Your thought on my SMaSH recipes

[tokerlund]

12 lbs Crisp Maris Otter
.5 Citra @ 60min
1 Citra @ 15min
.5 Citra @ 5 min
2 Citra Dry Hop

Mash @ 155 for 60 minutes

Then​

12 lbs Crisp Maris Otter
.5 Centennial @ 60min
1 Centennial @ 15min
.5 Centennial @ 5 min
2 Centennial Dry Hop

Mash @ 155 for 60 minutes

I wanted to compare Centennial to Citra and thought this would be a good set up. I pulled the Mash times out of my butt, so any thoughts there would be appreciated.

I have 15 lbs of Crisp Maris Otter. I thought about bringing down the amount in each of these to 11 and then doing a 1 gallon batch of just Crisp Maris Otter to get a taste for the malt alone. Is that worth it or would it just be awful without hops?

 

[UnDeadPresident]

60 minutes is pretty much a standard time for most mashes I've seen, but 155 is going to make for a pretty chewy beer. It's approaching the sweet spot for alpha amylase but well above optimal temp for beta amylase, and it could denature the beta pretty quickly so you won't get a great deal of fermentable sugars out of it. Is that what you are going for?

 

[buzzerj]

Agreed I would mash at 152 max for 60 minutes. Hope you like your result.

 

[tokerlund]

Thanks for the thoughts on the mash temp. Like I said, I just pulled 155 out of my butt.

I'll shoot for 152 - 150* for 60 minutes.

Thanks!

 

[tokerlund]

I had trouble with my BIAB set up. This was the first time outside on the propane burner in nice temps. I overshot the temp, or rather my thermometer was not working and I thought the temp was at 138. So I cranked on the heat and it just didn't climb. I then gave it a stir and it was 164. I tried what I could to cool it down, but the majority of the mash was way above my target.

The beer turned out good and it gave me a great idea of what Centennial tastes like. The major problem was the aftertaste. I think due to the high mash temps, the beer took on some of the grain flavors. It rendered the beer barley drinkable. Some I mixed with other brews, some I drank straight and some I pawned off on relatives and the newly 21.

I am hoping my SMaSH Citra turned out better. I mashed in my mash tun to make sure I hit correct temps. I will keg that tomorrow!