Simple vs Complex Pale Ale

Caleb Whitenack from @psychdocbrewery and I teamed up to brew two pale ales. One as a SMaSH beer ands the other with as complicated recipe as we could come up with. Were the extra grains worth it?
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SIMPLE RECIPE (3 GALLONS)
6 lbs 4.0 oz Maris Otter
0.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min
0.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 20.0 min
2.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Steep/Whirlpool 30.0 min
1.0 pkg American Ale (Wyeast Labs #1056)
COMPLEX RECIPE (5 GALLONS)
7 lbs 8.0 oz 2-row American Pale Malt
6.0 oz Biscuit Malt
6.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L
6.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L
6.0 oz Carared
6.0 oz Munich Malt - 20L
6.0 oz Special Roast
3.0 oz Acid Malt
3.0 oz Carapils
0.50 oz Centennial [10.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min
0.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 20.0 min
1.00 oz Chinook [13.00 %] - Steep/Whirlpool 30.0 min
0.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] - Steep/Whirlpool 30.0 min
0.50 oz Centennial [10.00 %] - Steep/Whirlpool 30.0 min
1.0 pkg American Ale (Wyeast Labs #1056)
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[@Unsub-Me-Now]

I like that concept! Same style different level of complexity. We need more content like this!

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Thanks!

[@larryrhoe2835]

Not the same style. One is an amber. The other is a smash beer.

[@luukkaah2119]

Yes retry this concept but now keep the same style, to really compare the grains or the hops, but not both...

[@Frank-the-Tank-13]

I’m thinking different grains same hops and hop schedule would show the difference.

[@TyinAlaska]

I would love to see this as a series.

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Awesome!

[@Jango1989]

Great video! Definitely one to point newer brewers to.

[@larryrhoe2835]

No no no.

[@Kveiksmithdaryl]

Love this experiment! I always end up finding my simplest beers my favourite ones, all my best brews have been SMaSHs!

[@matthewnorth5523]

"Even though I'm on the road, I've still got the whisk." I love your querks Martin.

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

😆

[@elproducto2340]

Great video lads.

[@NikitaVorontsov]

The tulip glass looks exceptional. Almost like a Teku! Big fan of simple beers and agree with you there on the choices of when to drink which!

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Haha, everything looks better in that glass.

[@Styv93]

Keep it simple! The best and most drinkable beers I have been making were all SMaSH =)

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

There's a lot to be said for a good simple beer

[@Abbynorml1979]

What I want to know is how home brewers can stay so thin? Something ain't right (not talking about my dietary choices).

[@CM-ef8fu]

Important question indeed! Xd

[@CM-ef8fu]

Important question indeed xd

[@Kaesekuchen002]

I like this comparison style video a lot. Also Caleb seems to be a really nice guy. Would like to see more content with him.

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Thanks! He’ll be back.

[@sharpie6953]

Great vid. I've been making my "Castennook" APA for a few years now, using cascade, centennial & chinook. It's a combination that works really well.

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Great name!

[@jabroni982]

Both of those beers look fantastic. I'm having a hard time finding Maris Otter and settled for a 55lb bag of golden promise aswell as a 55lb bag of 2 row. I've been waking up and just coming up with recepies while my water is coming to mash temp and loving it. Did a golden promise, Amarillo SMASH beer recently and it reminds me of this video.

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Haha, when I started to get grain storage at home, that was my dream. To just wake up and randomly come up with a recipe to brew there and then.

[@bobhinley5410]

I’m surprised both of you were surprised by the beers differences. The complex recipe has crystal 20L, 80L, Munich 20L and special roast. Darker malts. Smash beers are always less complex. But do provide the brewer benefits in isolating flavors. I’m sure it was fun brewing them.

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Yes sure was fun to brew these.

[@larryrhoe2835]

You are too polite.

[@OscarOSullivan]

@@TheHomebrewChallenge The simple one is my preferred

[@fagerholmjimmy]

Awesome concept! Looking forward to a dark beer "simple vs complex" ;)

[@normlang1994]

No one would look at these two beers and think they had anything in common. Another great "experiment" Martin!

[@jakedethierful]

I mean they really don't have anything in common different brew system, different mash bill, different hops, likely a different fermenter and conditions, and we only got yeast details from the complex beer.

[@jonybakery1]

Hey. I really enjoy your videos. By any chance do you have any content on the equipment you use? Currently I am bottling all of my home brews. I am looking to start using kegs with CO2 but have no clue where to start!

[@brotherjohn2002]

Cool video. Cool idea. But I think the "complex" beer grain bill was well outside of the pale ale realm. You could have kept it complex but kept it in the pale ale realm (2 row/vienna mox, biscut malt, oats or rye, and some honey malt). Still a rediculous amount of malt but would have stayed in the realm of pale ale. That said fun video as ever. Thank you sir.

[@noodle845]

Nice video. Do you find using a hop spider inhibits the proper infusion from the hop?

[@fabriziodifazio8439]

Combine the simple grain bill with the complex hop schedule, and you'll have a banging pale ale.

[@ScottBass86]

Cool video, I would be interested to see more side by side comparions but less drastic changes maybe. Like, a traditional hop schedule compared to just hops after the boil, or pressure vs none etc.

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

I’m really enjoying these comparisons and yeah those would be good to test.

[@stevendavis6561]

Maybe try same recipe but different mash techniques like single infusion vs decoction vs turbid. Not to many videos out there on that. The book American Sour Beer has good info on all of them

[@Buckie93]

My friend and I made a beer like that complex one once, anything that was in the brew tub that was open (leftovers from previous brews) grains hops etc threw it all in. Turned out really good so we called it the kitchen sink because God knows what went in it 😅.

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

lol one of a kind.

[@brennanedwards9582]

Another great vid Martin! Where did you get your whisk from?

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Thanks. Sorry no idea, it’s been years.

[@GraveysBrewery]

Both beers looked really good, but just for my own personal taste, I think I'd prefer to brew the simple version more. That said, rather than just have a straight SMaSH beer, I'd be inclined to add a little bit of Carapils to give my beer that little bit extra in body. Great video Martin, I'd love to see you do more of these kinds of videos.

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Thanks. I'm such a fan of this SMaSH beer - the keg is draining fast.

[@Dilfed]

Legit made the same SMaSH as my first brew, it is bottle conditioning at the moment and should be ready this weekend. I cracked one open for a gravity ready and tasted it and it's already quite delicious just obviously lacking some carbonation.

[@kg49er]

How would you compare the complex one to an amber ale?

[@brewtaldeafmedal1262]

he had to say he was a psychiatrist in the first 20 seconds lmaoooooo

[@llambibazi3675]

Mi piace molto bravo

[@ScullyBrewing]

It would be good to do this same style but with just different hop and same malt. Or vice versa

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Yes! Would be fun to see the impact, especially in a pale ale or IPA.

[@brewsclues5902]

What is the chugability difference?

[@mrow7598]

I would have kept the same type of hops between the beers. That way they'd be closer to each other.

[@iliffavenuebrewhouse6496]

I wish you would have tried to make similar beers; one simple and one complex. Great vid!

[@TheAlchemistsBrewery]

The simpler, the better

[@stevemorris8545]

Some of my most enjoyable beers (both brew day and drinking day) have been SMASHs. There's something to be said in the beauty of simplicity sometimes.

[@shawnmacgavin9774]

I was wondering what @psychdocbrewery beer finished at. Martin mentioned his final gravity but you guys skipped over the other beer's FG.

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

I think that part ended up on the cutting room floor. 1.017.

[@graykilpatrick1319]

I would've reached fir berr # 2

[@JohnnyReverse]

how many times ya think the psych doc has hit his head on that range?

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

lol he says many.

[@RidesWithAnthony]

The non-verbal ques say everything.

[@Matthewbraaten]

Sooo the complex one is not a pale ale? It looks more like an amber or red.

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

Ambery Pale Ale 😀

[@larryrhoe2835]

Exactly. Rookies.

[@ashleythomas1131]

There not the beer in anyway, please explain how they are

[@ashleythomas1131]

Maybe if you used same hops

[@TheAlchemistsBrewery]

American Pale Ale should be something like base malt, 5% light crystal malt (or US caramel malt) and a C hop. That's it!

[@TheHomebrewChallenge]

There’s a lot to be said for simple.

[@TheAlchemistsBrewery]

@@TheHomebrewChallenge "simple" is only apparently simple.

[@slavanazy]

Chennal бир энд бир...subskride

[@Weezulguy]

Simple FTW just cause hipstersSAWK

[@nikolab22]

First

[@ivanbravic5421]

Đes poletio Nikola 🤣

[@nikolab22]

@@ivanbravic5421 hahaha izbacilo mi, a taman na mobu bija

[@larryrhoe2835]

A smash beer and a beer with way too many grain types. “ It’s astonishingly different. Probably the stupidest comment I have ever heard. “