I'm creating a base recipe that I can use to explore hops and malts, to learn more about what the ingredients contribute, and work on process. The recipe is meant to be one where I can easily get a sense of each ingredient, meaning I do not want it to be overly hoppy and hiding the malt, or vice versa. I've outlined my initial design below (lots of Mosaic in the freezer), and I'm looking for your input on the hopping schedule. It's something I will manipulate along the way (e.g., to see how taking out the 30 minute addition affects things), but for now, I need your help making sure it's not too hoppy. Batch: 2.5 gallons OG: 1.055 via 5 pounds of malt (starting with Golden Promise) Starting with US-05 as yeast Hopping schedule (Mosaic is 11% AA): 3 grams at 60 4 grams at 30 7 grams at 15 14 grams at FO 28 grams dry hop IBU: 41.7 What do you all think? I know with different hops I will get different levels of bitterness, but in terms of the schedule, and for use with a variety of different hops, do you think the malt profile will still be recognizable?
Looks good to me. Just curious why you're measuring your hops in grams though? Seems odd since you're from New York and the rest of your units are English.
Look up the Russian River hop2it recipe. That is what they use to evaluate hops. The 60 minute addition is scaled to keep the IBUs the same. Not a Smash, but the grain bill is pretty simple.
I'd suggest developing your base recipe so your hop additions are based on AA% vs. quantity. That way, you can adjust with future batches the quantity to match the IBU addition vs. risking under or over bittering. Mainly, this would be most important for the early additions. Flame out and dry hop could basically remain constant with little risk, but any brew software can help meet your target IBU. Golden Promise is a delicious malt. That is a great one to use for a SMaSH. Along with US-05 of course, so it looks good. Timings look fine. When I try out new hops I like to use it all over the boil, as different flavors come from different timings. So I will usually have 60/30/15/5/FO plus dry hop. Along those lines. To ensure it's not too hoppy... What is your expected FG? 40 IBU should be fine regardless, but 1.008 vs. 1.012 for example can make the perceived bitterness seem quite different for the same IBU. So that is one thing to keep in mind.
I think it's odd as well, but it's easier for me when it comes to measuring them on my scale -- 3 g is easier to dial in than ~.1 oz. With 2.5 gallon recipes, I have found that I'm often measuring out hops at intervals that aren't as simple as .25 oz, .5 oz, etc. Many thanks for the advice -- I think this was my biggest hangup. I wasn't sure if it was best to keep the quantity the same or the AAs/IBUs. I had convinced myself that going by weight made sense as, if I adjusted to AAs, then what would the extra hop material from 10 g of a 5% hop contribute/change as compared to the same AAs from 5 g of a 10% hop? In hindsight that sounds silly, as 5 g is nothing in ~3 gallons of water, but such is the life of this novice. @hopfenunmaltz, does this look right for the hop2it recipe? If so, and that's how RR does it, who am I to argue?!? With 90%+ base malt, I imagine that would work very well for learning about those as well. I expected over time to introduce specialty malts into the recipes to learn more about those as well, so this is definitely something to consider. Beersmith is predicting 1.012 with a single infusion mash at 152°. I haven't used US-05 yet, so I'll have to adjust accordingly after the first few rounds. Would you recommend a slightly higher FG -- 1.012 vs 1.008, to take your example -- for these purposes?
@frozyn That is similar to what I have seen, but the one from the Seattle NHC had some C20. Keep the malt bill simple. Just adjust the early addition to hit the IBU target. Keep the mid, late, and dry hop additions the same.
