Small SMaSH recipes

[optaka]

Recently read about doing SMaSH brews and I am interested in trying them out. I was planning on doing several in some 1 gallon growlers I have sitting around to get a feel for what the different malts and hops bring to the table. However, when I went to look for recipes all I was finding were much larger batches. Is there any reason I shouldn't do several small batches? And if not, then would I be fine just cutting the recipes I have found by 5 and going for it?

 

[D_Nyholm]

Yup, just scale them down by dividing by 5. I would personally go with something larger than a 1 gallon growler as you will fill it right to the brim and lose a lot out of the hope off. I used my tap a draft bottles for fermenters and they worked great.

 

[jbaysurfer]

no on the recipe formulation.

I use beersmith, input the recipe as given, then you can scale it down to the size you want. Hop utilization doesn't work that simply, so you can't just cut the recipe by 5 or the hops will be out of kilter.

Edit: I see I just contradicted D Nyholm. This is just my take. Maybe I'm wrong. It wouldn't be the first time.

 

[D_Nyholm]

no on the recipe formulation.

I use beersmith, input the recipe as given, then you can scale it down to the size you want. Hop utilization doesn't work that simply, so you can't just cut the recipe by 5 or the hops will be out of kilter.

Edit: I see I just contradicted D Nyholm. This is just my take. Maybe I'm wrong. It wouldn't be the first time.

Only time i can see it not working is if one of them wasn't a full boil recipe. Otherwise the utilization should be identical as well as the gravity.

 

[optaka]

Yup, just scale them down by dividing by 5. I would personally go with something larger than a 1 gallon growler as you will fill it right to the brim and lose a lot out of the hope off. I used my tap a draft bottles for fermenters and they worked great.

I don't have any tab a draft bottles. I was just thinking the 1 gallon jugs because they are cheap. I don't want a lot from each batch, this is more about seeing what the ingredients contribute than making beer I want to drink lots of.


I am also wondering about making my own recipes. I know this is probably going to be much more involved than a short answer can do justice for, but how do I know how much of a specific malt to pair with a specific hops. For example, I am a fan of cascade hops (I think, gonna find out) but how do I know how much of it I would pair with whatever malt?

 

[jbaysurfer]

So out of curiosity, I took a five gallon batch of my DIPA and scaled it down in Beersmith to a 1 gallon batch. Here's the hop portion:

My 2 oz bittering and flavoring additions were scaled to .65 and .47oz respectively.

The aroma additions were scaled to exactly one fifth. So when it comes to IBUs utilization is obviously affected (per Beersmith).

If you want Optaka, post the larger recipe and I'll input it into beersmith and scale it down for you.

 

[wherestheyeast]

I did a one gallon batch fermented in a one-gal jug with a blow off.

 

[optaka]

So out of curiosity, I took a five gallon batch of my DIPA and scaled it down in Beersmith to a 1 gallon batch. Here's the hop portion:

My 2 oz bittering and flavoring additions were scaled to .65 and .47oz respectively.

The aroma additions were scaled to exactly one fifth. So when it comes to IBUs utilization is obviously affected (per Beersmith).

If you want Optaka, post the larger recipe and I'll input it into beersmith and scale it down for you.

I just downloaded the trial version and have been messing with it. Discovering that I may be in a bit over my head at this point so I may put this project off for a few weeks. Thanks a lot for offering.

Also discovering the reason not to do batches this small: tiny amounts of hops for each addition.

 

[optaka]

I did a one gallon batch fermented in a one-gal jug with a blow off.

Mind sharing your recipe? Everything I try converting down to that size is calling for around .05 oz of hops. Did you use that little?

 

[D_Nyholm]

So out of curiosity, I took a five gallon batch of my DIPA and scaled it down in Beersmith to a 1 gallon batch. Here's the hop portion:

My 2 oz bittering and flavoring additions were scaled to .65 and .47oz respectively.

The aroma additions were scaled to exactly one fifth. So when it comes to IBUs utilization is obviously affected (per Beersmith).

If you want Optaka, post the larger recipe and I'll input it into beersmith and scale it down for you.

Well, i would see this if you are using your large pot with the same boil off volume as a 5 gallon recipe. If you switch to a smaller pot (like I did when I made my 1 gallon batches), your boil off will also be decreased substantially and you will not have to adjust your hops.

Honestly, 99% of the posts on here from regulars and pro's alike all state you can just scale recipes. You are the first one I have seen that states you cannot, and I can see why you say that based on the calculations you have supplied. I'm going to have to check it out next time I make a small batch and make sure i get my hops correct.

For measuring out small amounts of hops, I purchased a digital scale (up to 10 lb capacity) from Harbor Freight. It measures in .05 oz increments, but if you convert to grams, you can get it in 1 gram increments...

 

[optaka]

Well, i would see this if you are using your large pot with the same boil off volume as a 5 gallon recipe. If you switch to a smaller pot (like I did when I made my 1 gallon batches), your boil off will also be decreased substantially and you will not have to adjust your hops.

Honestly, 99% of the posts on here from regulars and pro's alike all state you can just scale recipes. You are the first one I have seen that states you cannot, and I can see why you say that based on the calculations you have supplied. I'm going to have to check it out next time I make a small batch and make sure i get my hops correct.

For measuring out small amounts of hops, I purchased a digital scale (up to 10 lb capacity) from Harbor Freight. It measures in .05 oz increments, but if you convert to grams, you can get it in 1 gram increments...

Yea, I think that may be what I end up doing. I think I'm just going to go for this. The point is to see the characteristics, not make good beer. So I think I will just get a few pounds of 3 malts and 2 different hops and not worry about making a good recipe at this point. Just run the experiment and see how things come out.

 

[kc1123]

I am pretty new to brewing and have been doing one gallon brews from kits. Just brewed my first recipe from a book specifically for one gallon batches. I am thinking of making a Session SMaSH soon. What I did was approximate my recipe and put it into Brewtarget. I then adjusted to get the right ABV and IBUs. I used the style book for the IBU part.

1.65 lb Pilsner Malt
.05 oz Simcoe each at 60, 45, and 5 min

 

[jbaysurfer]

Well, i would see this if you are using your large pot with the same boil off volume as a 5 gallon recipe. If you switch to a smaller pot (like I did when I made my 1 gallon batches), your boil off will also be decreased substantially and you will not have to adjust your hops.

Honestly, 99% of the posts on here from regulars and pro's alike all state you can just scale recipes. You are the first one I have seen that states you cannot, and I can see why you say that based on the calculations you have supplied. I'm going to have to check it out next time I make a small batch and make sure i get my hops correct.

For measuring out small amounts of hops, I purchased a digital scale (up to 10 lb capacity) from Harbor Freight. It measures in .05 oz increments, but if you convert to grams, you can get it in 1 gram increments...

I was just trying to help. Not contradict you. If you notice the time stamps our original posts were simultaneous. I edited to add deference, saying it wouldn't be the first time I'm wrong. You make a fantastic point about changing the equipment profile used because I did not when I scaled the recipe. So I ran it again with the default 3 gallon pot profile (I all grain, but I don't think any of the mashing equipment matters in this calculation does it?), it came out to .64oz (from 2oz) for the bittering. and .48 (from 2oz) for the flavoring addition. Everything else was the same.

I was certainly not trying to fly in the face of 99% of the regulars and pros here. I'm still new to this stuff, fermenting my 14th batch right now. I'm far from qualified to go challenging any conventional wisdom. Hell I might even be using the software wrong. Please keep that in mind..

 

[jbaysurfer]

I am pretty new to brewing and have been doing one gallon brews from kits. Just brewed my first recipe from a book specifically for one gallon batches. I am thinking of making a Session SMaSH soon. What I did was approximate my recipe and put it into Brewtarget. I then adjusted to get the right ABV and IBUs. I used the style book for the IBU part.

1.65 lb Pilsner Malt
.05 oz Simcoe each at 60, 45, and 5 min

I think this recipe, with pretty much any basemalt, and any hop is a great way to start. Simple IS the spirit of SMaSH afterall!