Smash American Session Ale

Official
NORTHERN BREWER Instructional Document
Is it a half IPA? Is it a pale ale? What’s in a name, after
all? We’re taking you back to basics with this SMASH
(single malt and single hop)-style delight. Then we’re
combining that back to basic with the latest in style-
confounding marketing-speak: American Session Ale.
SMASH is about taking things back
—
way back, to
when American pale ale was edgy and new. The thing is,
time travel is hard, and we’re thinking there’s enough
Cascade-only pale stuff out there, so we’re going to
use a decidedly new-school single hop: Simcoe. The
pine and jungle stinker herself, Simcoe is boastful and
bombastic, packing tons of hop flavor and aroma into a
neat little package.
SMASH takes a clean, dry malt base, with a low gravity for
extra drinkability, and piles on a healthy dose of delicious
hoppiness. Think of it as a way to deliver a metric hogs
-
head of hop flavor and aroma in a tidy 4.5% ABV package.
O.G: 1.044 READY: 4 WEEKS
1 week primary, 1 week secondary,
2 weeks bottle conditioning
KIT INVENTORY:
MAILLARD MALTS
TM
EXTRACTS & OTHER FERMENTABLES
-
6 lbs Pils malt syrup
BOIL ADDITIONS
-
1
/
2
oz Simcoe (60 min)
-
1
/
2
oz Simcoe (15 min)
-
1 oz Simcoe (5 min)
DRY HOPS
-
1 oz Simcoe (Dry hop 5-7 days)
YEAST
-
DRY YEAST (DEFAULT):
Danstar BRY-97 West Coast Ale
Yeast . Optimum temp: 62–72 F
-
LIQUID YEAST OPTION:
Wyeast 1272 American Ale II.
Apparent attenuation: 72-76%. Flocculation: high. Optimum
temp: 60–72° F
PRIMING SUGAR
-
5 oz Priming Sugar (save for Bottling Day)
BEFORE YOU BEGIN ...
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
-
Homebrewing starter kit for brewing 5 gallon batches
-
Boiling kettle of at least 3.5 gallons capacity
-
Approximately two cases of either 12 oz or 22 oz pry-off
style beer bottles
UNPACK THE KIT
-
Refrigerate the yeast upon arrival
-
Locate the Kit Inventory (above) – this is the recipe for your
beer, so keep it handy
-
Double check the box contents vs. the Kit Inventory
-
Contact us immediately if you have any
questions or concerns!
PROCEDURE
A FEW DAYS BEFORE BREWING DAY

1. Remove the liquid Wyeast pack from the refrigerator,
   and “smack” as shown on the back of the yeast package.
   Leave it in a warm place (70–80° F) to incubate until the
   pack begins to inflate. Allow at least 3 hours for inflation;
   some packs may take up to several days to show infla
   -
   tion. Do not brew with inactive yeast
   —
   we can replace the
   yeast, but not a batch that fails to ferment properly. If
   you are using dry yeast, no action is needed.
   ON BREWING DAY
   
2. Collect and heat 2.5 gallons of water.
   
3. Bring to a boil and add 6 lb Pilsner malt syrup.
   Remove the kettle from the burner and stir in the
   Pilsner malt syrup.
   
4. Return wort to boil. The mixture is now called “wort”,
   the brewer’s term for unfermented beer.
   -
   Add
   1
   /
   2
   oz Simcoe hops, and boil for 60 minutes.
   -
   Add
   1
   /
   2
   oz Simcoe hops 15 minutes before the end of the boil.
   -
   Add 1 oz Simcoe hops 5 minutes before the end of the boil.
   
5. Cool the wort. When the 60-minute boil is finished,
   cool the wort to approximately 100° F as rapidly as
   possible. Use a wort chiller, or put the kettle in an ice
   bath in your sink.
   
6. Sanitize fermenting equipment and yeast pack. While
   the wort cools, sanitize the fermenting equipment –
   fermenter, lid or stopper, fermentation lock, funnel, etc –
   along with the yeast pack and a pair of scissors.
   
7. Fill primary fermenter with 2 gallons of cold water,
   then pour in the cooled wort. Leave any thick sludge in
   the bottom of the kettle.
   
8. Add more cold water as needed to bring the
   volume to 5 gallons.
   
9. Aerate the wort. Seal the fermenter and rock back
   and forth to splash for a few minutes, or use an aeration
   system and diffusion stone.
   
10. 
    OPTIONAL:
    if you have our Mad Brewer Upgrade or
    Gravity Testing kits, measure specific gravity of the wort
    with a hydrometer and record.
    
11. Add yeast once the temperature of the wort is 78°F or
    lower (not warm to the touch). Use the sanitized scissors
    to cut off a corner of the yeast pack, and carefully pour
    the yeast into the primary fermenter.
    
12. Seal the fermenter. Add approximately 1 tablespoon of
    water to the sanitized fermentation lock. Insert the lock
    into rubber stopper or lid, and seal the fermenter.
    
13. Move the fermenter to a warm, dark, quiet spot until
    fermentation begins.
    SMASH AMERICAN SESSION ALE
    BEYOND BREWING DAY, WEEKS 1–2
    
14. Active fermentation begins. Within approximately 48
    hours of Brewing Day, active fermentation will begin –
    there will be a cap of foam on the surface of the beer,
    and you may see bubbles come through the fermenta
    -
    tion lock. The optimum fermentation temperature for this
    beer is 60–72º F – move the fermenter to a warmer or
    cooler spot as needed.
    
15. Active fermentation ends. Approximately 1 week
    after brewing day, active fermentation will end: the cap
    of foam falls back into the new beer, bubbling in the
    fermentation lock slows down or stops.
    
16. Rack the beer into a secondary fermenter, or simply
    add the 1 oz of Simcoe hops to the fermenter. Dry hop
    for 1 week total.
    BOTTLING DAY—ABOUT 2 WEEKS
    AFTER BREWING DAY
    
17. Sanitize siphoning and bottling equipment.
    
18. Mix a priming solution (a measured amount of sugar
    dissolved in water to carbonate the bottled beer) of
    2
    /
    3
    cup priming sugar in 16 oz water. Bring the solution to a
    boil and pour into the bottling bucket.
    
19. Siphon beer into bottling bucket and mix with priming
    solution. Stir gently to mix—don’t splash.
    
20. Fill and cap bottles.
    2 WEEKS AFTER BOTTLING DAY
    
21. Condition bottles at room temperature for 2 weeks.
    After this point, the bottles can be stored cool or cold.
    
22. Serving. Pour into a clean glass, being careful to leave
    the layer of sediment at the bottom of the bottle. Cheers!