SMASH Beers

[MrJay83]

Happy new year all.

I'm planning on hitting the ground running in 2023 and I'm wondering what the general consensus is regarding how I will plan out 3 SMASH beers using different hops in each (same grain bill in all).
I have made my recipe on Brewfather for the first but my question is for hop usage in the next two. Should I copy the hop schedule for the same weight or alter to get the same IBU in each?
I'm not sure what's the best method for the like-for-like comparison I'm trying to achieve.

Cheers.

 

[Nicks90]

Personally I would adjust the bittering hop quantities to match the ibus, depending on the aa of each hop - but then use the same amount for each at flameout to do the taste comparison

 

[MrJay83]

Cheers. That's makes a lot of sense.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Check Greg Hughes book he has 5 smash recipes.

 

[Cwrw666]

I don't use brewing software but I do do lots of pale ales and smashes. Fair to say they are very forgiving with regard to hop quantities. Too little and you've got a modern style pale ale, way too much and you've got a Victorian style PA.
Just be careful if you're using something like admiral which is very high AA.

 

[pilgrimhudd]

I echo nicks90, just change the bittering hops to get a similar IBU, what hops are you planning on using out of interest?

 

[MrJay83]

I got 3 x 1kg bags of Citra, Simcoe & El Dorado in the Black Friday sales. Wasn't planning on doing this but then seen a few YouTube videos about it and thought I'd give it a go.
Just going to use Crisp best ale malt, hops (for the start of boil, flame out & dry hop) and Kviek Voss. Hoping to get them all done and bottled in three weeks (only 1 fermenter ATM ).

 

[pilgrimhudd]

Ahh nice, El Dorado is a good'n, I used to like simcoe a lot but I swear it's not as good as it used to be, less piney.

 

[Nicks90]

El Dorado smash is my go to smash IPA.
Check out my brew thread, must have done this one about 5 times now and it never fails to impress!

 

[MrJay83]

Will do.

 

[The Baron]

Ahh nice, El Dorado is a good'n, I used to like simcoe a lot but I swear it's not as good as it used to be, less piney.

I think the problem is different hops do vary year on year depending on growing seasons.
Ps I did a El Dorado single hop and it was nice and fruity for me

 

[MrJay83]

What sort of g/l for flame out and dry hop (if using) additions do you like to use? I'm going with 4.4 for both.

 

[The Baron]

I did 175g on a 80c Whirlpool for 30 mins and a 3 day 25g dry hop in my 21ltr El Dorado IPA

 

[MrJay83]

My 16l batch will be 70g at flame out and 70g dry hop.
Can I ask why the 7:1 ratio?

 

[The Baron]

Because Flameout and dry hop gives more IBU/Perceived bitterness so I do Whirlpool at 80c or less to keep the Bitterness lower and a smaller dry hop as it can give more IBU units and perceived bitterness. That way I can stuff more hops in and keep it at a lower bitterness for my palate

 

[MrJay83]

More reading on my part is needed but don't flame out/whirlpool and dry hop additions add hardly any bitterness compared to say a 60 minute addition?
I've been playing about with whirlpooling and flame out additions and I don't notice much difference. That might be down to my brewzilla. It's pretty stuffed with the cooling coil in there.

 

[The Baron]

I do even do bittering hops anymore for the majority of beers.
You will be surprised how much IBU/Bitterness you can get with Flameout/whirlpool and dry hopping when you are wanting to put loads of hops in for a IPA.
Some Brewing recipe builders do not allow for this so I would read the threads in the forum that have been posted previously and make your own opinion, it also depends on how susceptible to bitterness you are too as some people are highly tolerant and some low so a 40 IBU beer can be too much for some but also beer balancing comes into play too as you could taste 2 beers with the same IBU's and some will be smooth and others too bitter

 

[MrJay83]

I've seen a few videos now that they leave out the bittering hops.
Totally agree. Bitterness can be measured but everyone will perceive it differently.

 

[Cwrw666]

Also bitterness from flameout hops will vary with such things as how quickly you cool your brew. I no chill so I get quite a lot as I just let the brew settle for half an hour before draining the wort off. Its not much below 100° by then.

 

[dad_of_jon]

El Dorado smash is my go to smash IPA.
Check out my brew thread, must have done this one about 5 times now and it never fails to impress!

ooh nice, I have some el dorado as part of a multipack.

looking to put my first brew of 2023 on his week. Of course I'm having to resist the temptation to call it Happy new Beer