SMaSH I

Though I’ve been brewing for a number of years, I don’t always feel like I have a great sense of my ingredients. Case in point: when this summer’s pale ale came out rough and oniony, it wasn’t until my LHBS gave me a whiff of some Amarillo hops they had on hand that I believed they could’ve brought that character to my beer. In an effort to better understand what's going into my beer, I'm finally embarking on a series of SMaSH (Single Malt and Single Hop) beers. With a sole ingredient in each category, I can really wrap my head around what those ingredients offer.

One oft-reported downfall of SMaSH beers, though, is that they can come out pretty one-dimensional (by design, of course) and uninteresting. So for my first go-around, I went with the richest base grain I could find: dark Munich. For hops, I went kind of nutty with Nuggetzilla, a variety I've never used. While I probably should've stuck with a very neutral yeast like Cal Ale, I opted for Denny's Favorite to boost the interest level even more.

My efficiency has been riding somewhat low since the spring for some reason, so my OG was a bit lower than I'd hoped. Between the malt and yeast, though, the final product turned out ridiculously malty. This beer could really use more oomph in the hop bitterness--it definitely doesn't read as 46 IBUs--flavor, and aroma departments to balance all that malt. This is pretty much a dark Munich showcase, and it gets overwhelming pretty quickly. So for round one, I don't think I really allowed for much learning: I already had a good feel for Munich (and even dark Munich, to an extent) and I didn't add enough hops to get a solid impression of their character in any aspect. At least I learned more about how to conceive of SMaSH beers for next time.

SMaSH I
Batch size: 5.5 gallons
Projected OG: 1.045
Projected SRM: 9.2
Projected IBU: 46.5
Boil time: 60 minutes
Brewhouse efficiency: 70%

Grains
100% - 10 lb Weyermann Munich II

Hops
.2 oz Nuggetzilla (15.4%) (60 min)
.8 oz Nuggetzilla (10 min)

1 oz Nuggetzilla (0 min - hop steep/whirlpool 30 min)

Yeast
WY1450 - slurry from Competition Pale Ale

Extras
1 tsp Yeast nutrient (5 min)
.5 tab Whirlfloc (5 min)

Water (mash)
Profile: Reno
Target water: “Balanced profile” from brewersfriend.com
5 g Gypsum
5 g CaCl
5 g Baking soda
3 ml Lactic acid (88%)

Brewday: 7 September 2015
Mash: 13 qts @ 151F for 60 minutes - added 1 qt @ 212F to get to temp
1st sparge: 12 qts @ 212F
2nd sparge: 14 qts @ 180F
Pre-boil volume: 8.2 gallons
Pre-boil SG: 9.9P (1.035)

5.5 gallons to fermenter at 11.4P.
Ferment in swamp cooler at 65-67F.

Moved out of swamp cooler to ambient temps (60-68F) after 6 days of active primary, near end of activity.

Bottled: 19 September 2015
FG: 1.013
ABV: 4.3%
Bottled with 3.8 oz table sugar.

Tasting: 6 December 2015
Holy malt, Batman. Hops additions need to go up to be  noticed.

Timothy Taylor Landlord Clone

I think I've romanticized British beer for myself. My early forays into imports were usually from England, often from Samuel Smith, Young's, and the like. I'm also a sucker for cask beer; after several years and a lot of sampling, sometimes I can even tell good from bad. A few experiences, most notably at Magnolia, have kept me going after these styles. So of course I've worked them into my own brewing schedule. Some of my English-derived homebrews have turned out pretty good, while others--notably my ordinary bitters--have been sorely lacking.

I've had Graham Wheeler's Brew Your Own British Real Ale for a while, but don't think I've ever brewed any recipes straight out of it. Having heard/read rave reviews of Timothy Taylor Landlord, a best bitter, and having had some very good experiences with Wyeast's West Yorkshire Ale strain, which some associate with this beer, it seemed high time to finally dig into the Wheeler and see how I did with his recipe.

Other than slight adjustments to reach round numbers, the recipe was straight from the book. Michael Tonsmiere's take on Tim Taylor provided the water chemistry. The wort's color in the fermenter struck me as a little sickly, but it looks great in the glass. Having been out of town, I haven't sampled the final product in a week or two, but my initial impressions were that I may have caused some oxidation at bottling. Will post full tasting notes in the near future (below).

Timothy Taylor Landlord (Wheeler)

Batch size: 5.5 gallons
Projected OG: 1.046
Projected SRM: 28.7
Projected IBU: 7.0
Boil time: 60 minutes
Brewhouse efficiency: 70%

Grains
99.3% - 9 lb Fawcett Floor Malted Maris Otter
0.7% - 1 oz Black Patent

Hops
.7 oz East Kent Goldings (5.7%) (60 min)
.7 oz Styrian Goldings (3.8%) (60 min)
1 oz Styrian Goldings (10 min)

Yeast
WY1469 West Yorkshire Ale - no starter

Extras
1 tsp Yeast nutrient (5 min)
.5 tab Whirlfloc (5 min)

Water (mash)
Profile: Reno
Target water profile from the Mad Fermentationist (link above)
9 g Gypsum
1 g Epsom salts
3 ml Lactic acid (88%)

Brewday: 7 September 2015
Mash: 151F for 60 minutes
Pre-boil volume: 7.6 gallons
Pre-boil SG: 9.9P (1.039)

5.5 gallons to fermenter at 11.6P.
Fermented in swamp cooler at 65F.

Moved out of swamp cooler to ambient temps (60-68F) after 6 days of active primary, near end of activity.

Bottled: 19 September 2015
FG: 1.010
ABV: 4.7%
Bottled with 3.2 oz table sugar.

Tasting: 4 January 2016
Super clear with a gorgeous tawny color, but overcarbonated, overly thin, and just a bit unpleasantly funky. I've been thinking it's oxidized, though the opinion of my LHBS is that it has a touch of lacto character. One way or another, it's a dumper.