Aging a RIS (Cacao, coffee, and more)...HELP!

krugulitis · 09-22-2009, 04:08 AM

A Russian Imperial Stout I brewed a month ago has finished up fermenting (WLP007 dry english ale is highly recommended - went from OG of 1.095 to 1.024 with no trouble whatsoever). My question has to do with the subsequent aging that will take place in the secondary.

I want to let this age for at least 6 months before drinking any, however should the bulk of this be done in the secondary, or should this be done in the bottle? What benefits are to be had from aging in the secondary for months as apposed to bottling and letting it bottle condition for months?

I want to use cacao nibs and cold steeped coffee with this ale - how long should this sit with the beer in the secondary? If I am going to leave the beer in the secondary for months, would it be best to leave the coffee and cacao in the beer for all this time, or just for a few weeks before bottling? Can cacao nibs and/or coffee go bad? If so, how long until they do? Will these flavors fade if I let this bottle condition for months before drinking?

Thanks in advance for the help!

greencoat · 09-22-2009, 05:50 AM

I'm a newb, so I might just be offering up false advice. If it were my batch, I'd rack it onto the cacao and coffee and let it sit for a couple weeks. Then I'd rack it to a tertiary carboy for the lengthy aging.

I would think letting it do most of it's aging in bulk rather than bottles would be ideal. But like I said, I'm a n00bcake. It just makes sense to me to get the additives in there earlier than later to let all the flavors merge over time.

Let us know how it turns out!

LordHedgie · 09-22-2009, 05:52 AM

I'd put it in secondary with the nibs and coffee. The decision of when to start bottle-conditioning depends on how strong you want the coffee/chocolate flavor to get. The more time in secondary, the stronger they'll be. They should get a little less aggressive with time in the bottle, but that will be a slow process; I wouldn't worry about them fading away over a few months, even if they "bite" a little less.

So the big question is when bottle, and I think that's all personal preference. Personally, I think I'd give it 2-3 months in secondary with the coffee and chocolate, but you could go longer if you want more flavor.

krugulitis · 09-22-2009, 06:45 AM

sounds like i should add it (cacao and coffee) and wait until the flavor reaches a point that i am satisfied with before bottling. sounds good to me, except for one thing: are you guys sure the cacao and coffee will not go bad or cause infection?

CaptYesterday · 09-22-2009, 05:50 PM

You could cold steep the coffee and add it to secondary.

As for the nibs, you could steam them briefly to sanitize before tossing them in.

I don't know if doing this will alter the flavors that the coffee and cacao imparted but it would help lessen the risk of infection. Whatever you do, good luck.

**Edcculus** · 09-22-2009, 06:01 PM

I have a clone of the Terrapin RIS going right now. From listening to podcasts with Spike, they steep coffee (1lb per bbl) directly in the beer for about a week. If you are bottling, you will have to risk it. Since I keg, I racked to a keg after a month primary. After a few months in the secondary, I crash cooled and added gelatin to knock out any extra yeast. I am keeping it in the keg until December. Then, I will add ground coffee to a tea ball and steep until the flavor is right. I'm doing the coffee addition later so the flavor doesn't fade after long term aging. Even if you bottle, the beer will benefit from long term bulk aging instead of being bottled too soon.

As for sanitizing the coffee and cocoa (not cacao, thats the plant), I'm not sure. I've heard of someone roasting the cocoa nibs to sanitize. Steaming them might work also.