SMaSH for learning hop characteristics

[EinBierBitte]

I am at the point where I want to start making my own unique brews. I was wanting to know, for the sake of learning different hops, if there is a grain that would be best for highlighting the hops? I want to buy the grain in bulk then just try different hop additions so that I get more of an understanding how each hop changes the beer. I think this will help me "taste" my future brews while I am thinking them up.
I still want the SMaSH to taste good, for it shall be consumed!
If this doesnt make sense then let me know and I will try and reword it.

Thanks

 

[BillyBroas]

I gotcha. You are looking for a grain that will still make the beer taste good but not cover up the hop character. Any base malt works well for SMaSH beers. Go with plain ole' 2-Row for the most neutral flavor. From there you can go to Pale Malt for something that it is more kilned, or even Vienna or Munich malt for more flavor. I made a Vienna Simcoe SMaSH that turned out really good and highlighted the Simcoe.

Here's the recipe: http://billybrew.com/smash-beer-vienna-simcoe

 

[jmick]

Good ideas already posted, but don't forget about Maris Otter or Golden Promise.

 

[TheMan]

I prefer to use Two Row in my smashes. Especially for the purpose of letting the hops shine. I've made a couple and they turn out good.

Another quicker way to learn what each is like is to just fill a few coffee mugs with boiling water and put a few pellets in each mug of all the hops you want to try. You can smell and even taste the differences easily like this, plus you'll have a side by side of each hop to compare them all.

 

[Bentpirate]

2 row will be the cheapest in most cases and will make a tasty beverage but I like Marris Otter, however it is a bit more expensive so I usually save the MO for a hope higher in Alpha's.

 

[flipfloptan]

You might want to listen to the 9.7.2006 show of Basic brewing radio for a quick primer on the hops part of your smash recipes.

They brewed a 5 gallon base grain bill (Not a smash) and separated wort into 5 one gallons and added 5 different hops to each. The show talks about each hop and tasting.

I believe the hops were Cascade, Amirrello, Centennial, Simcoe and Chinook.

It helped me pick out the hops I wanted to start with on my smash recipes.

 

[BillyBroas]

You might want to listen to the 9.7.2006 show of Basic brewing radio for a quick primer on the hops part of your smash recipes.

They brewed a 5 gallon base grain bill (Not a smash) and separated wort into 5 one gallons and added 5 different hops to each. The show talks about each hop and tasting.

I believe the hops were Cascade, Amirrello, Centennial, Simcoe and Chinook.

It helped me pick out the hops I wanted to start with on my smash recipes.

Thanks for the tip I didn't know about that episode.

 

[TokyoRoad]

MO and Amarillo started as experiment, it is now a standard beer I brew.

 

[EinBierBitte]

Thanks for the replies and the awesome info.

BillyBroas: I will give that recipe a try

Flip: Awesome info on that radio clip

I have to give Maris Otter a try now also since you all mentioned it!

 

[indigi]

I prefer to use Two Row in my smashes. Especially for the purpose of letting the hops shine. I've made a couple and they turn out good.

Another quicker way to learn what each is like is to just fill a few coffee mugs with boiling water and put a few pellets in each mug of all the hops you want to try. You can smell and even taste the differences easily like this, plus you'll have a side by side of each hop to compare them all.

How well does this approximate the hop character in the final beer? I'd imagine the flavors and aromas would be different in a hop tea than a beer because of the temperature difference and the lack of malt balance. Still sounds like a good learning experience - maybe I'll pick up some extra Citra to try this out with the Citra SMaSH I brewed yesterday so I'll be able to compare.

 

[prosper]

I've had excellent results with Special Aromatic. It's sort of a belgian maris otter, kinda of like Vienna malt. I mash at 156 with my smash's, 158 even.

 

[TheMan]

How well does this approximate the hop character in the final beer? I'd imagine the flavors and aromas would be different in a hop tea than a beer because of the temperature difference and the lack of malt balance. Still sounds like a good learning experience - maybe I'll pick up some extra Citra to try this out with the Citra SMaSH I brewed yesterday so I'll be able to compare.

It will tell you generally what the hop will smell/taste like (more so smell). You only need a pellet or two. I used this method to determine which hop I really gravitated to. And which to use for a particular brew. The flavor it imparts will be different since malted water is obviously different than plain water, but it can help point you in the direction you want to go when deciding. In the end, the finished product is the best representation, but for a quick and simple method to get an idea this works. Making a Smash of multiple brews is ideal, but unless you make them exactly the same at exactly the same time you cannot do an accurate side by side.

 

[CrapulencePants]

I use plain ol' two row for my malt. I keep everything the same from batch to batch, changing only the hops. Smash is my favorite and best beers so far. Have fun experimenting.

 

[ghpeel]

I dubbed this beer my "Regula-Ass Ale". Its from DeathBrewer:

10lbs Vienna
NorthernBrewer: 1oz @ 60, 20, 5
Notty or US-05
Delicious!

I've had Smashes with Munich/NB (tasty, a touch malty), Marris Otter/Amarillo (yum), Vienna/Centennial (delicious) and Pale Malt/Palisade (in keg now, fantastic!)

 

[dotnetdotcom]

Light pale extract, 4 oz carapils and Safale S-05.
I've done it with Simcoe, Columbus, Haullertauer and Tettnanger. I chose these hops because each one has a high percentage of one of the 4 main essential oils. I wanted to compare the differences the essential oils made. I don't think I was too successful with that, but these were probably my favorite batches I've made so far.

 

[EinBierBitte]

ghpeel: Could you hook me up with the recipes for the Maris Otter/Amarillo and the Vienna/Centennial.

Lots of great info. Are there any commercial breweries that sell a SMaSH?

 

[ghpeel]

ghpeel: Could you hook me up with the recipes for the Maris Otter/Amarillo and the Vienna/Centennial.

Those are the two that friends did, not me so I don't have a recipe.

But the good news is that since it's a smash you don't really need a recipe! Both had a nice hop flavor, but weren't over-hopped, and both were about 1.050-1.055 OG if I had to guess, so you can reverse engineer that pretty easy!

I'd go:
10lbs of malt (or less if you've got great efficiency)
Hops @ 60min to get 20-30 IBU depending on your taste
Hops @ 15min for flavor (1oz to start)
Hops @ flameout for aroma (1oz to start)
Dry hop is optional
Neutral ale yeast (US-05, WLP001, Notty, even Scottish Ale maybe, etc)

Smashes are the only recipe that I'd encourage new brewers to create on their own. I jacked up several beers last year by trying to throw too much stuff in. You basically can't f*ck up a smash that bad. Just make sure you get a "base" malt. An "Amarillo + Crystal 40" smash sounds delicious but would FAIL .

BTW got a good buddy living in Austin now. That's a fantastic town. And Austin Homebrew Supply is supposed to be a great shop.

 

[nutty_gnome]

Smash's are fun. I've done Deathbrewers northern brewer smash and it is very good. As a cost saving measure, I've turned to a simple pale ale recipe now to try hops. I take 9 pounds of 2 row and 1 pound of crystal 40 and mash at 150. Then add a single hop at various times to get something you think you'll like. I just did this with palisades and with centennial. Both are bottle conditioning but they taste completely different and its easy to tell how they are different.

 

[impur]

I'm doing this same thing with 2.5gal recipes. I've got 2 in fermenters currently and I'll be brewing 2 more this weekend with Willamette and Mt Hood hops. I'm using Maris Otter and Safale 05. The only thing I notice is there isn't much body to the beer. But the hops sure do shine when i've taken samples. I plan to get 6-10 batches of them, let them age, then sit down one day and test them all while keeping tabs on the different flavors.

 

[EinBierBitte]

What does Maris Otter add to the beer. Does it have a malty, biscuity finish? I am definately using it next brew because the name just sounds cool. Thats reason enough for me. Thanks for all the great info. Keep it coming!

 

[EinBierBitte]

Oh and Austin is a fantastic town! I just moved back after 10 years being all over the place (including Germany) and there is nowhere else I would rather be. The guys at Austin Homebrew are really helpful and they are crazy about beer.

 

[impur]

I was told it might impart a little more flavor over 2row, so i went with it. I'm too new to brewing to be able to tell grains apart yet, but after I get my bearings with hops flavor, i plan to do something similar with different grains.

 

[bwomp313]

vienna cascade and us-05, ferment cool, so simple so delicious

 

[ghpeel]

Vienna + just about anything is good. That's just a great base malt. It goes well with American hops (cascade, centennial), and with noble/spicy hops (Northern Brewer, Saaz).