Conditioning Courage 1914 RIS

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The_Nid_Hog

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Two weeks ago I brewed 5 gallons of RIS, using the recipe for Courage 1914 Imperial Stout from Ron Pattinson's website:

http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2012/02/lets-brew-wednesday-1914-courage.html

Brew day went well and I ended up with an OG of 1.092. I used two vials of WLP007 in a couple of liters of starter--added it at high krausen. It's been in primary for two weeks and I've been thinking about my options. My original plan had been to dry hop it in primary with 2.26 oz of Fuggles then bottle after a few more weeks and put it away to condition until next fall.

If I decide to condition it in secondary, what would my options be? For example, when would be a good time to think about adding oak? How long should I leave it in secondary? Should I think about adding some more yeast before bottling?

This is the first time I've thought about a long conditioning period in secondary, so I'd appreciate any advice from you guys who have been doing this for a while.
 
I've given this some thought over the weekend and here's where I am. I am still getting some activity in primary so I'm going to leave it alone for another couple of weeks. I put 1.5 oz of Hungarian oak cubes (medium toast) in a Mason jar and covered it with bourbon. In two weeks or so, I'm going to rack the stout to secondary in a 5 gal better bottle. At that point, I'll dry hop it with the Fuggles and add the oak cubes. From that point on, I'll play it by ear. Hoping to let it condition for several months.

If all goes well, sometime late spring/early summer, I'll bottle and let it condition for another couple of months. Crack open a bottle next Halloween to see where things are. Does that seem like a reasonable time line?
 
I would dry hop immediately before bottling, not now,lest all those aromatics dissipate during the lengthy aging. Everything else sounds good. I bottled my 1914 after about 2 months, and it was delicious right then. However, I've left beers on oak for 6 months; I'm told longer is better. When you bottle, some fresh yeast (same strain used to ferment) is a good insurance policy for a high-abv beer that's been aging forever. You only need a tiny amount.
 
Point taken on the dry hops. I might as well get the aromatic value out of the hops rather than just sticking to the historical use. I'll keep the yeast addition in mind too. Thanks!
 
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