SMaSH for my first AG batch

Strongly considering a SMaSH for my first all grain batch this weekend.  NOTE: 3.5 gallon batch! 

Basic recipe:

6 lbs Maris otter
0.5 oz willamette 60 min
1 oz willamette 7 min
1 oz willamette 0 min
1 oz willamette dry hop
US-05

targets

1.047 OG
34.2 IBU
4.9% ABV

I want a very light, easy drinking, easy to brew, lightly hoppy, simple pale ale.

Will this do it?

Here's a link to the full exact procedure and more detail than you probably want, lol.

I'm pretty set on keeping this first brew a SMaSH.  I can still adjust the recipe (hops or water), but I will be using 6 lbs of maris otter for the grain. 

What EE% are you expecting?  Does 6# of grain yield 1.047?

I'd watch the ferm temps closely and allow more than nine days for the yeast to clean-up the by-products of a possibly warm ferm if gets warmer than 67F.

EE%?  Estimated efficiency is 72%.

Closet temperature is a very steady 67-68F.  It will be in there are least 14 days.

i don't know that smash beers are the easiest to brew.  my experience has been the lighter the beer, the more obvious the flaws.  i agree they are great way to hone your skills and get to know various ingredients though.  also, be aware that the mineral levels of the spring water will impact your mash ph, your bitterness and probably your EE.  i would at least monitor your ph if you insist on spring water.

Yeah the tap water here is a NO GO.  I haven't had any issue with the spring water, even with rather large partial mashes of up to 5 lbs grain.  That doesn't mean that the water profile might not be more of an issue with this smash beer, but I can only handle so much data at once so I'm just going to go for it on this one...  8)

I will be getting into water profiles more once I move to San Antonio near the end of the year.  Meanwhile I'll use spring water lol.

Anybody got a clue on how the water is in SA for all grain?  It would be edwards aquifer water from the NW side.  Probably heavy in hardness but overall quite clean.  Will need to get a water report to see if there's a lot of chlorine or chloramine in the water though.

If I'm not mistaken, I think the original question about EE% (from MaltLicker) was in reference to your anticipated Extract Efficiency in the mash.

Seeing that you have a 6LB grain bill and a batch size of 3.5 gallons, if you're looking for an OG of 1.047; that would put you in the range of 80+ EE% which, while not impossible, would be pretty darn good. EE% is different from Brewhouse Efficiency which I believe defaults to 72%.

You may want to double-check me on this; but I believe EE% will be calculated once you've entered your actuals at the end of your brewing session. BS2 can be a powerful tool, and the more you play with it, the more you begin to see how much it can help you improve your brewing skills.

Cheers,

Phil

Yeah I can see that my efficiency might not be that high and I might miss my OG by a bit.  Hopefully not by too much though.  I'll report back after brew day and of course I'll be taking notes for the next smash beer.  I'll probably use the exact same recipe with different hops sometime down the road just for kicks and for learning purposes.

Good idea - that's a great way to learn about a specific grain or hop. Also; collecting as much data as you can during the brewing process is one of the quickest ways to improve your brewing methods. There are plenty of folks who would say; "Write everything down!" I've found this to be very good advice.

Let us know how it comes out, and happy brewing!

Thanks for the help, brewday went smashingly!  OG was only two points off of theoretical, and volumes and temps were spot-on.  Copious notes here