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.