My Pseudo-SMaSH

Hello, folks. I want y'all to take a look at this recipe & comment if you feel the need. This will be my first true AG brew, I am getting a new 4 gallon pot to make it in & already have a bag for brewing this BIAB beer. This will also be the first in a series of three "pseudo-SMaSH's", as I will be using up the 12oz of experimental hops that aprachman (I have no idea if I am spelling that right, so sorry if I am screwing your name up, good sir!) was letting go of for free. My recipe for 2.5 gallons uses 4 ounces of these hops per batch. Since I don't know the AA% of these hops, I am not using them for my bittering charge - I will let a small bit of Magnum pellets give me about half my IBUs at either FWH or a 60-minute boil. I am assuming 6%AA for these hops, but I really have no idea. This is my way of finding out! If I'm right, this will be somewhat of an APA. If the hops have more AAs than that, then I am approaching "session" IPA areas, as assuming these are 12% AA hops gives me right at 50 IBUs, and if they are 15-16%, then over 60.

Anyway, I digress. Here is my recipe:

My Pseudo-SMaSH ver. 1.0
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Style: APA
Brewer: slym2none
BIAB, 75% brewhouse efficiency
calc. OG - 1.053
calc. FG - 1.011
calc. ABV - 5.4%
31/36* IBUs, assuming 6%AA
6.2 SRM
3.0 gallon boil
2.5 gallons in fermenter


5 pounds Vienna
mash at 152° F for 60 minutes in 3.5 gallons water (I squeeze but not too much, so I am assuming .1g/lb grain absorption loss)

.125 oz Magnum FWH/60 minutes*
0.5 oz "experimental hops" @ 20 minutes
0.5 oz "experimental hops" @ 5 minutes
2.0 oz "experimental hops" in hop-stand: 30 minutes starting at 175F
1.0 oz "experimental hops" for dry-hop (5 days)

Nottingham Yeast, fermented at 62F

Versions 2.0 & 3.0, assuming this comes out without needing major changes, will just swap out Golden Promise & Marris Otter (respectively)as I have never had any experience with those grains.

Well... no reason not to squeeze the hell out of the bag.

Also, I would move that 20 min addition down to 10 and adjust bittering as needed. Of course, you don't know the AA%, but the impact should be somewhat minimal from 10 min on.

I always heard that for flavour, you want a 20-22 minute addition, and for aroma, a 5-7 minute addition. Then I go overboard on the hop-stand to make sure I get lots of both.

No one? Anyone???

slym2none said:

No one? Anyone???

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Well....... Im coming out to around 100 IBU with that recipe..Using your guess on the ex hops. Hope you like very mouth puckering beer..

Brewer's Friend came out to 31/36 IBUs FWH/60 minute boil.

*shrug*

EDIT - just ran it through again, still getting 36 IBUs if assuming 6% AA hops. My hopstand temperature is low enough to not give me any more IBUs.

slym2none said:

Brewer's Friend came out to 31/36 IBUs FWH/60 minute boil.

*shrug*

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Are you sure you changed the default 1oz to 4?

From Beer Smith....shrug back

5 lbs Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 1 100.0 %
4.00 oz Bramling Cross [6.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 2 128.2 IBUs
0.13 oz Magnum [12.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 3 8.0 IBUs

Where in my recipe are you reading that I am boiling 4 oz of hops?

if you have no idea what these hops are like, especially AA%- i'd suggest a 1 gallon tester. just DME/LME to 1.040 or 50, then 1/4oz at 60, 30, 15, and 1. with some S05 you'll have an answer in about two weeks. then take these results to dial in your hop usage on the normal brew.

if you really wanna do this one now, then just be aware that if you are going to whirlpool then you'll be adding 30, 60, 90 minutes of time to your earlier FWH, 20, 15m additions. you'll get alot more bitterness from those additions-- in general. now if this one isnt bitter at all, then obviously you wont notice it. but if its high alpha, you could have a bitter bomb.

basically my advice is do a tester, and then follow either a traditional schedule (60, 15, 5) or go with a hopburst/whirlpool schedule (minimal bittering charge and then almost all hops under 5 mins or at whirlpool). but i'd really advise a small tester batch just to get an idea of what you're working with. i know its delayed gratification, but you only have a limited amount so it seems a good idea to try to understand what you're working before you start using them all up.

slym2none said:

Where in my recipe are you reading that I am boiling 4 oz of hops?

Click to expand...

Woops!.....My Bad...Carry on.....................................I need a beer

I figure if the hops are much more bitter, I will up the grain by a pound for V.2.0 & 3.0, and it will be an IPA instead.

Sounds good to me lots of hops late added whats the worry? 2.5 gallons if you don't like it you will learn something anyways. I like lots of hops but i just do 1 oz 60 min 3 at 5 min. ... im sure dry hopping late hopping will make it better.