Brewing SMASH Session ALE...suggestions?

I've only ever made one SMaSH beer. My concept was to showcase the flavor of the hops (Amarillo) so I didn't even consider adding other flavors. I say if you want to try adding some fruit to the secondary, then go for it! That's the beauty of homebrewing. You can experiment without breaking the bank. Another style that seems to be popular as a base beer for flavoring is blond ale.

 

could you post the recipe? My advice to newer brewers(which I am still one) is if you brew a smash keep it simple. The best part of brewing a smash is to learn what one malt and one hop taste and smell like. Don't add flavors until you have tasted the beer and determined it needs more flavor! I started brewing by cloning all types of difficult beer, and have now started to brew much simpler beers. Keeping the grain bill simple and then using one or two hops. I have learned more hop and malt characteristics over my last 3 brews using this theory then my previous 10!

 

Any base malt will do just fine. Depends on the color/flavor you're going for (Maris Otter and Golden promise being the darker ones). Keeping in mind the Saison yeast is going to over power most of your hop/grain flavor, unless you crank up hop bill. Saison's aren't great at showcasing a particular hop in my opinion.

Either way, it'll turn out delicious! I' a big fan of Bella Saison yeast.

Cheers!

 

Everybody should make smash beers all the time!

A blonde ale or a wheat beer would both be easy, and either one you could get a secondary going with 2-3 or so gallons of it (pick your container appropriately). Add fruit or whatever and see what happens. I did it with a blonde ale and blueberries and it came out good. However: I'm no expert on this with my n=1 data points and all tho, so definitely don't take my word for it.

 

I don't think so either. Saisons can be great as a smash tho

 

Part of the benefit of brewing a SMaSH beer is learning about ingredients. You know with 100% certainty that there is only one malt, one hop, and one yeast strain. Therefore, any malt character is coming from that malt (or malt extract), etc.

What you're proposing with doing two batches side by side (one with fruit and one without) further gives you the ability to pinpoint exactly what character the fruit is giving. I think that's awesome. Super cool experiment that more homebrewers should try.

I'm not sure how well mango will play with the Simcoe hops in this recipe. Simcoe is usually described as dank and piney... which are adjectives that I don't often want to pair with tropical fruit. That said, give it a try! This sounds like a worthwhile, well thought out experiment

 

With "simple" recipes like SMASH beers. There's an awful lot you can get out of a seemingly simple recipe by merely adjusting the times on your hop additions. If you do those right, there's no reason to add fruit.

 

If that's the case, I would shy away from using high alpha hops. Most good saisons I've had, had very little bitterness to them. She'll be able to pick that out, and might not like it.

 

Another vote not to fruit your beer. KISS is a good rule to follow, especially for new brewers

 

seriously tho... I would get some GP malt and then pick your fruitiest* or wife-friendliest hop and smash it up with that, adding the vast majority of the hops at 5 minutes and less. Don't over-do it but don't skimp on that all-powerful moment of when you add the FO hops either. Set the OG to be around 1.050 or just a touch more and make it more of a pale ale / blonde ale than anything else. A reasonably mild and not over-bittered beer should be a good starter, and will likely have your highest probability of success at the same time. Simple recipes tend to be the best ones hoss!

And if you want to take a bit and experiment on it, well I already said what I think about that

*in light of my exceedingly un-scientific survey, I would predict fruitier hops to be more likely the lady pleaser

 

Saison yeast finishes super low. Lets say this finishes out @ 1.002, it will be 6.3ish % ABV. Just something to keep in mind. If you're looking for a session Saison, I would shoot for the 1.042 range (5.2 ABV-ish).

 

I think y'all misread Session as Saison.

 

I meant a blonde ale or pale ale, not saison. I would use US-05 for this brew if I were OP. It's simple and effective and great yeast for a beginner. Reconstitute via manufacturer's instructions. OG 1.050-1.055 and FG around 1.010.

 

I recently brewed a single hop Centennial IPA that turned out really well. Great citrus notes.