I want a Kick in the Mouth

Hello all,

First post. Been lurking awhile. On my sixth batch ever, and I've found myself craving something Russian Imperial Stout-esque which will make me shiver to think about.

I've reviewed many previous postings and it seems everyone wants to balance "bitterness" flavors with maltiness & alcohol content. But my question is this: What if I don't?

What if I want a kick in the mouth! High alcohol, high bitterness (not just IBUs); a true RIS for a session brew - but still drinkable.

Again, I'm all about searching the forums for topics related to the subject, but I don't feel that this has been properly addressed. What type of grains / hops would you use to achieve this type of brew (partial mash style, not all-grain)?

Thanks for any thoughts

Don't confuse balance with lack of flavour.

Hold on, RIS for a session brew?

Now I'm confused.....Sounds to me like you would like something high in chocolate malt.

Ignore the part about session brew. I didn't know what I was talking about.

And I'm still talking flavor. I'm just talking about tipping the balance in favor of high bitterness to achieve a kick-in-the-mouth-shiver-down-my-spine delight.

Yeah, that would be one helluva session !!!!

tlw08 said:

Ignore the part about session brew. I didn't know what I was talking about.

And I'm still talking flavor. I'm just talking about tipping the balance in favor of high bitterness to achieve a kick-in-the-mouth-shiver-down-my-spine delight.

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Ah, ok. I was looking at the session beer aspect, and thinking that you could get a session beer that kicked you in the mouth like an RIS simply by over-using a chocolate malt in an otherwise tame ale. But then you said you wanted high ABV too.

If staying in style is not an issue, I would look at an IPA with Choc malt to meet what I imagine your tastes are. That's the good thing about homebrew, you get to do what you want.

I agree that a black IPA is probably what you are looking for. There is a thread here that you may find interesting.

The question remains then, on recommendations for hops/grains appropriate for the end cause. Any ideas?

tlw08 said:

Ignore the part about session brew. I didn't know what I was talking about.

And I'm still talking flavor. I'm just talking about tipping the balance in favor of high bitterness to achieve a kick-in-the-mouth-shiver-down-my-spine delight.

Click to expand...

So you want an huge IPA?
RIS is a Huge Stout....Malty richness with a alcohol Burn. But you could make it hoppy too. But if you don't want malty, I'd say you want a big ..perhaps, IIPA?

Bitterness in an RIS comes from two places - the big portions of roasted malt in the grist (cocoa, unsweetened chocolate, black coffee, etc) and the hop bitterness.

Which are you after?

Brewmasters Warehouse said:

I agree that a black IPA is probably what you are looking for. There is a thread here that you may find interesting.

Click to expand...

That's a great start! Somewhat of the right idea.

IrregularPulse said:

So you want an huge IPA?
RIS is a Huge Stout....Malty richness with a alcohol Burn. But you could make it hoppy too. But if you don't want malty, I'd say you want a big ..perhaps, IIPA?

Click to expand...

But I do want some richness, and some complexity. As stated above, I'm talking about tipping the balance towards a very-high bitterness, whilst still retaining some subdued flavors in a RIS-style ale.

I also don't want to go bankrupt on purchasing 15+ varieties of hops in 1/4oz packages.

flyangler18 said:

Bitterness in an RIS comes from two places - the big portions of roasted malt in the grist (cocoa, unsweetened chocolate, black coffee, etc) and the hop bitterness.

Which are you after?

Click to expand...

Advice on a blend of both, or either. Obviously this is experimental, it's not a BJCP defined category or anything like that.

Just a discussion on possible ingredients

Maybe you want to double an American Stout or Americanize a RIS? The American Stout wouldn't be hugely malty or fruity like a RIS but would have the hop bite it sounds like you are looking for with a nice chocolate malt profile.