Feedback on the SMASH I would like to try

[schematix]

All 3 I’d those bad ideas

Citric acid has a relatively strong flavor.

Roasted malts would do the trick too but you’d be going to a brown/black color.

Bottled water no guarantee. A lot of those are highly mineralized as well. It would have to specifically be distilled or reverse osmosis water though.

And even with distilled or RO water you’re pH is going to be 5.7-5.8.

Look for acidulated or sauermalt. It exists, just need to find the right term.

 

[Dutch_Brewer]

All 3 I’d those bad ideas

Citric acid has a relatively strong flavor.

Roasted malts would do the trick too but you’d be going to a brown/black color.

Bottled water no guarantee. A lot of those are highly mineralized as well. It would have to specifically be distilled or reverse osmosis water though.

And even with distilled or RO water you’re pH is going to be 5.7-5.8.

Look for acidulated or sauermalt. It exists, just need to find the right term.

I'm still trying to understand why this is but I can't find a good read. Would lactic acid help? I found sauermalt online but I would have to order that and wait another week, how much would I use?

 

[Miraculix]

Boil the water before brewing. By boiling, the carbonate will drop out as limestone and that should do the trick.

 

[Dutch_Brewer]

Boil the water before brewing. By boiling, the carbonate will drop out as limestone and that should do the trick.

Really as easy as that? It will boil away?

 

[Miraculix]

Really as easy as that? It will boil away?

It won't boil away, it flocs out. It is actually a bit more complicated as the rate of limestone generated is depending on multiple minerals but as a rule of thumb, you can use it that way. It will be fine.

 

[schematix]

Lactic acid works. That’s the acid source in acid malt.

An all Pilsner grist always requires additional acid. There’s not enough from the grain. If water has higher alkalinity you need even more acid.

 

[whovous]

I would consider switching to your US-05 yeast.

 

[Dutch_Brewer]

It won't boil away, it flocs out. It is actually a bit more complicated as the rate of limestone generated is depending on multiple minerals but as a rule of thumb, you can use it that way. It will be fine.

Oké for how long do I boil the water before adding the grains then?

 

[Dutch_Brewer]

Lactic acid works. That’s the acid source in acid malt.

An all Pilsner grist always requires additional acid. There’s not enough from the grain. If water has higher alkalinity you need even more acid.

Oké! I can buy that, how much would I add?

 

[Dutch_Brewer]

I would consider switching to your US-05 yeast.

I can do that, what would it solve?

 

[Miraculix]

Mate, honestly, don't overthink this. It is your first beer, it will be all right. Don't do the acid stuff, just boil the water for a few minutes and you will be fine. You can also buy bottled water and check for low carbonate levels, you want something below 100 or below 50. If you cannot get this, just boil your water prior the mashing.


I have the hardest water ever here with carbonate levels above 350, I brewed ipas with it that turned out fine,i just boiled it.

You are a beginner, there are way more important things for you to focus on, things that will impact the beer way stronger than the water. Just get it roughly in the right direction via boiling and you will be fine. Brewing is fun, it will be beer!


Regarding the yeast, you did chose a bit of a special one with special character. You can use it (I don't know this one) but if you want something more "standard" and clean, use us 05 or the safale 04 for a bit more fruity esters.

But again, don't overthink it, brew it!

 

[Dutch_Brewer]

Mate, honestly, don't overthink this. It is your first beer, it will be all right. Don't do the acid stuff, just boil the water for a few minutes and you will be fine. You can also buy bottled water and check for low carbonate levels, you want something below 100 or below 50. If you cannot get this, just boil your water prior the mashing.


I have the hardest water ever here with carbonate levels above 350, I brewed ipas with it that turned out fine,i just boiled it.

You are a beginner, there are way more important things for you to focus on, things that will impact the beer way stronger than the water. Just get it roughly in the right direction via boiling and you will be fine. Brewing is fun, it will be beer!


Regarding the yeast, you did chose a bit of a special one with special character. You can use it (I don't know this one) but if you want something more "standard" and clean, use us 05 or the safale 04 for a bit more fruity esters.

But again, don't overthink it, brew it!

I will do so, but I postponed this and will brew it on wednesday

 

[schematix]

Not a good grain bill to skip acid with... but skip if you must.

How much depends on which water you intend to go with.

 

[Dutch_Brewer]

Not a good grain bill to skip acid with... but skip if you must.

How much depends on which water you intend to go with.

I have an order that still needs to be shipped on Monday, I will call them tommorow and ask if they can add 1kg sauermaltz and do 10% of that?

 

[whovous]

I can do that, what would it solve?

T58 is a Belgian style yeast which will give you a lot of cloves. Is that what you are going for? I think the US-05 makes more sense for a simple SMASH type recipe and that T58 calls for more complicated recipe and technique.

But I am probably guilty of overthinking, too. If you chose T58 for the cloves, then US-05 would be a bad idea. I regard it as a great all-purpose yeast that makes sense to me as a SMASH yeast.

 

[Dutch_Brewer]

T58 is a Belgian style yeast which will give you a lot of cloves. Is that what you are going for? I think the US-05 makes more sense for a simple SMASH type recipe and that T58 calls for more complicated recipe and technique.

But I am probably guilty of overthinking, too. If you chose T58 for the cloves, then US-05 would be a bad idea. I regard it as a great all-purpose yeast that makes sense to me as a SMASH yeast.

I will use the US 05 then.

 

[whovous]

One other thought. It is very difficult for a new brewer to predict original gravity, especially with a small batch. You were wise to lower your predicted efficiency and add more grain. You should decide in advance what you will do if your pre-boil gravity comes back much higher than expected. Your choices are to ignore and wind up with a stronger beer, or to add water to your wort until you get the gravity that you planned in the first place. If you choose the latter route, you will also need a plan on where you will ferment the additional wort. When I did gallon brews, I made sure to have an extra gallon milk jug on hand. You can simply divide the packet of US-05 between the two, as you will have enough yeast to do five gallons if you choose. I always pitched the full package as there is not much danger of over-pitching in this situation.

 

[schematix]

I have an order that still needs to be shipped on Monday, I will call them tommorow and ask if they can add 1kg sauermaltz and do 10% of that?

10% acid malt is waaaay too much.

How much you need depends on your base water. Some rough guidelines:

Distilled water - 2%
Boiled Water - 3%
Tap Water - 4-5%

I wouldn't exceed 5% in any case. If in doubt just aim for the middle. Too much is not good.

 

[Dutch_Brewer]

10% acid malt is waaaay too much.

How much you need depends on your base water. Some rough guidelines:

Distilled water - 2%
Boiled Water - 3%
Tap Water - 4-5%

I wouldn't exceed 5% in any case. If in doubt just aim for the middle. Too much is not good.

Thank's that helps I will boil the water for some minutes before adding the grain and mix in 30 grams sauermaltz

 

[Dutch_Brewer]

One other thought. It is very difficult for a new brewer to predict original gravity, especially with a small batch. You were wise to lower your predicted efficiency and add more grain. You should decide in advance what you will do if your pre-boil gravity comes back much higher than expected. Your choices are to ignore and wind up with a stronger beer, or to add water to your wort until you get the gravity that you planned in the first place. If you choose the latter route, you will also need a plan on where you will ferment the additional wort. When I did gallon brews, I made sure to have an extra gallon milk jug on hand. You can simply divide the packet of US-05 between the two, as you will have enough yeast to do five gallons if you choose. I always pitched the full package as there is not much danger of over-pitching in this situation.

I now own 3 gallon jugs with airlocks so if I have more I will put the rest in one of them.

 

[schematix]

Thank's that helps I will boil the water for some minutes before adding the grain and mix in 30 grams sauermaltz

Don’t do that. The boiling just reduces hardness. You need to decant the *cooled* water off the white powder at the bottom. Then heat that to strike temp.

 

[Dutch_Brewer]

Don’t do that. The boiling just reduces hardness. You need to decant the *cooled* water off the white powder at the bottom. Then heat that to strike temp.

I don't understand, does this technique have a name so I can read into?

 

[Miraculix]

Have you ever seen a water boiler getting calcified? You boil water often in it and there is a white layer building up? That is the "technique" you are talking about.

Some of the solved minarels in the water are able to buffer the acidity of the grains. The more are solved in the water, the more buffering capacity. By boiling the water, you force them to get out of the solutionl. You will have them at the bottom of the pot you boiled it with, and you do not want that stuff in the mash as it might get solved again. This is what he meant.

If you boil the water, you obviously want to let it cool down to mash temperature, before using it.

 

[mongoose33]

You won't go wrong with Mosaic. It's a great all-around hop for both bittering and flavor/aroma. My best IPA is a SMaSH with 2 row & Mosaic. I too doubt the Pilsner/DMS quandary, it may have been an issue back before modified malts but I don't really think it is anymore. Keep in mind, if you're set on a 90 minute boil, to adjust your strike/sparge volume accordingly to hit your target original gravity/fermenter volume.

Not to disagree that it's a popular hop, but it's absolutely a YUK hop for me.

Local brewery just opened, and they had a SMASH on tap. Unusual enough that such a beer would be on tap. So I had to try it.

Had a small glass and I was terribly saddened that it tasted as bad as it did. I suspected a heavy use of Mosaic (well, I more than suspected), and sure enough, a Smash with Mosaic.

To OP: If you like Mosaic, go for it. If you're not sure, I'd suggest finding a Mosaic-hopped beer and seeing if you like it first, before committing to it.

 

[Dutch_Brewer]

Not to disagree that it's a popular hop, but it's absolutely a YUK hop for me.

Local brewery just opened, and they had a SMASH on tap. Unusual enough that such a beer would be on tap. So I had to try it.

Had a small glass and I was terribly saddened that it tasted as bad as it did. I suspected a heavy use of Mosaic (well, I more than suspected), and sure enough, a Smash with Mosaic.

To OP: If you like Mosaic, go for it. If you're not sure, I'd suggest finding a Mosaic-hopped beer and seeing if you like it first, before committing to it.

Thank's I have no idea if I like Mosaic, I've just purchased some random ingredients and try to make a beer with that .

 

[Dutch_Brewer]

Have you ever seen a water boiler getting calcified? You boil water often in it and there is a white layer building up? That is the "technique" you are talking about.

Some of the solved minarels in the water are able to buffer the acidity of the grains. The more are solved in the water, the more buffering capacity. By boiling the water, you force them to get out of the solutionl. You will have them at the bottom of the pot you boiled it with, and you do not want that stuff in the mash as it might get solved again. This is what he meant.

If you boil the water, you obviously want to let it cool down to mash temperature, before using it.

So I will have to carefully pour the water from one pot into another leaving the bottom layer in the old pot?

 

[Miraculix]

So I will have to carefully pour the water from one pot into another leaving the bottom layer in the old pot?

Exactly.

 

[xpops]

how did your beer turn out? it should be done fermenting by now?