wouldn't use the honey malt. If you want more of an amber ale, you could try using honey malt and cut back on hops to hit about 30-40 IBU. You'll still want a pretty firm bitterness to balance the sweetness of that honey malt (unless you really want sweetness).

 

[drkaeppel]

Noob question,

what do you think wouil using a 1lbs of Honey Malt (Gambrinus) and 12lbs of munich do with this beer?

It would probably be delicious. I actually plan on doing something similar. Biermuncher's Outer Limits IPA uses honey malt and it's one of the best IPAs I've ever had. Here is the link: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f69/biermunchers-outer-limits-ipa-87310/

I didnt think the honey malt would show though all the hops, but it definitely does.

 

[bergman1118]

Nice! Thanks for sharing. As I said before, I really have limited experience with honey malt, but BM's recipe and feedback make me want to try it out in some hoppier beers. Cheers!

 

[ballsy]

Bringing back this thread! Brewing this tomorrow....going to use the recipe with the larger Nugget additions. I have some whole cone Nugget from this past harvest my brother in Oregon sent me but it is only 2.8oz worth so I figure save that for the dry hop where whole cone really our performs the pellets. I'll use the other 0.8oz in the final boil addition.

 

[ballsy]

Not too impressed with final product to be honest. Not bad, but not great. Not surprised though considering I'm a big citrusy hop fan. Either it is beer that will be consumed! Won't be brewing this again though.

 

[ballsy]

Update & apology to recipe post, this turned out actually pretty good after conditioning for only a week it made huge improvements and I really appreciate the taste this has. Very out of ordinary but really good. Not sure if I'd brew again, but wanted to clarify on my premature review lol.

 

[CaveHomeBrewing]

Brewed this back in December using local homegrown Nugget hops. The Munich malt held on its own quite well and provided a solid base for the brew. I suspect my hops were not potent as I found the finished product was a bit sweeter than I would have desired. Although perhaps this is also due to the subtle characteristics of Nugget? This could also be confirmed as I found the brew benefited from extra time bottle conditioning.

 

[Brooothru]

Brewed this back in December using local homegrown Nugget hops. The Munich malt held on its own quite well and provided a solid base for the brew. I suspect my hops were not potent as I found the finished product was a bit sweeter than I would have desired. Although perhaps this is also due to the subtle characteristics of Nugget? This could also be confirmed as I found the brew benefited from extra time bottle conditioning.

I like Nugget but I wouldn't call it subtle. It would be my guess that any residual sweetness would be either the 100% Munich of maybe an under-attenuated yeast. This necro thread got me interested in brewing this, probably as a hoppy APA. Curious about what Lovibond Munich you used and which yeast.

 

[CaveHomeBrewing]

Thanks for the feedback on potential contributors. This was only my 2nd ever brew and I haven't gotten a firm understanding of yeast attenuation yet so I would be open to any feedback if a different yeast selection would be more suitable for my palate or if there was an issue in my process.

I used US-05 yeast (pitched entire package for 3 gallon batch) and hit OG of 1.055/FG of 1.015. Munich Type 1 (5.1 - 7.0 L).