This variety has been on our list for a while. Other hops were used before it but we really should have brewed with Idaho 7 earlier. This video has our initial thoughts about this SMaSH beer.

SMaSH Beer Details

Here are the pertinent details of the SMaSH I brewed for this post.

Ingredients:

2 pounds (.9 kg) of Great Western Pale malt

1 ounce (28 g) of Idaho 7 hops

Instructions:

Milled grains into a large mesh bag. Placed bag in a 5 gallon (19 L) cooler.

Heated 2 gallons (7.6 L) of tap water treated with a Campden tablet to 161°F (72°C)

Added water to cooler and mashed malt for 60 minutes at 150°F (66°C).

After the mash, I transferred all the wort into my 10 quart (9.5 L) pot.

Brought the wort to a boil for 60 minutes. I added hops to the beer following this schedule:

0.25 ounces (7 g) at 15 minutes left in the boil

.5 ounces (14 g) at flameout

.25 ounces (7 g) at day 3 of fermentation

After the boil, I chilled the wort in an ice bath in my utility sink. I transferred the wort to my 1 gallon jug and added 3 grams of US-05 yeast. Fermentation lasted 10 days at 68°F (20°C).

Our Idaho 7 SMaSH Notes

Mike really liked the aroma on this beer. He felt it was unique with notes of Pixie Sticks or Pixy Stix, under ripe green melon, and ginger. There was ‘sugary zinginess’ in his mind from what he could pick out of the aroma.

In terms of flavor, there was a nice piney resin in the background that helped push more of the fruit flavors forward. Mike mentioned in his description under the YouTube video that he detected guava and citrus flavors in his beer.

Mike also mentioned that the real magic of this variety happens when it is used as a dry hop. Idaho 7 apparently releases thiols when added during fermentation that add very special aroma and flavor notes to a beer.

So, hopefully, you’ve picked up on something from this Idaho 7 SMaSH beer video. Try them in your next brew – we think they’re great too.

Brew ON!