What do you think the best SMaSH combo is?

[CastleHollow]

This past season I did a small batch SMaSH with MO & my homegrown Cascades hops--fermented half with California V and the other with Burton Ale. The Burton Ale version was awesome, definitely will be a repeat brew.

 

[mux]

What are your mash temps for this? I mashed at 154 and it fermented down from 1.055 to 1.010. I read somewhere to mash at 160 to produce a less fermentable wort.

 

[SpacemanSpiff]

Planning an MO/Amarillo for my next batch. Any suggestions on a hopping schedule? I'm thinking APA. My crack at it was:

1/2 oz FWH
1/2 oz 60
1/2 oz 20
1/2 oz 10
1/2 oz 1
1 oz dry hop

Gave an est IBU of 45.

 

[ArcaneXor]

Pils - Hallertau - WLP 830
Vienna - Centennial - WLP 007
Munich - Saphir - WLP 820
MO - EKG - WLP 007

 

[Golddiggie]

What are your mash temps for this? I mashed at 154 and it fermented down from 1.055 to 1.010. I read somewhere to mash at 160 to produce a less fermentable wort.

I mashed my MO/EKG SMaSH at 150F for an hour. Went from 1.066 to 1.016. Used Wyeast 1768-PC this time, plan to use Wyeast 1318 (or 1335) next time, to see the difference...

 

[crawfman]

Vienna and Northern Brewer...even the wife liked it!

10# Vienna
1 oz. NB at 60, 20, 5, 1
US05

 

[mux]

I mashed my MO/EKG SMaSH at 150F for an hour. Went from 1.066 to 1.016. Used Wyeast 1768-PC this time, plan to use Wyeast 1318 (or 1335) next time, to see the difference...

I used wlp001.

 

[iijakii]

I've never done a SMaSH before. Do you guys really like the way some of them taste, or mainly do it to get a feel for MO vs 2row, different hops? I generally try to keep my recipes very simple; and feel that evem great stouts only need a good five ingredients not .5lb incremental monsters like some do. But going to one of each? Sounds boring .

edit: I'll definitely have to do a couple SMaSHs in the future to try some different yeasts. I generally am boring and just do US05 for most of my beers, usually just do clean IPAs or stouts.

 

[spearko520]

the maris otter EKG is on of my favorites and has been a hit with everyone who has tried it. i would say genuinely like the way they taste. I can't speak for all, but i have had great luck with the simplicity of the recipe style- and it's also an opportunity to see what different mash schedules can do to shape flavor profile. kind of like using an eight iron from 150 in...

 

[Piratwolf]

Planning an MO/Amarillo for my next batch. Any suggestions on a hopping schedule? I'm thinking APA. My crack at it was:

1/2 oz FWH
1/2 oz 60
1/2 oz 20
1/2 oz 10
1/2 oz 1
1 oz dry hop

Gave an est IBU of 45.

This is one of my favorites. I like hoppy, bitter beers, but for a SMaSH I think 45 IBUs I'd just about perfect.

 

[944play]

Do you guys really like the way some of them taste, or mainly do it to get a feel for MO vs 2row, different hops?

They usually taste great. When they don't (or do, for that matter), they provide a great learning experience.

Pick a base malt with the name of a European city in it, a noble or noble-ish hop, and your house lager yeast. Brew it to a reasonable gravity and bitterness with scrupulous technique, and you're going to get a great beer that's a crowd pleaser. I really like Briess Pils, whole German Spalt Select, and Wyeast 2308 right now, but another good one is Munich/Tettnang/2308.

 

[ArcaneXor]

Do you guys really like the way some of them taste, or mainly do it to get a feel for MO vs 2row, different hops?

Both. I personally think that 2-row SmaSHs are insipid and one-dimensional, but the other base malts can produce some very nice beers. They're obviously never going to win awards for complexity.

 

[MickeyD]

Vienna/Cascade turned out really nice. I was using wet cascades though...

 

[gregkeller]

Did a SMaSH as my fist all-grain brew to keep things simple, and work on my process.

11 lbs Maris Otter
.75 oz EKG @60
1 oz EKG @ 20
1.25 oz EKG @ 10

S-04 @ 61-62 deg.

O.G. 1.062
F.G. 1.015

Awesome brew. I was really pleased with the process, and the beer came out great. It's got a little bit of depth to it considering it's only base malt. There is good hop flavor. Maybe could use a little more in the bittering addition, but otherwise I don't think i'd change a thing. I brewed it on Jan 9th, and it's really coming into its own now. I actually got a lot better efficiency than I thought, so it's a little higher in ABV than I had wanted, but it's all good. I don't know if i'm going to keep doing SMaSH's because there is so much other great stuff to brew, but i think i got a decent idea of what M.O. could add to a brew using it in place of domestic two row. Could it have been made better with the addition of specialty malts, probably, but am I gonna have a tough time finishing off this keg? Not a chance.

 

[Skelator]

My favorite (so far, i have a LDME/Chinook ipa in secondary right now) is Muntons Light DME and Citra. You can easily replace the dme with 2-row. I used dextrose too, so i guess its not a 'real' smash, but whatever.

This is for a 2.8 gallon batch and 3.5 gallon boil, so adjust accordingly if you want.

5.0# Light DME
.25# Dextrose (corn sugar)

1.0oz Citra @ 60
0.5oz Citra @ 20
1.0oz Citra @ 5
1.0oz Citra DH 14 days prior to bottling.

You should end up between 7.5-8% abv and close to 100 ibu's. It has a pronounced mango/orange aroma and flavor. Its not harshly bitter on the back end, pretty well balanced.

 

[cladinshadows]

Vienna/Glacier/WLP001 was excellent. (In fact, it took 2nd place for Class 3 at the 2012 Mayfaire!)
14 lbs. Vienna
1 oz. Glacier (5.5%) at FWH, 60, 10, 0 min. for about 35 IBUs.

Just tapped my Maris Otter/Willamette/WLP007 (similar recipe) and it's nice and english-y.

Next up is the one I've had on my mind for a long time: Munich/Chinook/WLP001.

 

[BertusBrew]

only SMaSH I have done is a Maris Otter/Citra IPA and it was one of my favorites