HBC 438 / Malting Co. of Ireland SMaSH

[sudbuddy]

I'm brewing a SMaSH today using Stout Malt and that new HBC 438 hop that was presented at NHC. I have no experience with Stout malt but got 20 lbs. to play with for free so I figured I would do a SMaSH first before building a grain bill for a stout with it. The HBC 438 hop is really cool, it is a Neomexicanus cross that is being given to homebrewers before craft brewers (in an interesting move outside the norm) and I'm excited to see what it does. I had the Ron Mexico beer that Russian River brewed with it and really liked it, it had intense tropical, melon and citrus flavors and was one of the more uniquely flavored hops I have ever tried. Plus it is 16.6% alpha so that's pretty neat.

Here's the recipe:

OG 1.054
FG 1.012
ABV 5.57%
IBU 86.8
SRM 3.2

10 lbs Stout Malt

Mashed at 151* for 60 mins
Mash out at 168* for 10 mins
Fly Sparge

.5 oz HBC 438 @ 60 mins
1 oz HBC 438 @ 15 Mins
1 oz HBC 438 @ 10 Mins
1 oz HBC 438 @ 5 Mins
1 oz HBC 438 @ 0 Mins
1.5 oz HBC 438 Dry Hop for 5 days

Nottingham yeast

Just thought I'd share

 

[armedcor]

Nice! Hope you like the MCI malt. It's so awesome to see a company around the corner from me doing well outside Ireland.

 

[sudbuddy]

Nice! Hope you like the MCI malt. It's so awesome to see a company around the corner from me doing well outside Ireland.

It's my first time using it, but I've heard really good things from my MCI reps Stateside and they were kind enough to give me a bunch of it to play with. If I like it I will bring in a lot and start recommending it to customers in the upcoming stout season.

I am concerned about the relatively low DP (90* Lintner I believe). Have you used it? Should I expect lower mash efficiency because of this?

 

[sudbuddy]

After hours of chilling thanks to a warm water supply, I ended up with a beautifully clear wort at 1.060. I was shooting for 1.054 so I guess my fears about the malt's low DP were unwarranted. I'll post how it tastes in a few weeks.

 

[armedcor]

After hours of chilling thanks to a warm water supply, I ended up with a beautifully clear wort at 1.060. I was shooting for 1.054 so I guess my fears about the malt's low DP were unwarranted. I'll post how it tastes in a few weeks.

Sorry only saw you're quote there! Glad everything turned out well. Sounds like a very efficient brew day!

 

[sudbuddy]

Just kicked the keg of this over the weekend at a beer fest and thought I would share my observations. Between the dry hop and the yeast not flocculating at all it was a hazy, chunky, delicious monster. Lots and lots of, ahem, "flavor crystals." These hops (HBC-438) are fantastic and I think everyone needs to try them at least once. Huge amount of citrus and tropical character, papaya, lime, etc. It was like drinking a hoppy daiquiri. The MCI Stout malt was really nice too, great flavor and it mashed like a champ. I will definitely use it again. Not sold on the clarity-ferm yet, I think it might've been why the yeast never dropped but I can't imagine why.

 

[hanuswalrus]

Glad it turned out well, not so glad I didn't get to try it. Guess I gotta try these hops when you get em in stock