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Adding complexity to a SMaSH brew

cmbrougham

Grandmaster Brewer
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Two brews down, and I'm starting to get my groove back  8) For my next trick brew, I'm planning on going as simple as possible, for three reasons:
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[*]I've got some efficiency and output volume issues that I need to dial in, and if I focus on a simple, less layered recipe, I think I can make that happen a little more easily.
[*]I want to explore the SMaSH approach--a single malt with a single hop, more as an experiment in flavor rather than style or technique.
[*]I'd like to develop some simple but tasty session beers that can be my house brews. I like big beers and I cannot lie... but I also like to have a couple beers on occasion, and I've found my day-after spring back is a lot less springy than it used to be  ;D
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So, I've got a simple 5-gallon recipe that I'm going to use as a starting point: 7-8 lbs. of pale malt (Briess) with a single ounce of Simcoe (13.1%) split between FWH and flame-out. I think I'll mash somewhere in the mid-temps: I want it to stand up to the hops, but not be too thick that it gets tiresome to drink. I may go lower, though, and shoot for a lighter body, and here's why...

I got to thinking about this, and while I like the idea of simple, I don't necessarily relish the idea of boring. This could be a one-note song if I'm not careful, and while it'll still be beer, I'd like a bit more melody. I got to thinking about boiling down a half-gallon or so of the first runnings: I'd done this a long time ago with a wee heavy and I think either a stout or porter. This seemed like it might be a nice way to add a little more backbone to the beer.

Then I got to reading some other posts today about doing a single decoction, particularly for a mash out, and the flavor benefits that it could provide. This seemed like it might be an even better way to pump up the complexity of the brew, plus I'd get the mash out down with it, and it really wouldn't take a significantly greater amount of time. I've never done it before, but the process seemed fairly easy: pull a third of the thickest part of the mash, get it boiling, and add back to the MLT, then sparge/lauter/boil like usual.

(At some point, I'd also like to sour part of the mash to bring even more funk to the party, but let's start here...)

So, with that all in mind, what would you do? Boil the first runnings, or do a decoction mash out? Mash lower, higher, or... uh.. midder? I'll probably be using Wyeast Am. Ale II, which is going to leave a bit more body anyway. Any other ideas for keeping the ingredients simple, but going gonzo with those ingredients to add some interesting harmonies?
 
I like the idea of mashing for more fermentability, but if you're going for a session strength beer, that might seem a bit watery. A SMaSH beer is all about exploring ingredients, not really about being too complex.

I would start with a characterful base malt, like Golden Promise, Maris Otter or even Pilsner. This summer, I made a 5% abv New Zealand Pale Ale with 100% light Munich and it gave just enough toastiness to the flavor that the hops didn't seem monochromatic. I am sure the same could be done with 100% Vienna, too. They both have just enough diastatic potential to convert themselves, but it takes about an extra half hour.

The real source of complexity will be the hop schedule. There is something about getting 30 - 50% of your IBUs with a 20 minute addition that enhances maltiness and ups hop complexity.

For most session beers, my best advice is 2 malts and 2 hops. Base malt and one specialty, and two complimentary hops. These will be among your best beers. Years ago, I was employed by an organic brewery. In those days, I had just 7 organic malts available; Pale, Pilsner, 2 kinds of Crystal, Munich, Chocolate and Roast. Economizing my brewing style, and having to do away with so many "crutch" malts I was used to, was an excellent education in developing flavors.
 
I did a few Pilsner style SMaSH brews and to get some complexity I followed a 40C 10 min, 52C 20 min and 63C 45 min mashing scheme (Pilsner malt). Sparged at 78C. Boiled 75 min. In addition I used 3.5 oz of a low alpha hop (Saaz or Hallertau) for a batch of 5.5 Gallons. I use 0.7 oz at 60 min, 1.0 oz at 20 min and the remaining part 1.8 oz at 10 min. I adjusted the hop scheme towards an IBU of 25-28. Yeast WLP 838 South German Lager Yeast or WLP 802 Czech Budejovice Lager. Both nice crispy pilsner with "bouquet".
R, Slurk
 
+1  Agreed on the intent of SMaSH beers being to isolate on very few ingredients so you can learn more about those very few. 


I like brewfun's suggestions, and will toss out the old science-experiment mantra of changing only one variable at a time.  Otherwise, you're not sure what brought about the nice outcome that you'd like to repeat. 

For ex, you could decide on 1-2 malts, and one hop, but move the hop additions around each time you brew it, trying FWH, mash hops, having nothing over 50 minutes, adding all the hops with less than 20 minutes, whatever.........but you'd need a baseline to start with, and then make incremental changes each batch.
 
Thanks guys, good thoughts. Maris Otter is my go-to malt, but I don't have any on hand right now. It costs me twice as much to get MO versus Briess 2-row Pale presently, so until there is a little more cash in the kitty, it'll have to be my starting point. That's why I'd considered the other techniques--Briess is decent, but a but basic.

Based on that, I might forgo the SMaSH approach for now until I can invest in a more complex, characterful base malt to use for it. I still want to work on the session beer, and I think I can just modify my current recipe with some simple specialty grains to add a bit more flavor and interest. I'm interested in the sub-20-minute hop addition approach; I'll combine that with FWH. Instead of the decoction or caramelizing the first runnings, I'll just stick with a straightforward infusion and boil.
 
cmbrougham said:
Thanks guys, good thoughts. Maris Otter is my go-to malt, but I don't have any on hand right now. It costs me twice as much to get MO versus Briess 2-row Pale

I LOVE Maris otter.  I perfected (IMHO) an Irish Red recipe last year and I used quite a bit of Maris Otter in it.  Right now I Have a Maris Otter (Blackstone Brewery Clone - Nashville) in secondary.  It has such a unique flavor.  You might consider a Vienna or a Munich as your new SMASH base malt.  Both have a unique flavor also.
 
Maine Homebrewer said:
I thought the whole point of SMaSH was simplicity, not complexity.

Perhaps in your approach you are looking for simplicity in the brewing process. I am trying to explore and understand how I could influence a few standard basic ingredients interacting with each other while giving the same beer a more complex taste/flavour profile.
 
A similar approach is what Drew Beechum calls brewing on the 1's.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sSKHzmhrzY

One Malt
One Color / Flavor Malt / Adjunct
One hop
One spice
One...

A bit more flexibility, but the way to control your options. Forces you to really think about your beers.
AO
 
One way to add complexity would be to do a longer boil. This would allow kettle caramelization of the sugars. This would be keeping to your single malt.
 
anvilbrew said:
One way to add complexity would be to do a longer boil. This would allow kettle caramelization of the sugars. This would be keeping to your single malt.
This is a very good idea. 

To add even more caramel complexity, consider doing a single decoction mash out as well as the longer boil.  The docoction of some of the first running, boiling of those and adding them back into the mash to raise to sparing temperature will add even more carmelization.
 
Finally got some MO on-hand, and one of my favorite hops (East Kent Goldings), so I'll be brewing this BIAB-style tomorrow:

Recipe: Flatlined Bitter
Style: Standard/Ordinary Bitter
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 5.54 gal
Post Boil Volume: 4.94 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 4.50 gal 
Bottling Volume: 4.28 gal
Estimated OG: 1.040 SG
Estimated Color: 4.0 SRM
Estimated IBU: 36.2 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 73.9 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                  Name                                    Type          #        %/IBU       
6 lbs 12.0 oz        Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM)        Grain        1        100.0 %     
0.75 oz              Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - First Wor Hop          2        17.2 IBUs   
1.50 oz              Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 20.0 Hop          3        19.0 IBUs   
1.00 Items            Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins)        Fining        4        -           
1.0 pkg              Windsor Yeast (Lallemand #-) [23.66 ml]  Yeast        5        -           
0.75 oz              Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Dry Hop 3 Hop          6        0.0 IBUs     

Mash Schedule: BIAB, Full Body, Decoction Mash Out
Total Grain Weight: 6 lbs 12.0 oz
----------------------------
Name              Description                            Step Temperat Step Time   
Saccharification  Add 24.14 qt of water at 162.3 F        156.0 F      60 min       
Mash Out          Decoct 5.70 qt of mash and boil it      168.0 F      10 min


Planning the decoction mash out, just for a little added fun.
 
Kent Goldings happens to be one of my favorite hops for ales. Along with Fuggle.

Looking at that recipe, that's going to be one hoppy brew.  I don't think you'll taste the malt at all.

Personally I'd go with something more like 1oz for full boil, 0.5oz additions at -20 and -10, and 0.25oz dry. 

But that's just me. I'm not the hop-head I used to be. I like to taste the malt as well, especially if using something like Maris Otter.

However I wouldn't turn you away if you offered me a pint.

Oh, and the decoction will definitely help the flavor. I did it once on recommendation from the local homebrew shop, and have done it ever since.
 
We are becoming almost exclusively SMaSH brewers for our everyday session beers. Plus, we've hit on a combination that has quickly become our go to House Beer. In the process of arriving at our favorite, we used all of the basic techniques to arrive at the most cost effective and enjoyable brew for us. Below are the techniques in order of most effect to least. In addition we were looking for the "Best Bang for the Buck". We wanted the best cheap beer we could brew ;D

1. Hop selection - This made the biggest taste difference. We have two favorites, Amarillo and Centennial. Amarillo wins, Centennial a close second.
2. Base malt selection - Tried many but finally stuck with simple 2-row based on cost to taste ratio. In other words the difference in taste didn't justify the cost.
3. Hop Technique - We exclusively use First Wort hops. We get a very mellow taste and aroma without the high cost of large quantity late additions.
4. Choice of Yeast - We have two based on season. Most flavorful winter brew is US-05. Warmer season we like Safale-04. 04 is dryer. We do harvest and reuse.
5. Mash Temp - We have varied this around. If we use 05 yeast, we use a Medium body mash. If 04 is used we do a Light body mash.
6. Mash/Sparge/mash out temp. We do a recirculating sparge/mash out. We drive the overall temp up to 180*F. The astringency of the extracted tannins give a nice crisp snap to the beer. Be careful too high is very quickly too much. BUT, we really like the dry crisp snap especially when Safale-04 was used.

Again, there many options but we had a cost goal also. As we are half way through our brewing season, we are finding that to us we have two basic SMaSH beers. Brewing into the colder weather, We like a beer with more body so our SMaSH choices are US-05 yeast, Amarillo Hops First Wort with a BU/GU between .4 and .5, Medium body mash and normal mash out. As we head towards warmer weather we like a lighter more crisp and lager like beer so our choices are, Safale-04 yeast, Centennial hops First Worted at .35 to .45 BU/GU, light body mash with the over temp mash out to enhance the dry crisp snap.

We really enjoyed the "Hunt" and were pleasantly surprised at how changing a few combinations of basic parameters and ingredients could bring such varied results, all at a low cost. We think that that the two most expensive variables and those with the greatest effect were Hops and Yeast. In fact to us its the combination. Example, we like 05 yeast and Amarillo or 04 yeast and Centennial. The other way around is good but not as good to us.

Good luck and enjoy the hunt!!

 
I use MO with challenger hops in a smash. Challenger give a rounded bitterness. When used for late hopping they give a fruity, green tea flavour. I've also used northdown and progress. Avoid using neutral yeasts. White Labs London or Burton Ale yeasts both add quite a lot of complexity, as do any English yeast.

I also take 2 pints of wort from the first runnings and boil it vigorously in a pan for 15 minutes until it's reduced to about a third of the volume and add it into the boil. This adds a caramel taste similar to the Sam Smiths Old Brewery Bitter they serve on tap in Yorkshire.

It's all down to personal taste. I've got a batch of MO/challenger in the fermenter using WL Yorkshire Square Yeast. I've got 83% attenuation so far which took 16 days. It's started to drop down today so it's almost finished.
 
Pirate Point Brewer, thanks for your post!

Pirate Point Brewer said:
3. Hop Technique - We exclusively use First Wort hops. We get a very mellow taste and aroma without the high cost of large quantity late additions.

I did a First Wort Hopping Pilsner yesterday and have some questions related the process of FWH. I really hope you would like to answer them.

Q1.: When exactly in the mashing/lautering/sparging process do you add the hops?
Q2.: What's your typically boiling time for the hops (from starting point - until flame out?) and amount of hop you use (batch size?)
Q3.: Do you add all the hops as one batch or do you have several additions (if yes, when do you add those)?
Q4.: How do you estimate/calculate your bitterness (do you correct in BeerSmith)
Q5.: Perceived bitterness versus calculated bitterness, any observations/thoughts?

Regards,
Slurk
 
Slurk said:
Pirate Point Brewer, thanks for your post!

Pirate Point Brewer said:
3. Hop Technique - We exclusively use First Wort hops. We get a very mellow taste and aroma without the high cost of large quantity late additions.

I did a First Wort Hopping Pilsner yesterday and have some questions related the process of FWH. I really hope you would like to answer them.

Q1.: When exactly in the mashing/lautering/sparging process do you add the hops?
Q2.: What's your typically boiling time for the hops (from starting point - until flame out?) and amount of hop you use (batch size?)
Q3.: Do you add all the hops as one batch or do you have several additions (if yes, when do you add those)?
Q4.: How do you estimate/calculate your bitterness (do you correct in BeerSmith)
Q5.: Perceived bitterness versus calculated bitterness, any observations/thoughts?

Regards,
Slurk

Hello Slurk,

1. We have the hop bag hanging in the BK when we rack the first running from the MLT to the BK.
2. Our typical boil time is 60 minutes. Typical amount .. see below.
3. We only have one hop addition. Everything we are going to use is in the bag as we start our first running. We do not use any late additions.
4. We work only with BeerSmith's output. We know we like a BU/GU between .45 to .55. With a 10 gal batch using 16 lbs of grain, that's about 20 IBU. Since we indicated FWH in ingredient addition, this is +10% of what the weight of hops would give for the boil time.

As for making correction during the brew .... Not anymore!  :eek: we used to go nuts trying to make all the numbers work. But Hops are mostly "Magic" anyway. You have no way unless you have a lab to tell whether you got an exact IBU and most "experts" say you can't perceive a difference smaller than 5%, SOOOO why kill yourself chasing a number that can't be verified anyway??? You know when you taste it if you got what "YOU" wanted. I say "YOU" because this is YOUR BREW! its not a contest brew shooting for specific style numbers. It is not an attempt to replicate someone else's recipe. The value in keeping your numbers and your processes consistent is so you can reproduce what you did if you like it!  That simplifies everything. Since we like what we brew, and we now exclusively keg, we brew a lot. So we buy things like grains and hops in bulk. We buy one or two pounds of leaf hops at a time. Every month we use the ageing tool to reduce the alpha %. That's the only correction.

5. We have no way to make a judgment. We are not contest brewers. We know what we like to drink. The BeerSmith numbers let us make it close every time. But we really couldn't honestly tell you that the aprox 20 IBU SMaSH we made is really 20 IBU if tested in a lab. And since we like it and drink it for about the equivalent of $0.30 a 12 oz bottle, we aren't real concerned.

To us, that's the spirit of SMaSH. This isn't a contest. We are the only judges. We were searching for "OUR HOUSE BEER". The one we draw a pitcher of on a snowy Saturday afternoon Just "For The Hell of IT"! Ok, if its real snowy and we're enjoying it ..... maybe two pitchers!! :p

Enjoy the hunt for your "House Beer". Keep good data so you can make it again if you like it! ;D

Preston
 
Pirate Point Brewer said:
To us, that's the spirit of SMaSH. This isn't a contest. We are the only judges. We were searching for "OUR HOUSE BEER". The one we draw a pitcher of on a snowy Saturday afternoon Just "For The Hell of IT"! Ok, if its real snowy and we're enjoying it ..... maybe two pitchers!! :p

Enjoy the hunt for your "House Beer". Keep good data so you can make it again if you like it! ;D

Preston

Wow, thank you very much for your answer Preston!

I like your approach and philosophy. And, since we have a lot of snowy Saturday afternoons here in Norway, the hunt for my SMaSH house beer will be an interesting one ;) :)

My yesterdays SMaSH-Pilsner batch shows full krausen at the moment. Really looking forward to taste this one :)

Regards,
Slurk
 
Hello Slurk,

You are always more than welcome. As for our philosophy, I'm not the "Pain in the Ass" ..... She is!  ;D
The Princess (wife of 40 years) quit drinking beer when she was pregnant with our 1st of 3. Now that we are Empty Nesters (child free),
she took an interest and started by just Tasting .... Now we brew and share all the time! She doesn't know all the technical stuff, but she knows what she likes!
and .... you know ..... Happy Wife, Happy Life!! ;)

All joking aside, there is nothing more satisfying than developing your own recipe with the help of your best girl, then sharing it on those snowy days!! 8)

Speaking of snowy days, I don't know exactly where in Norway you call home, but I spent the best part of one "Snowy Winter" working in Fredirkstad.
A long way from my home then, but I met and worked with the nicest people I have ever met in my past 30+ years of travel! Since then I've always felt like that part of Norway could be home away from home!

Enjoy your hunt!  And your snowy days!

Preston
 
Pirate Point Brewer said:
There is nothing more satisfying than developing your own recipe with the help of your best girl, then sharing it on those snowy days!!
Speaking of snowy days, I don't know exactly where in Norway you call home, but I spent the best part of one "Snowy Winter" working in Fredrikstad.

Hello Preston,

Thank you very much for the feed back regarding Fredrikstad/working in Norway. You are more than welcome here in Oslo.
My wife likes the stronger Trappist and Belgium Blonde style of beers (also those I brew :)). In addition she likes the Hougaarden Wit bier style. I am still experimenting with this one to satisfy her and my taste ;) The latter we drink on those warm summerdays 8)

Regards,
Slurk
 
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