I was a day late brewing for the American Homebrewers Association Learn to Homebrew Day this year, but better late than never!

This year's recipe was a Single Malt and Single Hop or "SMaSH" beer they named SMaSH Sensory Blonde Ale, and they did a 1-gallon batch this time around, which warmed my small-batch-loving heart.

I modified the recipe just very slightly since I was starting with reverse osmosis (RO) water, adding 0.6 oz of acidulated malt, and the following to the strike water:

• 0.4 tsp Calcium Chloride
• 0.4 tsp Gypsum

This was my first batch using RO water. Previously I've always used bottled spring water or carbon-filtered tap water, so we'll see how this goes. It was kegged on November 19 so it'll be ready to try around November 26.

As an experiment, hot on the heels of this batch I did another batch using the same recipe, but with tap water to which I added 1/4 of a campden tablet as opposed to RO water with additions. It'll be interesting to try them side by side, and I'll be sure and report my results!