First Big Beer, Advice?

[reichman]

https://shar.es/1umXB5

Above is a link to a recipe I created on brewgr. I really want to make a big complex beer, but I am still doing extract. The recipe is a Russian imperial stout. Please tell me if I'm way off base here haha, be gentle ... I'll give a brief description but I'm on a mobile device with the kids screaming in the background. Please refer to the link if you would like to see my experiment.

Fermentable's: ( want to be in the 9%abv range)
6.6lbs Light LME
3.3lbs Dark LME
1lbs DME
1lbs roasted barley
1lbs crystal 60L
8oz coffee malt
8oz chocolate malt
8oz black malt
1lbs cane sugar
4oz dark candi sugar

2oz warrior 60 min
2oz centennial 30 min
1 oz northern Brewer 5 min

White labs California ale yeast (going to make a monster starter)

Going to do some cold brewed coffee and maybe some vanilla as well in the secondary. Thanks for reading!

 

[reichman]

Also, what can i do to make this beer more full or thick, if you will?

 

[Gerry_P]

Also, what can i do to make this beer more full or thick, if you will?

You could use some dextrine malt. Steep it along with your other crystal/roasted malts.

 

[Gerry_P]

Also, sugar thins out beer so you could cut back on that or leave it out. Adding more extract instead of sugar would increase body while adding more fermentables.

 

[reichman]

Also, sugar thins out beer so you could cut back on that or leave it out. Adding more extract instead of sugar would increase body while adding more fermentables.

OK, maybe I will take out the cane sugar, but leave the dark sugar (is it a massive difference? I have never used sugar in my brews yet). I just felt I needed some extra oomph so I added it, but made sure it was less than 10% of the bill. Would you suggest DME or LME? I will look into dextrin malt as you suggest, thanks for responding!

 

[reichman]

I updated my recipe. Instead of using dextrin malt I went with maltodextrin powder. I have read that dextrin malt needs to be mashed and not steeped as to avoid starch haze. I only did a quick read, but I'm thinking 8oz of maltodextrin. Also, I added a pound of light DME in place of the cane sugar. Funny though my first kit from my local brew supply store called for the steeping of dextrin malt (IPA, was drinkable, but I didn't like it much). No idea if the dextrin malt had any negative affects or not.

Man, calorie count getting high on the RIS, oh well!

 

[wonderbread23]

I wouldn't put any malto dextrin in this recipe, or really any crystal malt for that matter. You're going to have a tough time fermenting out that much malt extract which will leave it plenty 'thick' on its own. I'd leave in the cane sugar.

 

[reichman]

I wouldn't put any malto dextrin in this recipe, or really any crystal malt for that matter. You're going to have a tough time fermenting out that much malt extract which will leave it plenty 'thick' on its own. I'd leave in the cane sugar.

Hmm.. OK, think I will have to do some more research. What if I put the maltodextrin in the secondary or right before I bottle, would that help? I do plan on a giant yeast starter, probably a two stage.

 

[actionjackson905]

Also, sugar thins out beer so you could cut back on that or leave it out. Adding more extract instead of sugar would increase body while adding more fermentables.

Agreed. I'd actually leave the sugar out completely. Cane sugar depending on the source can leave a horrid after taste that takes forever to age out. Maybe oats for more body/thickness might also be a thought. Otherwise looks like a good try.

 

[reichman]

Agreed. I'd actually leave the sugar out completely. Cane sugar depending on the source can leave a horrid after taste that takes forever to age out. Maybe oats for more body/thickness might also be a thought. Otherwise looks like a good try.

I think I might keep the dark sugar, just a small amount, for the color. I guess I could use corn sugar for the oomph I was looking for if I decide to go with sugar. Maybe I will drop the sugar amount just a little and add just some DME in replace of the sugar I take out. Anyone else experience good or bad things with maltodextrin powder?

Thanks for all the feedback so far everyone!

 

[Gerry_P]

I think I might keep the dark sugar, just a small amount, for the color. I guess I could use corn sugar for the oomph I was looking for if I decide to go with sugar. Maybe I will drop the sugar amount just a little and add just some DME in replace of the sugar I take out. Anyone else experience good or bad things with maltodextrin powder?

Thanks for all the feedback so far everyone!

I've never used the malto dextrin powder, but I've used roughly 5% of dextrine malt and been happy with it. I've never used it in a beer as big as yours though, just ESBs.
You have a good amount of dark malt in that recipe, will the sugar make a color difference? Otherwise I don't see a problem using sugar, it just isn't going to maximize body. A few months back I used 8 oz. of cane sugar in a 2.5 gallon batch of 7% export stout and was happy with it, so you can probably get away with what you have in the recipe.

 

[pdxal]

https://shar.es/1umXB5

Above is a link to a recipe I created on brewgr. I really want to make a big complex beer, but I am still doing extract. The recipe is a Russian imperial stout. Please tell me if I'm way off base here haha, be gentle ... I'll give a brief description but I'm on a mobile device with the kids screaming in the background. Please refer to the link if you would like to see my experiment.

Fermentable's: ( want to be in the 9%abv range)
6.6lbs Light LME
3.3lbs Dark LME
1lbs DME
1lbs roasted barley
1lbs crystal 60L
8oz coffee malt
8oz chocolate malt
8oz black malt
1lbs cane sugar
4oz dark candi sugar

2oz warrior 60 min
2oz centennial 30 min
1 oz northern Brewer 5 min

White labs California ale yeast (going to make a monster starter)

Going to do some cold brewed coffee and maybe some vanilla as well in the secondary. Thanks for reading!

Sugar color won't make a difference in a beer this dark. With 2.5lbs of roasted malts the color won't be changed by a little sugar, nor will starch haze show up, and with 3.5lbs of non fermentable grains being steeped you'll have plenty of mouthfeel. Adding maltodextrine or carapils would be overkill IMO.