SmAsH IPA hops ideas?

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nosmatt

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I have pretty much all the popular hops at my disposal. wanna do a smash next weekend.
the only thing sure is MO is the grain. i have 11lbs.

after 4+ weeks of non brew, the pipeline is darn near empty!!!! (ok, i brewed sunday, so i lied...well, and the week before, but that was an extract kit i got for xmas).

anyway, i only have 2 cases bottle conditioning....non are even close to drinkable yet. 2 5 gallon batches in fermenters... i need like 5 in fermenters!!!!

come summer, brewing is over. it is too hot around here.



anyway, lets have some ideas!

11 lbs of MO...and what hop?
i wanna 50+ ibu, and hella aromatic brew.


thanks!
 
Can't go wrong with Simcoe, it's delicious. My standard IPA is based on Simcoe for flavor, aroma, and dry-hop - everything but bittering.
 
i was leanin toward amarillo... i think im chalkin one up for simcoe!
anyone else?

can we get another vote for simcoe?

judging by the AA of this, 4 oz i have in stock will be quite enough.
 
I use a lot of Magnum and Warrior in my IPA's. I don't know if you will get great aroma and bitterness with just 1 though.
 
I can not believe I have not heard Centennial. Try a Bells Two Hearted Ale (all Cent).
 
I use Amarillo in my oaked IPA, it turns out delicious. And Centennial is always great too, as s3n8 pointed out. You should go for something you haven't tried in another brew. (to point back to my original bias, if you haven't tried Simcoe, you won't be disappointed, but that's just one man's opinion)

From Sly Fox's website:

Commercial Description:
Simcoe is a unique American hybrid. Although it is primarily a bittering hop (12-14% alpha acids), its pine like aroma is highly sought after to make distinctive pale ales. Also described as citrusy and refined. Simcoe's flavor is believed superior due to low cohumulone levels.

Simcoe IPA is brewed with 100% Simcoe hops.

Known years: 2004, 2006
 
Oh yeah, Crystal is also great. Boulder Brewery uses that in their Hazed and Infused, which I think has a great hop flavor/aroma.
 
moti_mo said:
Oh yeah, Crystal is also great. Boulder Brewery uses that in their Hazed and Infused, which I think has a great hop flavor/aroma.
Click to expand...

But only for dry hopping the H&I.
You can't go wrong with Amarillo or Centennial for a smash.
 
I just did a Vienna/Citra SMaSH that turned out fantastic... I am sure MO/Citra would turn out just as good...:mug:
 
I did a 10# MO and Cascade SMaSH and it was awesome. Centennial would be pretty similar I imagine.
 
I've done single hop IPA's with Colombus, Galaxy and Citra. I still can't decide if I liked Galaxy or Citra better... All have been very good.

In the near future I want to try Simcoe and then Sorachi Ace. I've read not so good things about an all sorachi IPA but the smell is fantastic.

I make a Centennial and Amarillo APA that I really like. I'm sure those would also be great for single hop IPA.
 
I made an all Waimea hops SMASH I called "the Eddie" and am not sure I would do it again. It was a little too cat pissy to me at first. After it mellowed for week or two, it was just okay. My wife loved it as it aged and mellowed.
 
I always viewed SMaSH IPAs as very limiting. It is sort of like giving an artist red paint, only red paint, and then asking him to create a masterpiece. The artwork would likely be better with a few more colors.

I understand that brewing SMaSH IPAs allows the beginning homebrewer to learn about the individual flavor profile of a hop. When I started out, I always put more value in learning what "hop combos" made sense vs. brewing vapid single hop IPAs. Guess I'd rather just brew a tasty 10/10 IPA with an outstanding hop combo vs. an IPA that is missing hop complexity.

You can find in depth descriptions for individual hops anywhere on the web. Trying to find a combo of hops that work amazingly together is a little more difficult. And the point at which you use these hops can really change things. There are even combos that have never been attempted, so there is plenty of room to learn.
 
bobbrews said:
I always viewed SMaSH IPAs as very limiting. It is sort of like giving an artist red paint, only red paint, and then asking him to create a masterpiece. The artwork would likely be better with a few more colors.

I understand that brewing SMaSH IPAs allows the beginning homebrewer to learn about the individual flavor profile of a hop. When I started out, I always put more value in learning what "hop combos" made sense vs. brewing vapid single hop IPAs. Guess I'd rather just brew a tasty 10/10 IPA with an outstanding hop combo vs. an IPA that is missing hop complexity.

You can find in depth descriptions for individual hops anywhere on the web. Trying to find a combo of hops that work amazingly together is a little more difficult. And the point at which you use these hops can really change things. There are even combos that have never been attempted, so there is plenty of room to learn.
Click to expand...

Yup. Drew Beechum gave a good presentation of this at NHC a few years back.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
German Mandarina Bavaria

I used some from HopUnion.

Pleasantly surprised by the aroma and taste. It's only about a 7.5 AA, but amazing!!!
 
k1ngl1ves said:
German Mandarina Bavaria

I used some from HopUnion.

Pleasantly surprised by the aroma and taste. It's only about a 7.5 AA, but amazing!!!
Click to expand...


I've been thinking about that hop. How is it. What would you compare it to. How much did you use? Thanks
 
Vanryzin said:
I've been thinking about that hop. How is it. What would you compare it to. How much did you use? Thanks
Click to expand...

The aroma is fantastic! The taste is great too! It smells like someone is peeling tangerines across the room! Very clean taste, with little aftertaste. I don't know what to compare it to. As soon as I opened the bag, I new I had found something special. I then adjusted from a 1g batch to 5g.

I used only 1/2 an ounce (fwh) and then an ounce (3 total) at 10, 5, and flameout/whirlpool. Dry hopped 4 oz in the keg (3 days room temp then chilled and carbed). Used just 2 row and this hop. I wanted to keep it as simple as possible with grains and a late hop schedule. First time feeling the hop out kinda thing... and IPA's aren't really my specialty (and this isn't really an IPA). I'm sure there were better ways to go about it, but the result was great for me!


Most of my kegs last at least a month, most of the time longer. This one was kicked 3 days after full carb. It's all my friends would drink. It was new and exciting.


I'm definitely going to play around with this more. The aroma is too great to dismiss. Dry hopping is probably it's best use.


(Sorry for the long, poorly thought out rant.)
 
I just did a simple 2-row/Centennial using my homegrown hops from last year. A little risky with the unknown bittering capacity, but I took a sample today before transferring for dry hopping and it tastes awesome. And the smell of the centennial emanating from the carboy during transfer was amazing. I can't wait to taste it after a week of sitting on the fresh hops.
 
I just brewed up a really awesome smash IPA. 13 lbs Belgium Pilsner with lots of mosaic hops and Wyeast German Ale yeast.

2oz at 60
1 at 15
2 at flame out
2 dry hop
 

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