SMaSH Experiment - Suggestions?

[Puddlethumper]

I want to really know the differences between various hops varieties so I can taste them when sampling the beers I am served. To get a handle on this I've decided to do a series of 1 gal. SMaSH recipes with the only variation being the hops. All will be done using the same malt bill, boil times, etc. What I want to learn is what are the distinctive flavors/aromas/perceived bitterness of several hops varieties. Here are the basics:

5 separate 1 gal. batches - BIAB
Style: APA

550 g Domestic (US) 2 row
60 min. mash @ 152F - no sparge
60 min. boil
200 ml WLP-001 yeast (drawn from a 1L starter)

Variables:
** g "X" hops @ 60 min.
** g "X" hops @ 10 min.

Hops to be tested will be:
X = Amarillo, Crystal, Cascade, Centennial and Northern Brewer

All will be fermented 7 days @ 65F followed by 7 days secondary at 68F
Primed (corn sugar) and bottled at 14 days

My primary questions revolve around the hops additions. To test the flavor aroma of each hop variety against the others do you suggest that:

• Hops additions be the same for all varieties? i.e. 6 g @ 60 min. followed by 3 g @ 10 min.

• Hops additions be adjusted so the same IBU is achieved in the final beer?

Although my primary focus is on the hops additions, any other comments or suggestions on this experiment are appreciated. Cheers!

 

[Black Island Brewer]

IMO if you want to get a feel for the flavor of a hop, skip the 60 minute addition. Adding hops from 20 minutes and under will give you a very good feel for the flavor and aroma. It will also make the AA's of the hops less important, because their IBU contributions will be smaller and the majority of the perceived bitterness will be from the hop oils. If I were doing it, I'd put the same amount of hops into each batch, and maybe do three additions, say around 20, 5 and flameout. Maybe a dry hop as well? You'll need more hops to get the same level of bitterness as you would doing a 60 minute addition.

 

[Puddlethumper]

IMO if you want to get a feel for the flavor of a hop, skip the 60 minute addition. Adding hops from 20 minutes and under will give you a very good feel for the flavor and aroma. It will also make the AA's of the hops less important, because their IBU contributions will be smaller and the majority of the perceived bitterness will be from the hop oils. If I were doing it, I'd put the same amount of hops into each batch, and maybe do three additions, say around 20, 5 and flameout. Maybe a dry hop as well? You'll need more hops to get the same level of bitterness as you would doing a 60 minute addition.

Thanks for your comments. You brought some things to the fore that I hadn't considered. It'll be a few days before I do my first batch so will consider your suggestions carefully.

To be sure I understand what you are suggesting:

To make all of the finished beers taste comparable the final IBU should be the same (?) To achieve that I will use more hops but at later additions as needed to reach the IBU goal?

Thanks again for your insight.

 

[CA_Mouse]

To make all of the finished beers taste comparable the final IBU should be the same (?) To achieve that I will use more hops but at later additions as needed to reach the IBU goal?

I think what he was saying, was that to maintain the same level of bitterness that you would get from a 60 minute addition, you would need to use more hops in the later additions.

I would suggest that you try using a neutral bittering hop, such as Magnum, in each batch and use identical amounts of each of the hops you want to compare. I.E. use 1/8 oz of Magnum to bitter and 1/4 oz of Centennial at 15 minutes, 5 minutes, flame out and dry hop. Magnum carries almost no flavor when used as a bittering addition, so you won't skew your palate with differing oils being boiled off with the other hops (Cascade will leave a vastly different flavor when used as a bittering hop than as an aroma or flavor hop). Some hops are very nice as both, but they need a slightly higher AA% to get a nice bittering, IMHO. Of course your palate will dictate how you perceive flavors and tastes.

 

[Puddlethumper]

I would suggest that you try using a neutral bittering hop, such as Magnum, in each batch and use identical amounts of each of the hops you want to compare. ......
Magnum carries almost no flavor when used as a bittering addition, so you won't skew your palate with differing oils being boiled off with the other hops (Cascade will leave a vastly different flavor when used as a bittering hop than as an aroma or flavor hop). Some hops are very nice as both, but they need a slightly higher AA% to get a nice bittering,

Since I was originally thinking SMaSH the idea of using more than one hop variety hadn't occurred to me. But you make an excellent point. I completely agree that the flavor changes brought on by the lengthy boil time could skew the results substantially. This is a variable that I had not accounted for and it is important. Thanks for the suggestion.

Cheers!

 

[Gavin C]

Sounds like an interesting project. I am no expert but would have one question for those more learned in the craft regarding the use of a constant bittering hops prior to the test hop at later times.

Q: Does the use of more than one hop type introduce hop/hop interactions with alterations to taste.

If so the use of a second hop with a view to reducing variables may have quite the opposite effect. Again, this is just me hypothesizing and it is likely that there are no such concerns regarding hop utilization/interaction with later additions. Just wanted to put the thought out there for someone with some expertise to chime in on.

Best of luck with the project.

 

[Shred]

Sounds like an interesting project. I am no expert but would have one question for those more learned in the craft regarding the use of a constant bittering hops prior to the test hop at later times.

Q: Does the use of more than one hop type introduce hop/hop interactions with alterations to taste.

If so the use of a second hop with a view to reducing variables may have quite the opposite effect. Again, this is just me hypothesizing and it is likely that there are no such concerns regarding hop utilization/interaction with later additions. Just wanted to put the thought out there for someone with some expertise to chime in on.

Best of luck with the project.

I think the reason Magnum was specifically suggested is that it gives a "clean" bittering. Another thing to keep in mind is that most all of the volatile aroma and flavor compounds boil off within 30 minutes, so a 60 minute addition is not likely to skew the flavors.

This technique is how I do all my IPAs now. I get 10-15 IBUs from a clean bittering hop (Magnum, Warrior, etc...) at 60 then get all the remaining IBUs through hop bursting in the last 10 minutes.

My suggestion to the OP would be to calculate IBUs for each of your different "single hops" being used in the last 10-20 minutes. Keep the schedules and amounts the same across the board but use a clean bittering hop at 60 and adjust THIS addition to get the total IBUs as close to one another as possible.

Now you have 5 different beers with the same bitterness which will truly showcase their flavors and aromas.

 

[Puddlethumper]

I think the reason Magnum was specifically suggested is that it gives a "clean" bittering....

Now you have 5 different beers with the same bitterness which will truly showcase their flavors and aromas.

That is precisely what I am hoping to accomplish. I appreciate your comments, and those of the others above as well. With all your help I think I now have a good protocol to follow. Most of the controllable variables have been addressed.

Now for a trip to the lhbs for some WLP-001 and Magnum hops!

 

[Lifer59]

What would be the result if you did the 'clean' bittering hop at 60 and the dryhopped the different hops you want to test. Wondering if this would get the desired result with one 5 gal boil rather than five 1 gal boils.

 

[agrazela]

What would be the result if you did the 'clean' bittering hop at 60 and the dryhopped the different hops you want to test. Wondering if this would get the desired result with one 5 gal boil rather than five 1 gal boils.

That's somewhat how I'd do it, to minimize variations in mashing / boiling. But I'd split the 5gal just before wort cooling, and do both whirlpool/flameout (i.e., "zero minute") and dry hop in each 1gal split-off.

 

[Shred]

Doing it that way you'll extract minimal flavor and aroma. You really need boil additions of each of the hops.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[JR_Brewer]

Sounds like a cool experiment! Similar to what folks are saying above, the late additions should be the key variable if you're looking for flavor/aroma differences. My idea would be to normalize the bittering hops around a set level of IBUs, then use a standard amount (by weight) of hops at flameout.

Example:
30 IBUs "X" hops @ 60 min
5 g "X" hops @ FO

 

[npbrew]

That's somewhat how I'd do it, to minimize variations in mashing / boiling. But I'd split the 5gal just before wort cooling, and do both whirlpool/flameout (i.e., "zero minute") and dry hop in each 1gal split-off.

I did something like that not too long ago. Granted, they were not a "true" SMaSH due to the magnum addition, but they turned out delicious regardless:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/brewing-6-smash-variations-simultaneously-479003/

Splitting a batch at whirlpool temperature is so much easier than doing 6 separate boils, and I got a ton more hop flavor and aromatics than I expected - each batch was very distinct, and could easily pick out the hop characteristics.

 

[Puddlethumper]

I did something like that not too long ago. ...

Splitting a batch at whirlpool temperature is so much easier than doing 6 separate boils, and I got a ton more hop flavor and aromatics than I expected - each batch was very distinct, and could easily pick out the hop characteristics.

Thanks for posting that. It's an interesting read. I like the idea of not trying to do 5 separate 1 gallon batches, especially since I'm not that confident in doing BIAB in those small quantities in the first place. And your technique eliminates another variable; that being the differences that might creep into the process from one boil to the next.

On the negative side it does introduce the expense of obtaining sufficient fermentation vessels to have all the batches at the same stage at the same time. I'll have to chew on that a bit to see what I might come up with. But overall it looks like a good approach to the experiment. Thanks again!

Cheers!

 

[stpug]

When reading this I thought why would not use a hop shot or hop jizz as your bittering addition instead of Warrior/Magnum to really get that bittering hop character contribution out of the way.

Also, I like the idea of brewing a single batch using hop shot/jizz and splitting it at the very end for a prolonged steep with your X hops. Then you really are keeping every batch on the same page and the isomerization contribution from the X hops should be minute - hopefully, imperceptible.

 

[drumuglyknuckles]

perhaps this ignorance, but couldn't you do a hop tea with and get a good idea of the different hop characteristics? seems like that would save a load of work and time.

 

[Puddlethumper]

When reading this I thought why would not use a hop shot or hop jizz as your bittering addition instead of Warrior/Magnum to really get that bittering hop character contribution out of the way.

Also, I like the idea of brewing a single batch using hop shot/jizz and splitting it at the very end for a prolonged steep with your X hops. Then you really are keeping every batch on the same page and the isomerization contribution from the X hops should be minute - hopefully, imperceptible.

OK, gotta ask this one...what is a "hop shot" and a "hop jizz"?

 

[Puddlethumper]

perhaps this ignorance, but couldn't you do a hop tea with and get a good idea of the different hop characteristics? seems like that would save a load of work and time.

Might be the simplest solution yet. :rockin:

Have to study on that a bit. Perhaps Shred's comments above contain some of the answer. It'll be interesting to see what others have to say about this approach.

Cheers!

 

[stpug]

OK, gotta ask this one...what is a "hop shot" and a "hop jizz"?

Here's Northern Brewer's description of it, but it is being found more readily available these days. Ask your LHBS if they have any in:
http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/brewing/brewing-ingredients/hops/hopshot/hopshot.html

Here's another link with description:
http://www.brewbrothers.biz/Hop-JizzTM

 

[TastyAdventure]

I plan on doing something like this, but I a going to boil 5 gallons all together, bitter with Magnum.
Once boil is over, I will chill to 180 and dump 1 gallon each into 5 different vessels. Then I will do a Hopstand with each.

Saves a lot of time and effort...

 

[pumahunter]

I'm wanting to use vienna, golden promise, or marris otter for my next smash...no idea what hops though...