Stout Question

I brewed a stout today and I was wondering, how long should I let it sit in the secondary after I transfer next week sometime? I'm saying 12 weeks...any thoughts? The OG is 1.086 - Cheers!

Ingredients:
Munton's Dark Dry Extract - 6 lbs
Munton's Amber Dry Extract - 3 lbs
Crisp Chocolate Malt - 1 lbs
Briess 2 Row Caramel 120 - 1 lbs
Warrior Pellets - 2 oz @ 60 mins
Glacier Pellets - 1 oz @ 60 mins
Tettnang Pellets - 1 oz @ 3 mins
Wyeast Labs London Ale

Process:
Slapped the piss out of the yeast @ ~4 hours
Steeped grains for 30 min @ 155° to 159°
Brought to boil & added DME
Added Warrior and Glacier Pellets @ 60 minutes
Added wort chiller @ 20 minutes
Added Yeast Nutrient capsule contents & Irish Moss @ 10 minutes
Added Tettnang Pellets @ 3 minutes
Chilled to 75° in ~10 minutes
Aerated wort between brew kettle and bucket 4 times
Added yeast, closed the lid, and filled the airlock w/ vodka

Stout? Where's the roast barley? LOL. Lots o' hops for a stout.

Not sure I'd call it a stout, perhaps call it an Imperal Stout. With a high OG like yours, 12 weeks is reasonable.

I'm sure this will taste very very good!

Sweet pete, 2oz of Warrior! Beware the hammer.

I know, I'm a big fan of hoppy beers...my last IPA had 5 oz in the boil and 2 oz for dry hopping

Thats gotta be like an Americanized Baltic porter or somat. Call it whatever you want tho, rdwhahb.

IMO, I'd consider dry hopping it. I think you got too much dark malts in there for any hops to come through.

I think you should let sit in Primary for at least three weeks, then transfer to Secondary for a couple months, bottle it and wait another two months or more. Just me two cents.

dcp27 said:

IMO, I'd consider dry hopping it. I think you got too much dark malts in there for any hops to come through.

Click to expand...

Do you really think the hops won't be apparent? I was sort of thinking the same and that's why I added the 2oz of warrior. What would you throw in the secondary?

so i think i originally miscalculated your ibus when i first said that, but anyway hops fade with time and with how much dark malts you have in there i have a feeling its going to be a pretty high fg . you have the right amount of bitterness for it, but if you wanted any hop flavor/aroma to come through i don't think you'll get much. I've personally just never seen a recipe with so much dark malt in it.

You're willing to invest 3 months in secondary, but only a week in primary?

ChshreCat said:

You're willing to invest 3 months in secondary, but only a week in primary?

Click to expand...

Well that all depends on the gravity readings...and how impatient I get...

You hop flavor will certainly diminish after the extended secondary. I would let it sit in primary for three weeks. Then transfer to secondary for two months. After two months I would add 2 oz of dry hops to the secondary for a week. Then prime, bottle and age.

permo said:

You hop flavor will certainly diminish after the extended secondary. I would let it sit in primary for three weeks. Then transfer to secondary for two months. After two months I would add 2 oz of dry hops to the secondary for a week. Then prime, bottle and age.

Click to expand...

Thank you...I will take that into consideration...I appreciate everyones input

Well, slightly over 1 day in and she's oozing through the airlock...anyone have any experience on how bad it could get? I knew I should've gotten a 6.5 gal carboy with a blow=off...

Wyeast London Ale + OG of 1.086 = blow off tube time

please do not take this out of primary for a few weeks, and then secondary and forget about it for a couple months....you will be greatly rewarded for doing so.

are you fermenting that in a 5 gal carboy???

ReverseApacheMaster said:

are you fermenting that in a 5 gal carboy???

Click to expand...

No, 6.5 gallon bucket...an i made a ghetto rigged blow-off with an airlock and some tubing

After the input I've decided to proceed with the following schedule (all dates are based off initial pitching day [Feb 4]):

Rack to secondary after ~3 weeks [2/25]
Add 1oz. whole Willamette leaf hops after ~8 weeks in secondary [4/22]
Bottle after ~12 weeks in secondary [5/20]
Bottle condition for ~6 weeks [7/1]

Nothing like a nice imperial stout in the middle of July?!...****...should have calendared this one better...cheers anyways

dbreienrk1 said:

After the input I've decided to proceed with the following schedule (all dates are based off initial pitching day [Feb 4]):

Rack to secondary after ~3 weeks [2/25]
Add 1oz. whole Willamette leaf hops after ~8 weeks in secondary [4/22]
Bottle after ~12 weeks in secondary [5/20]
Bottle condition for ~6 weeks [7/1]

Nothing like a nice imperial stout in the middle of July?!...****...should have calendared this one better...cheers anyways

Click to expand...

Good Call, you won't regret it

dbreienrk1 said:

Nothing like a nice imperial stout in the middle of July?!...****...should have calendared this one better...cheers anyways

Click to expand...

Doesn't have to be July. You could always cellar this one even longer and save it for when the weather starts to turn chilly.

An update for anyone who cares...
I racked the stout into a 5 gal carboy today. I wished I had taken pictures of the inside of the bucket for people new to brewing. It was COMPLETELY caked with gunk and grime <--(very technical). So I racked it and added 1 oz. of boiled oak chips. I'm going to add the whole Willamette hops at 8 weeks and bottle at 12 still. Thanks for everyone's help!

you racked already? and I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to boil oak chips

1) What alternative method would you suggest to sanitize the chips?
2) I racked to secondary after 2 weeks in primary...I had a nasty fermentation that leaked through the primary airlock and I was worried about cross contamination.

dbreienrk1 said:

1) What alternative method would you suggest to sanitize the chips?
2) I racked to secondary after 2 weeks in primary...I had a nasty fermentation that leaked through the primary airlock and I was worried about cross contamination.

Click to expand...

1) steam or soak in bourbon, vodka, etc. IIRC, boiling can extract tannins.

2) good reason