"SMaSH" brewing with extracts?

[Edecker]

Hi folks, I'm hoping you all can help me with some experiments my buddy and I want to run. Yesterday we ran out to our LHBS and picked up ingredients for two 3 gallon batches of pseudo-SMaSH brews. Our "recipes" were as follows:

Batch 1:
- 3lbs LME
- .5 oz Magnum hops (60 mins)
- .5 oz Magnum hops (15 mins)
- White Labs East Coast Ale yeast
- OG = 1.046

Batch 2:
- 3lbs LME
- .5 oz Jarrylo hops (60 mins)
- .5 oz Jarrylo hops (15 mins)
- White Labs East Coast Ale yeast
- OG = 1.050

Our goal was to try and make the simplest beer possible and just change hops around so that we could learn about the flavor profile of each. However, I'm worried that we are going to end up with something that isn't even going to taste like beer b/c of the low extract amount.

I'd love to hear some opinions on if this experiment is a worthwhile effort, or if we should tweak some things to make it more valuable for our learning.

Thanks!

 

[Chiller_ale]

I would google "15 minute pale ale" lots of experiments out there (basicbrewing videos too)


American Pale Ale 15 Minute Cascade Pale Ale (long thread here)
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=210253

I just made a 15 min smash with Simcoe, real nice.

Which LME did you get?

 

[Edecker]

Just a generic light LME that our LHBS carries. I wasn't able to find a specific manufacturer's name.

 

[Chiller_ale]

For 6 gallons that is not going to be enough unless you go get 1lb of DME.

You may want to go to 5 gallons for 1.042.

Another tip I don't see here too much is fill a small cooler with HOT tap water and let your LME warm up in there while you get things ready and get your pot up to a boil. You may even want to switch out the hot tap water if it cools too much.

 

[Edecker]

Sorry, I should clarify: we made two separate 3 gallon batches using he ingredients listed above. Is the 3 lbs light LME enough for that size brew?

 

[Chiller_ale]

I was just using the Brewer's friend Recipe editor. 3 lbs in to 3 gallons shows 1.035. For 2.5 gallons it is showing 1.042.

 

[nobadays]

Wondering About using Magnum as an aroma/flavoring hop. Here is what YCHops has on Magnum:

AROMA PROFILE:

Bred at the Hop Research Center in Hüll in 1980 and released in 1993, Magnum is a German variety (also grown in the US) and daughter of Galena. It is a high alpha cultivar and is often used as the base bittering variety. Magnum does not display any distinct aroma characteristics, however, subtle spice and fruit characteristics have been noted by some brewers.

Aroma:*Magnum is a bittering hop with no distinct aroma characteristics

I use Magnum alot for bittering hops because they have little flavor or aroma.... not convinced they would make a good SMaSH beer.

 

[TurnipGreen]

I really like doing "SMASH" beers. I get a kick out of tasting different hops next to each other. Or different malts.

It's a fun way to learn about the ingredients.

It's kind of funny though, all the playing with hops and I still prefer my house pale ale with plain old cascade. Same hops i've been using for years.

 

[theheroguy]

While I don't think it should really be a big concern just be aware that many extracts, even the pale and golden ones, are produced with multiple malts. In the end these will be the same every time as long as you stick to same manufacturer. Northern Brewer maris otter is produced from only maris otter malt.

 

[RM-MN]

Wondering About using Magnum as an aroma/flavoring hop. Here is what YCHops has on Magnum:

AROMA PROFILE:

Bred at the Hop Research Center in Hüll in 1980 and released in 1993, Magnum is a German variety (also grown in the US) and daughter of Galena. It is a high alpha cultivar and is often used as the base bittering variety. Magnum does not display any distinct aroma characteristics, however, subtle spice and fruit characteristics have been noted by some brewers.

Aroma:*Magnum is a bittering hop with no distinct aroma characteristics

I use Magnum alot for bittering hops because they have little flavor or aroma.... not convinced they would make a good SMaSH beer.

Galena also is a bad choice for aroma hop. Yuck! I won't make that mistake again.

Instead of Magnum, try Citra or Amarillo. Much better choices.

 

[Atlmustang]

Second the citra! Its the smash hop I used to formulate my house IPA

 

[Edecker]

Thanks for the replies everyone! The hop info shared has been tremendously helpful, as has the info about malt extract mixtures. I appreciate it!

 

[nobadays]

If you haven't already... You might want to bookmark a site with hop profiles. This will help you to make decisions on what hops to use for the various flavors/aromas you are trying to achieve. I frequently use this one: https://byo.com/resources/hops

Brewing SMaSH beers is a great way to discover for yourself how different hops/malt combinations taste to YOU. By this I suggest, I happen to like a good dose of Simcoe while others will tell you it smells like cat pee!

Great that we are not all alike!

 

[Vandulus]

The BYO hops list is nice, but I stumbled across Hops List a month ago and love how much more information and varieties there are. It's one of the more comprehensive hops resources I've come across so far.

 

[nobadays]

The BYO hops list is nice, but I stumbled across Hops List a month ago and love how much more information and varieties there are. It's one of the more comprehensive hops resources I've come across so far.

Nice! Just bookmarked that one myself!

 

[Edecker]

The BYO hops list is nice, but I stumbled across Hops List a month ago and love how much more information and varieties there are. It's one of the more comprehensive hops resources I've come across so far.

Wow, this is a tremendous resource. Consider it bookmarked!

 

[Pnp487]

I spent the last year experimenting with SMASH using only extract and hops. I found the best combination was light extract and Citra hops. I used 2 cans of LME and 3 packs of hops during the boil and experimented with dry hopping. The one that went the fastest, and the one I enjoyed the most, was when I split the 4th package of Citra while dryhopping during the primary and secondary.

 

[Lalo]

Greetings,
I am currently experimenting with small batches of pale ale using the same malt base and Magnum hops for bittering with single hop for flavor and aroma. Right now I'm fermenting a Galaxy pale ale. If you're still looking for an easy extract recipe, I would like to share the first beer I brewed from a few years ago. Perhaps it's a bit more complicated than you'd like, but it came out great and prefer this to other all-grain beers I've made. This is a 1 gallon batch but any software can help you increase the volume without much hassle.
Cheers,

Pale ale Easy

OG 1.056, FG 1.016, ABV 5.3, IBU 44, SRM 6.99

0.3 lb Dry Malt Extract - Light 21.4%
0.7 lb Dry Malt Extract - Light - (late addition) 50%
0.3 lb Dry Malt Extract - Amber - (late addition) 21.4%
1.3 lb Total

Steeping Grains
Amount Fermentable PPG °L Bill %
0.1 lb Canadian - Honey Malt 37 25 7.1%

Hops
Amount Variety Type AA Use Time IBU
0.075 oz Citra Pellet 11 Boil 45 min 20.76
0.075 oz Cascade Pellet 7 Aroma 30 min 11.06
0.075 oz Cascade Pellet 7 Aroma 15 min 7.14
0.075 oz Citra Pellet 11 Boil 5 min 4.51

0.2 tsp Irish Moss, US-05

 

[wallenda]

Hi folks, I'm hoping you all can help me with some experiments my buddy and I want to run. Yesterday we ran out to our LHBS and picked up ingredients for two 3 gallon batches of pseudo-SMaSH brews. Our "recipes" were as follows:

Batch 1:
- 3lbs LME
- .5 oz Magnum hops (60 mins)
- .5 oz Magnum hops (15 mins)
- White Labs East Coast Ale yeast
- OG = 1.046

Batch 2:
- 3lbs LME
- .5 oz Jarrylo hops (60 mins)
- .5 oz Jarrylo hops (15 mins)
- White Labs East Coast Ale yeast
- OG = 1.050

Our goal was to try and make the simplest beer possible and just change hops around so that we could learn about the flavor profile of each. However, I'm worried that we are going to end up with something that isn't even going to taste like beer b/c of the low extract amount.

I'd love to hear some opinions on if this experiment is a worthwhile effort, or if we should tweak some things to make it more valuable for our learning.

Thanks!

I recently brewed a 5 gal SMASH with 16lb 2 row and a total of 5 ounces of Galaxy hops, Wyeast 1056 it turned out great. I would think that your brew would turn out just fine but a little hop light.
2oz 60 min
1oz 15 min
1oz 2 min
1oz dry hop

Now the fun starts by tweaking this recipe in the future...

 

[guitarguy6]

I've done a bunch of smash beers with extract with pretty good results. I've found that you typically want to use 4-5 ounces per 5 gallons. I typically target 30-40IBU and a 30 minute boil. I'll put around 1oz at 30min, 1oz 10min, 1oz flameout, 1oz dry hop. Most light lme is 2-row and carapils, not exactly a "smash" but pretty darn close. So far Simcoe has been my favorite.