Sometimes you think you know a hop, and then it surprises you. That’s exactly what happened when Mike and I finally brewed up a SMaSH (Single Malt And Single Hop) beer with Simcoe hops. We’d somehow skipped over it in our series even though we’ve used Simcoe in many IPAs over the years. Thanks to a few viewers who called us out (you know who you are), we circled back and gave this classic hop its own spotlight.
Simcoe Hops SMaSH Beer Recipe
As always with our SMASH experiments, we kept it simple so the hop could shine on its own. Here’s how we brewed it:
Batch Size: 1 gallon
Malt: 2 lbs Pale Malt
Water Volume: 2 gallons
Hops: 1 oz (28g) of Simcoe hops
3.5g @ 60 minutes (bittering addition)
17.5g @ whirlpool (10 minutes at 180°F)
7g dry hop (after cold crashing for a day)
We fermented as usual and gave it a quick crash before packaging.
The Tasting Notes
Well, Mike was surprised and pleasantly so. He expected Simcoe to be more resinous, dank, maybe even a little diesel-y. Those West Coast IPAs from 10 – 15 years ago had those flavors.
What we got instead was a subtle, sweet, fruity character. The aroma had a muted, candied pineapple vibe. It was like dried pineapple or a pineapple hard candy. On the flavor side, there were hints of underripe white peach and citrus peel, but nothing overly sharp or tart. Just a nice, mellow profile with soft bitterness and a really clean finish.
This particular lot (2024 harvest from Yakima Valley Hops, 14.4% AA) felt more refined than we remember. It makes me think this hop really shines when used as a late addition or dry hop. It’s less of a bittering workhorse and more as a flavor booster.
We would use it again – We’re putting it it on our list of go-to hops for building a balanced IPA base.
BREW ON!