On average, I brew a couple batches every other week, all of which are for xBmts or The Hop Chronicles. A recent Saturday was one of these days, I brewed two 5 gallon batches simultaneously for a yet to be published xBmt. The next morning, I woke up early with my kids, made some breakfast, and did a few normal weekend chores. Right after lunch, my wife mentioned she had some errands to run, said she’d be out for a couple hours and would take my oldest daughter. My 2 year-old was napping at this point and my son wanted to ride his bike. That’s when the idea to try something I’d been thinking about for awhile struck– brew an all grain batch in as little time as possible. I set a goal for myself to be finished by the time my wife returned home, which she estimated would be approximately 2 hours. What follows is an account of how it went down, from grain to glass.
As my wife was prepping to leave, right about the time this brilliant idea came to me, I opened up BeerSmith and threw together a very simple SMaSH recipe. Inspired by the latest boil length xBmt findings, I chose to use some 2 year old German Pils malt I found sitting in the bottom of a bucket earlier that weekend. To that, I added Amarillo hops from the 2013 crop I’d been avoiding and a pack of Mangrove Jacks West Coast Yeast that expired nearly a year prior. This was bound to be glorious.
Short & Shoddy SMaSHÂ
| Batch Size | Boil Time | IBU | SRM | OG | FG | ABV |
| 1.75 | 15 min | 65 | Â 11.6 | 1.040 SG | 1.009 SG | 4.0 % |
Fermentables
| Name | Amount | % |
| 2 year old Weyermann German Pils Malt(1.6L) | 3 lbs | 100 |
Hops
| Name | Amt/IBU | Time | Use | Form | Alpha % |
| Amarillo | 20 g/19.4 IBU | First Wort Hop – 15 minutes | FWH | Pellet |  8.2 |
| Amarillo | 35 g/19.3 IBU | 1 minute | Boil | Pellet | Â 8.2 |
| Amarillo | 40g | Dryhop 4 Days | Dry Hop | Pellet | Â 8.2 |
Yeast
| Name | Lab | Attenuation | Ferm Temp |
| M44 West Coast Yeast (exp. 12/2014) | Mangrove Jacks | 73% | 66°F |
I chose to use the BIAB method for this project and collected the full volume of water, unfiltered and untreated, as my wife pulled out of the garage.
Start time:Â 10:05 AM
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Brooklyn uses the word nimble to describe this beer and I think it’s the perfect word to do it. Pours the darkest brown with a with a glowing tint from ruby. Fat tan head that fell slowly to cling and leave lace. Nose is hop prominent alright! At least at first it is because ti’s so fresh. they seem to burst forth.. Beautiful spice and floral from those noble hops. They shimmer even on the nose. A fruitiness that smells fresh and vibrant and a firm hop herbal that is just darn sexy. The malt that seemed shy at first keeps coming forward until you have earthy coffee, bread like pumpernickel. Flavor is mellow earthy and round. Those abundantly fragrant hops are much lighter on the palate but the herbal is the most forward flavor from them. Peppery. Coffee and a tempting dryness from the malt. Here is the part that I think is nimble. It’s so dry as to show itself off. A touch nutty, toasty and all that bread. The bitterness int he flavor is just a light touch from both hops and the malt itself and that highlights the earthy coffee . It also shows me some very smooth richness from the malt that is not caramel. Oh boy! It finishes like silk with only a tickle from bubbles and gives up some bitter chocolate in the last moments. No harshness, no astringency, no diacetyl. Lingers leisurely and shows you a last peek at those hops and all that roastiness. Just a light residual sweetness. Nimble indeed and very hearty while showing a subtle richness underneath that is the very expression of the black beer. Classic and extremely well done.
Maria Devan lives in Ithaca, NY and is a great beer writer. She has regular beer Sundays where she profiles brews, reviews brews online with homebrewers and other beer community connected bloggers. She’s judged beer at a homebrew competition and been a steward. And she’s kind of short. But that’s OK. 
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