Imperial Porter Advice

So I think my next beer is going to be an imperial porter. I've always enjoyed Gonzo and thought why not try to make a clone:
http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?products_id=12166

Looks like a good place to start and then I was considering a little secondary aging on coffee and vanilla bean, but I can be swayed still on that one.

Thought I'd post it here and see if anyone had thoughts as to a better starting point or just advice for a novice brewer heading into batch #2.

Thanks....

Come on someones gotta have some thoughts/suggestions here.

Thoughts or advice for a novice brewer heading into batch #2:

It's easier to start off on simple beers with less alcohol. Something with hops or some roast to hide hide any newbie flaws.

That said, I understand where you're coming from because right off the bat I saw all those big beer kits and tried to brew them all and failed. I failed because I didn't know what I was doing. If you want to make this beer the most important part will be yeast and fermentation temp. Pitch a couple packages of yeast to make sure you have enough, US-05 should work fine. Pitch the yeast when you get the wort down to 60* and no sooner then put it somewhere cool. Big beers kick off a lot of heat which can leave hot alcohol flavors which will ruin your beer.

Coffee and vanilla would be good.

Thanks for the tips. I'm lucky enough to have a basement that this time of year holds a pretty steady 62-64 degrees. If I would need to go cooler I have a root cellar that this time of year holds 53-55. How cold can I run it?

I was planning on double pitching yeast at another recommendation as well.

inhousebrew said:

Thoughts or advice for a novice brewer heading into batch #2:

It's easier to start off on simple beers with less alcohol. Something with hops or some roast to hide hide any newbie flaws.

That said, I understand where you're coming from because right off the bat I saw all those big beer kits and tried to brew them all and failed. I failed because I didn't know what I was doing. If you want to make this beer the most important part will be yeast and fermentation temp. Pitch a couple packages of yeast to make sure you have enough, US-05 should work fine. Pitch the yeast when you get the wort down to 60* and no sooner then put it somewhere cool. Big beers kick off a lot of heat which can leave hot alcohol flavors which will ruin your beer.

Coffee and vanilla would be good.

Click to expand...

I know very little about yeast at this point. I can get the US-05, White Labs California Ale, or the Wyeast American Ale yeast with it. I have no idea what the difference are other than a couple bucks. Can you elaborate on this or why you would recommend one over the other?

MustGoFast said:

I know very little about yeast at this point. I can get the US-05, White Labs California Ale, or the Wyeast American Ale yeast with it. I have no idea what the difference are other than a couple bucks. Can you elaborate on this or why you would recommend one over the other?

Click to expand...

Sure thing. Here is a quick run down:

The higher gravity your beer is means the more fermentable sugar there is available for the yeast to eat and turn into alcohol which is a good thing (well, so long as you want a high ABV beer). On the other hand, the more fermnetable sugar you have the more yeast you need to cleanly ferment it. If you don't have enough yeast they will reproduce rapidly in your wort to get a high enough number but the more they reproduce the more strain is put on them and the more potential for off flavors arises. That isn't a very scientific explanation but I think that gets to the point that enough yeast is essential to the quality of the beer.

So check this site out to determine how much yeast you need:
http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html

Let's just assume (because I don't know the original gravity) your gravity is 1.080. Plug that in where it say O.G. and calculate. When you click on the liquid tab it says three packages without a starter and 16 grams (or 1.4 packages of 11 gram packages) of dry yeast when you click on the dry tab. Don't worry about starters now but it's a way to build up the amount of liquid yeast you get.

So I suggested the dry US-05 because it is essentially the same thing as the liquid versions only though it's cheaper and you get more in an 11 gram package than in any liquid package. You only need 1.4 packages (although I would just pitch two and not worry about it) compared to three liquid and that's assuming the liquid yeast is new and super viable.

MustGoFast said:

Thanks for the tips. I'm lucky enough to have a basement that this time of year holds a pretty steady 62-64 degrees. If I would need to go cooler I have a root cellar that this time of year holds 53-55. How cold can I run it?

Click to expand...

I would brew your beer and drop it off in that root celler for the night. Let it get nice and cold and then pitch your two packages of 05. That first day or so is the most important for keeping temp down because that is when yeast reproduce. I would just leave it in there for a day or two and then take it out and it should be fine in the basement. Give it two weeks or three weeks before even opening it. You should be good to go.

If you want to add coffee I suggest cold pressed coffee as the way to go. Vanilla bean would be good too but don't leave it in too long because it can get overpowering quick. I'd add soon before bottling.

Curious, but do you ever mix yeasts? If i added a package of Wyeast and a package of US-05 what would happen?

I've mixed yeast by accident or rather just me being a dumass in my early brewing. Did not hurt the beer but not something I would do again.

Only advice I would give and stress about an imperial is as others stated, PITCH enough yeast. Use the online calc and do what it says. If anything to make it simple, pitch 1 and 1/2 packs of the US-05 if you don't plan on using a starter.

Thats why I was asking actaully. The calculator suggested 1 WYeast and 1 US-05 would be the right amount hence my ask about mixing, plus I've only used the WY so far so I trust that one now and am concerned about a big pitch of something I don't know. Also what happens if you put 2 US-05's in but the cacl called for 1..6 is the extra yeast going to hurt anything?

A beer that big with roasty porter flavors will likely take 6 weeks to be tasting decent, and also it will take longer to carb up in bottles.
Since you yet don't know much about yeast wrangling, oxigenating wort and temperature control, which are KEY to making beer and especially high OG beers, I would not do it as your second beer.
or at the very least, I would also buy a second fermemter and quick-turn around beer kit, so you can leave it alone. Newbies also tend to want to f## with their beer every day, reporting bubbles in the airlock etc, and have no patience. LOL anyways-- Good luck with what ever you choose.
PS My second beer was a rocket fuel tasting Imperial Stout that I added a bunch of crap to as well ha ha. lesson learned!

cheers

It shouldn't but I'd still only pitch half of the 2nd pack, save the other half, put it in a ziplock baggy and put it in your fridge for your next high gravity batch.

I use mainly dry yeast and prefer it over the more expensive liquid.

If you go with the dry, rehydrate to the specs on the package, then try an get it within 10 degrees of the wort temp when you pitch it. I do this and have fermentation start within 18 hours and my last batch of belgian started within 6 hours. DOH

Thanks for the advice Rico.
Midfielder: I'm not new to aging and waiting for beer, and it will go straight into an untouched secondary so I won't screw it up that way at least

Well it's STILL bubbling away. I have to say I'm impressed it's still active after 5.5 days. My last brew came out to 5.8% and was all but done bubbling in 48hrs.

I'm curious how long this one will stay active in the primary. My vanilla bean and cocoa nib go in next weekend it would seem (guessing).