Tasting Day: Simcoe SMaSH IPA

Recipe and Brewday here.

It has been a busy, busy November for me and in anticipation of this busy period, I brewed a few beers so I could come home and have some of them. I think that idea worked because work keeps me busy, but I don’t have to worry about running out of beer any time soon.

Last week, after close to 4 weeks of carbonation, I opened a bottle of the Simcoe SMaSH IPA. In as few words as possible, this beer is a mix of good and bad beer characteristics.

As I opened the bottle, a fair bit of hiss and smoke came out indicating a good carbonation. I did not have to pour aggressively and a two finger thick head quickly formed and remained for some time after which it ended up at the side of the glass. The color, being an extract beer, was expected to be around 25 SRM and it is spot on with its orangish-brownish, murky opaque look.

On the nose, there is a heavenly aroma of pines and earthy notes that make me want to smell this beer more than drink it. Needless to say, it was very, very good on the nose. In fact, I will say that the nose was the best part of this beer.

If there’s one aspect of this beer that trounces all others, it’s the bitterness. At a palate-shattering 62 IBUs, this beer coated my entire mouth for a while and made it seem like I was chewing through hops. The other problem with such high IBUs for me was that it took a while for me to truly taste food during the drinking session. The bitterness played around with my taste buds and I sipped water between sips of beer, and even rinsed my mouth quite a few times.

In a way, this beer is quite good, but the bitterness doesn’t allow any of those good characteristics to shine. It’s a beer I’ll make again, but I will certainly be more careful with the calculations.