[micsager]

Hi folks, I remember hearing some folks talk about single malt beers. 

Are they worth doing?  I'm think 25 lbs of Maris for a 10 gallon batch. 

Or is it just goofy?

[jmcamerlengo]

Definitely not goofy. IMO there is no better way to get a true sense of the flavor profile of a malt than doing a single malt beer. My Bohemian Pils is 100% Weyermann Floor Malted BoPils malt and its great!

Youll also frequently hear SMaSH mentioned. Single malt and single hop. These can be very fun to do to get a great feel for a certain hop and malt. Im actually planning an all Maris Otter/Simcoe hop SMaSH.

[bo]

SMaSH beers are great. Go ahead and try it.

[irishplague]

 If you look up Randy Mosher's Dragon's Blood October beer recipe you'll find that it is comprised of 15.5 lbs of Maris Otter and 7 oz. Kent Goldings for a 5 gal batch. I haven't made this one yet but, it's in my schedule, It's a Mosher recipe so it can't be bad.

[denny]

I'd say maybe they're worth it.  They're definitely a great way to learn ingredient flavors.  Sometimes they make a good beer, sometimes they come off as boring and one dimensional to me.  You just need to give it a try and see for yourself.

[davidgzach]

I think it depends upon what you are looking for as a final result.  I agree that it can come off one-dimensional, unless you are brewing a BoPils with the appropriate malt like Jason which is also in line with the style guidelines. 

Experimentation is part of why we do this hobby, no?

Dave

[tschmidlin]

I'm with Denny, I generally don't love SMaSH beers.  I like the idea of SM or SH separately, but if you want to explore hop flavors you don't need to go with a single malt, just go with a basic pale ale recipe that you like.  Same with malt, if you want to get a sense for it go with a basic recipe that is lightly hopped to let the malt shine through.

[morticaixavier]

I like my SMaSH barley wine! munich and fuggles. Course the hops are only at the begining of a 2 hour boil so I'm not sure it really matters what kind it is.

I am semi-planning a SWaSH beer with half a sack of wheat malt and hops (havn't decided yet, maybe saaz?)

[micsager]

Thanks everyone.  I've got 30 gallons of various things fermenting right now for NHC, so it'll be a couple weeks until there's room in my freezer/fermenting chamber.  But, I think I'll try a Maris Otter Single malt, with Comet bittering, and Cascade aroma.  If your coming to NHC, you may be able to tell me how bad it is....   LOL

[jmcamerlengo]

I like my SMaSH barley wine! munich and fuggles. Course the hops are only at the begining of a 2 hour boil so I'm not sure it really matters what kind it is.

I am semi-planning a SWaSH beer with half a sack of wheat malt and hops (havn't decided yet, maybe saaz?)

Tettnang!

[malzig]

I kind of think these are silly, but for a different reason than a lot of others.

To me, a single malt beer is a regular thing.  My Pils is 100% Pilsner Malt, my British Summer Ale is 100% Maris Otter, and I make a Dunkel that is 100% Weyermann Dark Munich.

They are all delicious, interesting beers, not novelties.

[Titanium Brewing]

Im actually planning an all Maris Otter/Simcoe hop SMaSH.

I have a lot of Simcoe I need to use up, thanks for the idea.

[liquidbrewing]

Im actually planning an all Maris Otter/Simcoe hop SMaSH.

Do it!  I made one last year and it turned out great.  5 oz of Simcoe,  1 oz. at 60, 45 10, 0, and dry hop.

[ukolowiczd]

I kind of think these are silly, but for a different reason than a lot of others.

To me, a single malt beer is a regular thing.  My Pils is 100% Pilsner Malt, my British Summer Ale is 100% Maris Otter, and I make a Dunkel that is 100% Weyermann Dark Munich.

They are all delicious, interesting beers, not novelties.

I agree. I make "single-malt" beers all the time - Kolsch, Pilsner, Saison. I mean wasn't this the way beer was made before specialty malts anyways? (of course most of the malt was probably burned and brown )

[skyler]

IMO, Single Malt beers are where "fancy" malts like Maris Otter really shine. Since it usually costs me ~$35 for a sack of Great Western 2-row or Northwest Pale Ale malt and $80+ for a sack of anything from Europe, I rarely use the fancy stuff. But when I do, I keep it simple - single malt (or nearly single-malt, I sometimes do a 90-96% MO and 4-10% British Crystal 65L Bitter or ESB). I have never understood people using MO or other like hops for big hoppy beers, but to each his own.