Imperial Stout Russian Imperial Stout (2011 HBT Competition Category Winner)

Ply318ci said:

That is what I plan on doing as well. I hear the only real difference is that it ages faster in bulk vs. bottles. Either way a beer that is this big and complex won't be drunk for awhile so I am sure it will age fine no matter what.

Click to expand...

I broke down and bought an additional secondary carboy when I brewed this beer due to the length of time it will spend in secondary. Now I have one 6.5G carboy and two 5G carboys. Seems to be enough (for the time being)!

boilmeimirish said:

I found after the first two batches that adding a little yeast goes a long way in bottling, otherwise it seems this beer is consistently a little less carbonated than I like.

Click to expand...

Thanks! Any recommendations on yeast strain, volumes, dry vs. liquid?

Riseabovebb said:

Thanks! Any recommendations on yeast strain, volumes, dry vs. liquid?

Click to expand...

So4

mux said:

So4

Click to expand...

Thank you, mux!

So I brewed this. I brewed a half batch and did so on my stove. My calculations were off, and I ended up with more wort than I planned, so my gravity was a little low. (a gallon too much, used the brew 365 sparging calc, but my gas stove doesnt run as hot as an outside burner, so evap was way less).

Still really looking forward to this. Pitched 2 packs of S-04 (expecting a higher OG), and this was at 3:30AM this morning or so. It is in a chest freezer with a Johnson controller. It is a good thing I went with a blow off tube, I have never known a fermentation to be this active. Come on 6 months from now, get here already!

Made this today. Substituted the 4 oz challenger for 3 oz pilgrim. Biggest beer I've made to date, upped the base malt to account for efficiency - 1.100 OG even. Mashed at 151 and pitched on Pacman yeast cake from pale ale I made 2 weeks ago, aerated with 02 as well. Been 6 hours, already bubbling nicely at 62 degrees.

I'll see this beer in about 6 months!

Yippidy!

that akward moment whn you write a whole paragraph saying how much you love this beer only to lose it all when you hit comment cause you were not logged in... just happened. so, brew this beer. brew 10 gallons. and set it away for 6 months to a year. Then break into heaven. This beer is delicious after 6 months. When I first bottled it, it tasted like licorice. I just finished my last bomber and it was the best one of the batch. Utterly delicious. chocolate, molasses, roastiness. mmmmm

Shrimpboat said:

and set it away for 6 months to a year.

Click to expand...

Just wanted to post an update. I brewed this early August. Let it sit in a secondary for a couple months with about 32 oz of an espresso blend cold brewed. Served this past Saturday for a wedding after party. Needless to say it was a HUGE hit and almost got kicked, though I might do a stronger brew for a bit more coffee flavor.

Just cracked one open...brew day was 5/26. I hope to sample the progress! Only change I made was 2 vanilla beans to primary and put it in an oak keg for a month prior to bulk aging this bad mother. I made this for Christmas gifts this year...now to start trimming that list!

Many thanks marubozo!

this will be my next brew

Started Nov. 5 and hit 1.090 and today Nov 18 SG 1.017 and still perking.

I made a mini Russian second runnings with 1 lb corn sugar and 2.2 lbs of dark malt in powder form. SG to start 1.056 and today was 1.007 so I cold crashed it to keg in the next few days. Both taste awesome! The Imperial will be aged until March. Thanks for this winner!

Brewed two days ago. Substituted 2.2 oz warrior @ 60 minutes and 1.5 liter starter of 1028 (london ale). Looking like a good one. Thanks for the recipe.

Bottled my first version of this today. Brew day was 7/21, racked it to secondary on 8/19. OG was 1.094, FG 1.019. I added a packet of cheap Munton's dry yeast to the bottling bucket to ensure there's enough active yeast to carbonate.

Right after fermentation was complete it had a rather harsh, fusel-y flavor. But that has been mellowing. It isn't quite there yet, but the rich dark malt complexity is moving forward and I think this will end up an excellent beer.

ResumeMan said:

Bottled my first version of this today. Brew day was 7/21, racked it to secondary on 8/19. OG was 1.094, FG 1.019. I added a packet of cheap Munton's dry yeast to the bottling bucket to ensure there's enough active yeast to carbonate.

Right after fermentation was complete it had a rather harsh, fusel-y flavor. But that has been mellowing. It isn't quite there yet, but the rich dark malt complexity is moving forward and I think this will end up an excellent beer.

Click to expand...

Glad to hear it still mellowed.
I brewed this in early september and tasted last week. It does seem to be mellowing from when I first put it in the secondary. Was hoping for a nice holiday gift, but I think I may delay bottling more. I put Laproig soaked oak chips in, and the peaty flavor of the scotch comes through nicely. Last I measured it was at 1.019 after starting at 1.092.

How long do you leave in Oak chips? Amount used? Thanks

pigroaster said:

How long do you leave in Oak chips? Amount used? Thanks

Click to expand...

I used about 2 oz of oak chips. I truly wish I tracked how long I left them in, but my best guess is is 5 weeks. I think I left it in a bit long, but it is hard to tell. First time using chips in any beer for me, so I am just guessing.

Brewed This about 4 an 1/2 months ago and Figured I would share my result. Left in the primary for 3 weeks at 67 -70˚F, then racked to secondary for the remainder of the 4.5 months. My OG was 1.084 and final was 1.019. The beer tastes phenomenal. Good balance of hops with predominant chocolate malt flavor with a hint of fruity esters. Very smooth with a small hop bite at the end. Worth the wait. Thanks for the great recipe!

So the grains have arrived and i picked up the yeast (Wyeast London Ale 1028). Going to make a starter today. Just a few questions as this will be my first all grain that is not a kit from Austin Homebrew.

1. Does anyone have this already in a program like Brewtarget or beersmith that they want to share?

2. To whoever added coffee how much and when? The plan is to cold brew it.

Thanks!

CTS said:

So the grains have arrived and i picked up the yeast (Wyeast London Ale 1028). Going to make a starter today. Just a few questions as this will be my first all grain that is not a kit from Austin Homebrew.

1. Does anyone have this already in a program like Brewtarget or beersmith that they want to share?

2. To whoever added coffee how much and when? The plan is to cold brew it.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

After discussing with a master roaster at a local coffee shop in Frederick, MD we decided that an extreme espresso blend would go perfectly with the RIS. At about 32oz. I basically did a cold brew with a french press. Boiled the water. Let it cool in the fridge. Added grains and press. Let it sit for a few days in the fridge. Then added directly to the secondary.

rwagner23 said:

After discussing with a master roaster at a local coffee shop in Frederick, MD we decided that an extreme espresso blend would go perfectly with the RIS. At about 32oz. I basically did a cold brew with a french press. Boiled the water. Let it cool in the fridge. Added grains and press. Let it sit for a few days in the fridge. Then added directly to the secondary.

Click to expand...

Thanks! I will go with this and see how it turns out. How did it turn out for you or i'm guessing its still in the secondary?


And no one had a file of the recipe they want to share...

If you have beersmith you will be better off to create the recipe yourself based on your equipment and efficiency. I would share mine but I did a parti-gyle type of production. The Big beer hit 1.094 and the small beer was about 1.042. If this is what you want to do you should start a thread and I will post to it with directions on how I did this with beersmith.

I have chunks a bourbon oak barrel to put in my secondary for this beer. Would it not make a more complex flavor if I leave them in for 4-6 months? Or would the bourbon flavor become to overpowering?

Well I made this beer last week Thursday and all went well, except i didn't even come close to the Final Gravity. I hit 1.080 with an efficiency of 60%. I will have to work on that somehow. I also took 2.5 gallons of second running's...never did take the SG but guessing its pretty low. Going to try some different stuff with this.

Anyways it took less then 30hrs to get going and I cant wait to taste this in 8 months or so.

Hoplife, I was planning on doing a parti-gyle with this also. I wanted to do a 5g batch of the big beer and a 10g batch of the small beer. I would be adding grains for the second beer. Any info on what you did would be helpful.

Has anyone sour'd this?
Thinking of using this as a base for a Rhubarb Sour with Wyeast 3278

Can you suggest a replacement for the Special B?

I used the same amount of crystal 120 tasted fine to me.

I used this recipe as a base for mine and here is what I ended up using -
12 - LBS: LME - Pale
1.5 - LBS: Marris Otter
1.5 - LBS: Roasted Barley
1 - LBS: Special B
1 - LBS: Crystal 150L
.75 - LBS: Chocolate Malt
.5 - LBS: Cara-Pils/Dextrine
.5 - LBS: Black Roasted Barley
4 Ounces - Black Patent

OG ended up at 1.104

Also, how long did your guys' air lock bubble for? I put this 5 gallon batch in a 13 gallon container for primary and double pitched Wyeast 1098. It went crazy for the first 3 days but has slowed down on day 4 to a few bubbles every 10 seconds.

I have a pale ale on wlp090 San Diego super yeast how would this beer turn out if I washed that yeast an used it for this RIS?

I'm brewing this tomorrow but made a starter with WY 1335 British Ale II. Anyone use this? The starter is massive and has been swirling for a while. Any need for concern? can't wait to brew this and leave it alone for a 2013 holiday treat and focus on quicker beers for Spring and summer.

I brewed this Jan 2012 and I'll be sending it into two comps this spring. One of them is that competion for homebrew across the nation - the comp's name escapes me.

I expect to get feedback... (I never put my expectations higher than that for anything beer related ).

In any case. . . it's been sitting in the keg for almost a year and I bottled with very, very low carbonation (I like these beers nearly still - hope the judges agree?).

I feel like I've read every post in this thread, and there are two OG's in the original post. First OG says 1.106, and below the picture it says 1.095.

Which is it?

JFMBearcat said:

I feel like I've read every post in this thread, and there are two OG's in the original post. First OG says 1.106, and below the picture it says 1.095.

Which is it?

Click to expand...

1.106 is the expected gravity as calculated by the recipe. 1.095 is what was actually obtained when brewed.

marubozo said:

1.106 is the expected gravity as calculated by the recipe. 1.095 is what was actually obtained when brewed.

Click to expand...

Ok gotcha, brewing soon. Looking forward to it!

I am going to give this one a shot and wonder would WLP001 be an acceptable yeast choice in lieu of the recommended yeast in the recipe?

I want to brew this one but I don't have any type of long term temperature control. I do have a fermentation chamber for the primary but that is not something I could keep the secondary in. I live in an apartment that could easily get up into the high 80s...do you suggest not brewing this until I have some sort of long term temperature control? What are the possible off flavors from high temps in secondary? (I secondary in a keg)

Thanks!

jglazer said:

I want to brew this one but I don't have any type of long term temperature control. I do have a fermentation chamber for the primary but that is not something I could keep the secondary in. I live in an apartment that could easily get up into the high 80s...do you suggest not brewing this until I have some sort of long term temperature control? What are the possible off flavors from high temps in secondary? (I secondary in a keg)

Thanks!

Click to expand...

Good question...high 80s sounds bad. Any other choices for keeping that keg cold? Like what do you serve it from?

Another stupid question?

When you say
"Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): Bulk age for 6-8 months @ 60"

I assume that aging in the bottle for a few months would tick this box? Could I just bottle straight from the primary after 30 days or does it need to go to secondary for a period before bottling. If it needs to be racked to secondary, what would be a minimum time before bottling and does it need a cold crash?

Eric19312 - The bottom half of my kitchen fridge holds kegs that I serve out of. Temps are in the mid 30s.