I want to start experimenting with different hop flavor profiles. What is the best way to go about doing this? I was going to buy some Wheat DME, yeast and assorted hops and make a basic beer using different hops in each batch. I was also planning on only making 1 gallon batches. Any suggestions?
SMaSH brewing is a great way to do this. And if you get enough in stock you can mix the beers in the glass to get some perception of what they would taste like together. Keep the recipe the same other than the hop bill.
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I have not had good results with the “hop tea” concept, but it is an option.
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This Dry Hopped Bud Light – Bertus Brewery can be a way to quickly get a rough approximation on taste. It worked well for me on widely different hops (goldings vs citra) but not as well with similar hops (centennial vs cascade).
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The Hop Whisperer: Single-Hop Beers (Part 1) offers base recipe that’s all extract. How to Brew 4th edition uses Munich DME in recipes - so it may be practical to update the recipe to all DME.
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Another option (that I’ve used recently): light DME to 44 OG, 30 IBUs of Goldings (or Magnum) for bittering, US-05, then splitting the batch in secondary. Fill half gallon mason jars to 40 oz, typically DH with 4-5 g of the hop for three days. A gallon batch gets you three bottles of three different hops (or hop combinations).
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I have one single hop Wheat DME recipe (15 min boil) that comes out nice. So your idea of using Wheat DME seems like a reasonable approach.
I’ll second the BL dry hop trick… Sneezles61
