OFFICIAL Kate the Great Russian Imperial Stout Clone

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

jimbus

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 15, 2010
Messages
55
Reaction score
13
Location
Madison
Multiple - OFFICIAL Kate the Great Russian Imperial Stout Clone

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: WLP001 or Wyeast 1056
Yeast Starter: Yes
Batch Size (Gallons): 5
Original Gravity: 1.104
Final Gravity: 1.028
Boiling Time (Minutes): 75
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 3 weeks @ 68F
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 5-6 months
Tasting Notes: Have not brewed this yet, but the reputation speaks for itself.




Here's what Todd Mott, Head Brewer, from The Portsmouth Brewery sent me:

" I will give you #s for a full mash and a partial mash, since it is pretty much impossible to brew Kate with an all extract recipe.

When we brew a batch of Kate we use 77% Pale malt, 2% Crystal 45, 1% Caramel 120, 1% Chocolate malt,1% Black malt, 3% Carafa DH# 3 (Weyerman),3.5% Wheat malt 3.5% Flaked Barley, 2% Roasted malt,3.5% Special B, 2.5% Aromatic. We dough in at 166 to stabilize the mash at 149 degrees F. Saccrification rest for 45 min. or until conversion occurs. Vorlauff (recirculate) 'til clarified and run off. Collect about 1/3rd of your wort and sparge to collect 6.5 gals (for a 5 gal. yield) at 26 degrees Plato or 1.104 degrees Specific Gravity. Yea it's big.... but we like it like that!! (So you are going to need to use your mash tun efficiency to figure out how many pounds of malt you are going to need in total. But to tell you the truth when you get to this thick of a mash your efficiency is going to drop 3-4%).

Boil the wort for 5 mins. for the hot break and then add your bittering hops for 75 mins. We bitter at 38 IBUs with Magnum, 10 IBUs with Styrian Golding and 15 IBUs with Perle. This is the bittering addition. We add a flavor addition for 15 mins with Centennial for 2 IBUS. Our final addition of Palisade, Styrian Golding and Willamette account for about 3 more IBUs at whirlpool. Cool wort and pitch a good amount of White labs WLP 001 or Wyeast 1056 and ferment til it is done. Put into conditioning for about 5 or 6 months and you'll have an amazing imperial stout.

Now, if you brew a partial mash, use 9#s Pale malt extract and 2# amber malt extract. Add to your brewing liquor and bring to 150 degrees. Add your specialty grains that have been lightly crushed. Add the crushed grains into a muslin sack consisting of 1# 45 Crystal malt,1/2# 120 caramel malt,1/4# chocolate malt,1/4# black malt,1/2# carafa malt,1.25#s wheat malt,1.5#s flaked barley, 1/2# roasted barley,1/2# special B and 1/2# aromatic. Steep the specialties in the 150 degree liquor for 45 mins. Remove the sack from your kettle and let the gains drip dry over the kettle as you bring the brewing liquor to a boil. Then add your Malt Extract (off the flame of course so not to scorch it), 18-20#'s of it should give you enough fermentables. Once you hit a boil add the hops as above and cool and ferment as above.

Good luck. Hope this helps Cheers! Tod Mott"


If you are not familiar with this beer, it is Portsmouth's most popular and currently brewed only once a year to fill 10 barrels - half goes on tap, half fills 900 bottles. It is definitely amongst the "celebrity" beers out there, and near impossible to get. Enjoy the recipe and hopefully we'll have a few successful clones to talk about later this year.

Cheers!
 
I find this interesting. When all the hype with this beer was going on after Rate beer rated it #1 in the country and #2 in the world I think, I remember reading Tod wouldn't give out the recipe because he said there were plenty of RIS out there already.

Whether or not this can recreate KTG ( never had it so I can't tell ), it sure does look like a great recipe. Thanks for posting.
 
Sweet...Thanks!!!! I would rather brew this at home than stand in a line at 4am in sub zero temps to get 2 glasses at the brewery, and only 2...if your lucky enought to take any home home. :mug:
 
Whether or not this can recreate KTG ( never had it so I can't tell ), it sure does look like a great recipe. Thanks for posting.

Well the grain bill and hops are accurate, but I imagine what really makes this beer special is what occurs during the "conditioning" stage. Nonetheless, this should make a great stout regardless!
 
Well the grain bill and hops are accurate, but I imagine what really makes this beer special is what occurs during the "conditioning" stage. Nonetheless, this should make a great stout regardless!

Nothing like nearly half-a-sack of grain to make 5 gallons of a great RIS!!

Thanks for posting. I've been contemplating taking a day off to go buy tickets for the next KTG release ( their selling scratch tickets that guarantee you a bottle if you have a winner ) but just not sure I'm up for the crowds.
 
Yeah I have a buddy in Vermont who is going down to try to get bottles...a bit too far of a hike from Cincinnati for me though. Good luck!
 
These are the numbers I got out of BeerSmith for a 5.5 gal batch......if someone wouldn't mind double checking that would be awesome.

OG:1.104 @ 70% efficiency
Amount Item Type %

17.75 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 77.0 %
0.80 lb Barley, Flaked (1.7 SRM) Grain 3.5 %
0.80 lb Special B Malt (180.0 SRM) Grain 3.5 %
0.80 lb Wheat Malt, Dark (9.0 SRM) Grain 3.5 %
0.70 lb Carafa III (525.0 SRM) Grain 3.0 %
0.60 lb Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM) Grain 2.5 %
0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 2.0 %
0.50 lb Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM) Grain 2.0 %
0.25 lb Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM) Grain 1.0 %
0.25 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 1.0 %
0.25 lb Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 1.0 %

1.2 oz Magnum [14.00%] (75 min) Hops 38.1 IBU
0.80 oz Pearle [8.00%] (75 min) Hops 15.0 IBU
0.80 oz Styrian Goldings [5.40%] (75 min) Hops 10.0 IBU
0.18 oz Centennial [10.00%] (15 min) Hops 2.0 IBU
0.30 oz Palisade [7.50%] (0 min) Hops - 1.0 IBU
0.43 oz Styrian Goldings [5.40%] (0 min) Hops - 1.0 IBU
0.43 oz Williamette [5.50%] (0 min) Hops - 1.0 IBU
 
That's a hell of a recipe. Big and complex. I guess the beer is, too, no? I don't think I've ever heard of the brewery (I'm pretty certain they don't distribute to OH, or not this beer, anyway). Has anyone tried making this yet?
 
Portsmouth brewery makes some excellent beer. Kate is one hell of a RIS, among the best out there. I'll have to try this recipe, though there is no way my mashtun can hold 22+lbs of grain.
 
my percentages were off but i ordered the grains to try it out, i did
.75pound crystal 40
.5 crystal 120
.5 chocolate malt
.5 black malt
.75 roasted barley
.75 cara 3
.25 briess special roast
1 pound munich (instread of the wheat)
1 pound golden naked oats
.75 special b
.5 aromatic

and probably going to do 20pounds 2row. probably will do different hops also so i guess it wont be close to a clone
 
i wasnt sure if the "2% roasted malt" was roasted barley or if it was briess special roast malt(i read is similar to victory or biscuit malt but more intense). I assumed it was roasted barley but added a little special roast also
 
pull_ones_leg3.jpg
 
How in the world did you get him to give up the recipe? That is the BEST beer I've ever tasted.
 
Here's the grain bill I got when I entered it into Beersmith ( 70% efficiency ) - 6 gallon recipe ( 5.5 to fermenter, 5 to keg )

19.30 lb Pale Ale Malt 2-Row (Briess) (3.5 SRM) Grain
0.88 lb Barley, Flaked (1.7 SRM) Grain
0.88 lb Special B Malt (180.0 SRM) Grain
0.88 lb White Wheat Malt (2.4 SRM) Grain
0.75 lb Carafa III (525.0 SRM) Grain
0.63 lb Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM) Grain
0.50 lb Caramel Malt - 40L (Briess) (40.0 SRM) Grain
0.50 lb Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM) Grain
0.25 lb Black Malt - 2-Row (Briess) (500.0 SRM) Grain
0.25 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain
0.25 lb Chocolate (Briess) (350.0 SRM) Grain
 
My 6 gallon batch came up to be just like stevo's numbers - with 70 percent eff. Getting that efficiency is very unlikely for me though - monster grain bills like this (25 lb) are usually in the 50s to 60s.

So since I know I will get about 70% efficiency with 15lb of grain I will mash that in (all the specialty grains and 9.25 lb of 2-row) and during the boil add roughly 5.25 lb of DME to make my FG 1.104. I just may have to brew this beer...
 
How in the world did you get him to give up the recipe? That is the BEST beer I've ever tasted.

haha well I hadn't seen any clone recipes floating around so I figured I'd just send an email and see what happened. I was quite surprised to get a reply.
 
I don't think I've ever heard of the brewery (I'm pretty certain they don't distribute to OH, or not this beer, anyway).

Pretty much the only way to get it is to show up at the brewery on release day (or luck out at a random brewery event).

Kate the Great is one of the "big 6" beers that have well-anticipated release parties with limited ticketing and limited availability and such. Russian River Pliny the Younger, Foothills Sexual Chocolate, Portsmouth Kate the Great, Three Floyds Dark Lord, Surly Darkness, and the Bruery Black Tuesday (in another year or two, Cigar City Hunahpu's may make that a "big 7").
 
Pretty much the only way to get it is to show up at the brewery on release day (or luck out at a random brewery event).

Kate the Great is one of the "big 6" beers that have well-anticipated release parties with limited ticketing and limited availability and such. Russian River Pliny the Younger, Foothills Sexual Chocolate, Portsmouth Kate the Great, Three Floyds Dark Lord, Surly Darkness, and the Bruery Black Tuesday (in another year or two, Cigar City Hunahpu's may make that a "big 7").

Darkness is fairly easily available (where Surly distributes) and is on shelves for a few days as of this year anyway. That puts it about on the level of Hopslam etc.
 
Darkness is fairly easily available (where Surly distributes) and is on shelves for a few days as of this year anyway. That puts it about on the level of Hopslam etc.

Yeah, not all of them are impossible to get and there are certainly other things that are harder to find. It's more the carnival/party atmosphere of the release parties that identifies those 6; those release days you have folks bringing all kinds of rare stuff to open in the parking lot, lots of stuff being brought out by the brewery itself, and basically just a big beer-geek party. Dark Lord Day or Kate the Great Day or Pliny the Younger day are huge parties; Westy 12 or Lost Abbey Framboise de Amorosa releases aren't even though those beers might be just as rare.
 
I'm pretty sure this is at least partially aged in port barrels so you may want to add some port-soaked oak into the secondary. Weird that he didn't mention any brown sugar, he mentioned it when talking about Kate in the past.
 
Necropost! I think Im going to do this in June for a December 2011 "release". Do you guys think I should pitch 3 packets of yeast, do 2 in primary and 1 in secondary, or do a one gallon starter?
 
Necropost! I think Im going to do this in June for a December 2011 "release". Do you guys think I should pitch 3 packets of yeast, do 2 in primary and 1 in secondary, or do a one gallon starter?

depends whether you're using dry or liquid yeast. for dry, use 2 packs, for liquid use a 1 gallon starter. adding extra yeast in the secondary would be kinda useless.
 
Brewed this one up today! I will let you guys know how it turns out. Was a great brewday all in all, and I hit 1.106 for my OG! Thats the highest OG I have hit to date.
 
Brewed this one up today! I will let you guys know how it turns out. Was a great brewday all in all, and I hit 1.106 for my OG! Thats the highest OG I have hit to date.

Did you use the exact recipe here? Are you planning to age it with port soak wood?

When is the anticipated tapping? I want to do this one but if I'm going to wait 6 months for it, I want to make sure I have the right recipe.
 
Never had the pleasure of trying this beer, but I just wanted to point out that in the recipe that was given by the brewer he said "3% Carafa DH #3". I'm assuming that the DH means de-husked, so that would make it Carafa Special 3.

As a side note, I can't believe how little roasted malt this beer has...only 7% (including the Carafa). Can someone who has had the beer comment on its level of roast?
 
0.75 lb Carafa III (525.0 SRM) Grain
0.63 lb Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM) Grain
0.50 lb Caramel Malt - 40L (Briess) (40.0 SRM) Grain
0.50 lb Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM) Grain
0.25 lb Black Malt - 2-Row (Briess) (500.0 SRM) Grain
0.25 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain
0.25 lb Chocolate (Briess) (350.0 SRM) Grain

.5 roasted barley + .25 black + .25 chocolate + .75 carafa doesnt seem to low, 1.75pounds for a 5g batch, plus the special b and 120
 
Did you use the exact recipe here? Are you planning to age it with port soak wood?

When is the anticipated tapping? I want to do this one but if I'm going to wait 6 months for it, I want to make sure I have the right recipe.

Yes I used the exact recipe that Tod gave out.

I have never had KtG, so im not sure about the port soaked wood, and I can't find any reference to them using it anywhere. But on several reviews for it I have seen it mentioned by tasters. So Im going to split the batch and do half with port soaked oak chips I got from my father-in-law, why not!

And I will probably try the first "official" bottle on my Birthday, which is Sept 15th. Depending on how it is then I will hold off till Christmas time to get into more of them. Since this is a big beer, I will be aging most of it for a year or more. [again depending on how good it is this year ;) ]

I will let you know how they taste!
 
From what I've been able to gather online, the port version is just that: a version of the original. Sounds pretty damn interesting, to tell you the truth, but it probably makes sense to do any port aging as a portion of a larger batch and then either taste as a standalone or blend.
 
Today was Kate The Great Day at the Brewery. I had to work, so I couldn't make it....but from the sounds of it, the beer was great.
 
From what I understand, the normal version of KTG is aged on port soaked oak spirals.

It is, and it provides a huge amount of flavor to the beer. The stuff they soak the spirals in is local and I've never tasted anything like it.
 
I have the ingredients to brew this beer in the next few weeks. I have a good bottle of port that I wouldn't mind sacrificing to this recipe but I don't have ready access to oak spirals. Since I haven't been able to try this beer first hand I'm wondering what other form of oak would be appropriate. Chips or Cubes? Level of Toast? French, American, or Hungarian Oak? Thanks for the help.
 
Chips or Cubes? Level of Toast? French, American, or Hungarian Oak? Thanks for the help.

Since you'll be aging on the oak, definitely cubes. Chips are for active fermentation, when you want to impart an "oaky" flavor quickly. Cubes are for aging, when you want to obtain the subtle oak flavors that only come with long exposure to the wood.

Since this is such a big beer, my guess is that American Medium Toast is the way to go. Nice vanilla/coconut/banana flavors, good tannins, and big enough to stand up to the massive roast already present in this beast. (At least, that is my assumption based on the ingredients.) Here is a nice site with cubes for sale that--more importantly--has nice descriptions for the flavors and contributions you can expect. It will all depend on what you are going for, but different choices will affect the final result.
 
Heywolfie1015- Thanks for the help! Would you recommend just putting the soaked oak cubes into the secondary or would you also dump the port that was used to soak the cubes in as well?
 
Back
Top