Suburban Brewing

What is the best way of learning how to brew beer? What approach should a novice take? There are so many variables, options, choices and procedures it could be perceived as overwhelming. Those are some of the challenges facing someone who is just starting out. Last week I came across an interesting article on something called SMaSH Brewing posted on the Brewer’s Friend website.

SMaSH stands for “Single Malt and Single Hop” and just by reading this you can figure out it involves brewing beer with just one type of malt and one type of hop, simple enough, and that is exactly what it entails. Instead of creating complicated recipes with multiple grains and hop varieties why not start with the simplest combination. By doing a SMaSH brew you can learn how each type of malt, hop and yeast impacts the final product. Over time with a bit of experimentation I’m hoping I’ll be able to put together a unique recipe based on my taste preferences. There are thousands of home brewing recipes out there, including many clones of commercially available beers but what fun is to replicate someone else’s work if you can make something new all by yourself!

For my first brew I will be using Maris Otter with a single hop and domestic ale yeast from White Labs. I plan on varying the hops and yeasts for a long time before I start adding or changing my base malt. I have MO, 10 varieties of hops and 5 different ale yeasts, that will give me tens if not hundreds of combinations to explore. I don’t see a need to get all fancy and start mixing 6+ malts, one should be enough for now. Plus from what I’ve been reading people who switches to the SMaSH method have been producing outstanding brews. Lets see if I’m as lucky!