My first 5 litre SMASH brew experiment

[fartinmartin]

1.1 kg Maris Otter malt
4 litres mash liquor
Strike at 72 deg C
Mash for 1 hour stand at av 62 degs C
Sparge with 3.5 litres at 75 degs C and 15 min stand
40 IBU chinook 12.4%. 8 grams about 25% at boil start then 25% each 15 mins

Massive losses, discarding the trub etc.
I ended up with 4 litres in a demijohn at SG 1.050 (about 12 Brix)

Used about 25% of a packet of Mangrove Jacks M07

Doing this in glass as a learning exercise, hoping it will show me what my base malt is like and what Chinook hops are like.

I filtered the wort through a muslin bag hoping to reduce the trub in the FV.
Whilst I hoped for greater volume, I should have room in the demijohn for foaming.
It will be fermenting between about 18 and 22degs C (that's due to weather and central heating)

I will update as the experiment goes on.

It's such an interesting hobby. :cross:

 

[Oaney]

...
I will update as the experiment goes on.

It's such an interesting hobby. :cross:

Looking forward to an update! So you mashed roughly 2.5 lbs in about 2 gallons it sounds like. After mash/sparge the SG should remain fairly constant except for a slight raise due to boil off? I just found about 9.5oz or 275 grams of Weyermann Abbey Malt that I used as a specialty grain last year. I was thinking about using some of the yeast cake I have in the fermenter now as a sort of SMaSH experiment, as I also have 3-4 varieties of hops from last year also. Even though the ingredients are old, I figured I may as well take advantage of the fresh yeast while doing a (free) practice run at all-grain brewing! This will be an interesting thread to follow

 

[fartinmartin]

Looking forward to an update! So you mashed roughly 2.5 lbs in about 2 gallons it sounds like. After mash/sparge the SG should remain fairly constant except for a slight raise due to boil off?

Sorry I havnt understood the fairly constant bit,
The first runnings from the mash was SG 1.075 that produced about two litres.
The second runnings from the sparge was SG 1.027.
When put together and boiled the result was SG 1.050
Twit, I didnt do a pre boil SG !

I hope that might clear things.

My SMaSH is fermenting nicely between 18-20C about 3/4" froth and 1/2" trub layer.

 

[fartinmartin]

This is day 8 of my 5Litre SMaSH experiment
An airlock bubble every 30secs or so, the foam has disappeared to a very thin sparce layer of very small seltzer fiz type bubbles with gaps showing the wort. The krud layer from the foam krausen is well above the brew and is thick brown. The trub/yeast cake is about 1/2" thick and a light cream colour. The wort is I estimate less than 10SRM. I had not added any Irish moss or anything else to help clear it, at the moment it is very unclear ! Since brew day the ambient temperature of the environment its in has been about 18C. It is still sending up its seltzer type fiz.
Today it is 6 Brix so SG about 1.008 so about 4.9%abv
Its got a way to go yet, so will just leave it alone.

I will update as it goes on