So, I'm drinking the leftovers after bottling and this beer will be excellent, and the Smaragd hops are fantastic.
"Emerald Alt"
5 gallon batch:
3.15 Munich Malt LME
3.15 Bavarian Wheat LME
8 ounces of Pilsen DME (Mr. Malty suggested about 8 ounces of DME for bottling, so from a 1 pound bag of DME, set aside half and add the rest to the boil kettle.)
6 ounces of Belgian Caramunich
4 ounces of Carafa I
@60 1.5 ounces of Northern Brewer Hops for about 42 IBU
Dry hop in the primary for 7 days with 1 ounce of Smaragd hops
Safale US-05
Ferment in primary at <68F for 7 days
Secondary for 10
Bottle with the other half of the pound of pilsen DME.
The Smaragd hops really jump out with a strong spicy aroma and taste. Their description is fruity and floral. I taste a prominent noble hop spiciness in the front, which isn't in any description, but it's there. Smaragd is a slightly citrus-y version of Spalt, to my palette, with a lemon marmalade character in the aftertaste as a very pleasant note, but not the strongest note. This is clearly a noble-heritage hop. In a simpler beer with a single hop, the Smaragd might be more fruity, but in this one the Northern Brewer hops and malts are pretty dominant, with minty notes everywhere that are extremely enjoyable in conjunction with Smaragd's very spicy notes, and subdued marmalade. I am very pleased with this beer, and I suspect my wedding guests will also be very pleased with this beer.
Dry-hopping and late kettle additions with Smaragd in German-style and American beers, in my opinion, is recommended. It plays very well with Northern Brewer, and I suspect it would do a better job, in general, with more German-style hops like Magnum or Perle or Liberty than the Amarillo mentioned in the hop description. This is clearly a German hop, with a strong noble spiciness.
I got all the parts from Northern Brewer, if that sort of thing matters.