First SMaSH completed.

SMaSH - Single Malt and Single Hop.
BIAB - Brew in a Bag

Hey all. I decided to do a few SMaSH batches this weekend. Purpose was to try a few base malts and see which I like best and hopefully learn a little bit. I kept the batch size small so the primaries have approximately .85 gallons. I went with BIAB method so I brewed in my kitchen. According to online efficiently calculators I hit 80+% on all 4 batches but I have a feeling Beer Smith will not be that kind. Once I enter them into Beer Smith I will give a better update. I hope to get 8 bottles per batch from this. I’ll bring some to a meeting and let everyone sample and give feedback. I wanted to try Simcoe with this but it appears last years crop was really bad and Simcoe is hard to find at the moment.

Goal was to mash all 4 batches at 152 for 75 minutes but that didn’t work out. BIAB is a little bit different but after doing 4 batches I think I could hit 152 if I did them all again. With my first batch I wrapped my kettle in a sleeping bag and place it an ice chest in hopes of maintaining mash temp. First 20 minutes I stayed at 153 but at the end I was down to 148.5. Next 3 batches I decided to heat my oven to 170 and place my kettle in there. I was able to maintain the mash temp within half of a degree and by batch 4 I was dialed in.

Batch 1 – expected OG 1.047. Actual OG 1.057 mashed at 153.
2 lbs Vienna
.15 oz Cascade at 60.
.35 oz Cascade at 3.
½ pkg Safale 05

Batch 2 – expected OG 1.049. Actual OG 1.062 mashed at 157.5.
2 lbs Maris Otter
.15 oz Cascade at 60.
.35 oz Cascade at 3.
½ pkg Safale 05

Batch 3 – expected OG 1.047. Actual OG 1.051 mashed at 154.
2 lbs American 2 row.
.15 oz Cascade at 60.
.35 oz Cascade at 3.
½ pkg Safale 05


Batch 4 – expected OG 1.048. Actual OG 1.052 mashed at 152.
2 lbs Germ Pilsner
.15 oz Cascade at 60.
.35 oz Cascade at 3.
½ pkg Safale 05