First Recipe: 1 Gallon Maris Otter / Goldings SMaSH (Comments, suggestions?)

[Dead Ringer]

New brewer here, with a bunch of apple ciders and a Brooklyn Brew Shop all-grain recipe kit already done. Want to try my first SMaSH.

I've come up with this ESB-like Maris Otter + East Kent Goldings 1 gallon SMaSH recipe, with calculations done via Brewersfriend. Will be using BIAB. Looking for some feedback before I jump right in to it. In particular, my main concerns are:

1. The amount of water is based on Brewersfriend's calculations. Seems OK to me. Is it better to err on the side of too little water (high OG, can add water to fermenter), or too much water (low OG, watery beer, but maybe better extraction)?
2. Does this hop schedule make sense? I'm really kind of winging it here. Brewersfriend seems to suggest it's a reasonable IBU, but I wonder if I should shift more to later in the boil, or vice-versa?
3. Quarter of a packet of S-04 should do it. Maybe I'll just throw in half a packet to keep it easy?

Recipe summary:
HOME BREW RECIPE:
Title: Extra SMaSH Bitter (Maris Otter / EKG)

Brew Method: BIAB
Style Name: Extra Special/Strong Bitter (ESB)
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 1 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 1.8 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.032
Efficiency: 60% (brew house)

Hop Utilization Multiplier: 1

STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.057
Final Gravity: 1.014
ABV (standard): 5.61%
IBU (tinseth): 51.32
SRM (morey): 6.93
Mash pH: 0

FERMENTABLES:
2.5 lb - Maris Otter Pale (100%)

HOPS:
0.3 oz - East Kent Goldings, Type: Pellet, AA: 5, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 33.61
0.2 oz - East Kent Goldings, Type: Pellet, AA: 5, Use: Boil for 30 min, IBU: 17.22
0.1 oz - East Kent Goldings, Type: Pellet, AA: 5, Use: Boil for 1 min, IBU: 0.48

YEAST:
Fermentis / Safale - English Ale Yeast S-04
Starter: No
Form: Dry
Attenuation (avg): 75%
Flocculation: High
Optimum Temp: 54 - 77 F
Pitch Rate: 0.35 (M cells / ml / deg P)

PRIMING:
CO2 Level: 0 Volumes

TARGET WATER PROFILE:
Profile Name: Balanced Profile
Ca2: 0
Mg2: 0
Na: 0
Cl: 0
SO4: 0
HCO3: 0

MASH GUIDELINES:
1) Start Temp: 154 F, Target Temp: -- F, Time: 60 min, Amount: 2 gal

WATER REQUIREMENTS:
WARNING: Mash tun capacity exceeded. Volume required: 2.2 gal (8.8 qt). Suggest reducing initial strike volume to 1.8 gal (7.2 qt) and adding 0.2 gal (0.8 qt) sparge/top-off.

Strike water volume (equipment estimates 1.35 g | 5.4 qt), 2gal (8qt)
Mash volume with grains (equipment estimates 1.55 g | 6.2 qt), 2.2gal (8.8qt)
Grain absorption losses, -0.2gal (-0.8qt)
Pre boil volume (equipment estimates 1.15 g | 4.6 qt), 1.8gal (7.2qt)
Boil off losses, -0.13gal (-0.5qt)
Hops absorption losses (first wort, boil, aroma), -0.02gal (-0.1qt)
Post boil Volume, 1gal (4qt)
Volume into fermentor, 1gal (4qt)

Total Water Needed: 2gal (8qt)


Generated by Brewer's Friend - https://www.brewersfriend.com/
Date: 2024-04-04 21:04 UTC
Recipe Last Updated: 2024-04-04 21:03 UTC

 

[VikeMan]

This won't really be all that much like an ESB (Strong Bitter), but it should be tasty. And you'll also learn what Maris Otter and EKG taste like, which is pretty much thre point of brewing a SMaSH beer. A couple things...

1. The amount of water is based on Brewersfriend's calculations. Seems OK to me. Is it better to err on the side of too little water (high OG, can add water to fermenter), or too much water (low OG, watery beer, but maybe better extraction)?

The amount of water you'll need depends on all of the following (as applicable):
Desired batch size into the fermenter
+ grain absorption
+ unrecoverable mash tun dead space
+ tun to kettle transfer losses
+ kettle hop/trub absorption
+ boil off
+ kettle to fermenter transfer losses.

These things will vary, depending on your equipment and process. Brewer's Friend (or any software) won't know unless you tell it. One of the more variable parameters is boil off. One thing you can do is put some water in your kettle, boil for some amount of time, and calculate you boiloff rate from there.

1. Does this hop schedule make sense? I'm really kind of winging it here. Brewersfriend seems to suggest it's a reasonable IBU, but I wonder if I should shift more to later in the boil, or vice-versa?

It's going to be on the bitter side. Personally, I'd probably move that 30 minute addition to 5 or 10 minutes.

Mash pH: 0

Not likely!

 

[DBhomebrew]

For a British brewer's take on a SMaSH bitter, take a look at this...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/how-much-water-is-needed-to-make-your-wort.731070/post-10344541

 

[Dead Ringer]

Thank you both for the feedback! I'm adjusting the recipe to move more of the hops later. Hoping to hit the LHBS this weekend, and brew it up soon.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

This won't really be all that much like an ESB (Strong Bitter),

?? May not be what USians think of as a strong bitter, it's no Fuller's but other strong bitters are available.... (and Fuller's ESB is somewhat atypical, in the same way that Uerige is an atypical alt but it's the one people most often experience)

Yes it's a touch on the bitter side - as a northerner I like beers to be bitter but I wouldn't normally go over BU/GU of 85% or so, down south you'd be looking at 70%, maybe even as low as 60%. But Otter and Goldings are a match made in heaven, you can't go too far wrong.

British beers are all about balancing the different components of a beer - which includes the carbonation (don't overcarbonate, 1.8-2 vol is fine), the water chemistry (ignore US ideas on water, you want at least 100ppm of Ca, Cl, and SO4 although the Cl/SO4 ratio is a matter of personal taste - if in doubt and your water is not too hard, add half a teaspoon of gypsum and calcium chloride), and the temperature.

A few degrees can make a big difference - overchilling it will kill it but British beers are not served "warm" contrary to legend - it depends a bit on ambient temperature and other factors but somewhere around 52F is about right.

Personally I'd be generous with the Goldings, have some in the whirlpool and as dry hop, it's all good. And personally if everything is right then I'd rather drink an ABV of 4.5% than 5.5%, it just leaves you wanting to drink more. But alcohol does cover up faults.

 

[Dead Ringer]

Thanks @Northern_Brewer ! This is all good feedback.

I haven't even looked at adjusting water chemistry, and will likely only start experimenting with that on future batches. Would be interesting to compare the difference that water adjustments make. Definitely lower than "100ppm of Ca, Cl, and SO4" here (we're around 33 / 28 /25 [Toronto water profile]).

I also prefer drinking beer on the "warmer" end of the scale. Too cold and I don't taste as much and it hurts my teeth.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

if in doubt and your water is not too hard, add half a teaspoon of gypsum and calcium chloride

Ah - that was assuming you were 5 US gallons/20 litres kind of size, obviously you want pro rata given your volume.

You don't need to overthink water but given water that soft, some gypsum and CaCl2 will help in all sorts of ways - not just in the final flavour but calcium helps the mash enzymes and helps the yeast to drop out after fermentation.