Fermenting a RIS

I have done a search on this, but I would like to have something a little more definitive in one place.

I brewed my first Russian Imperial Stout 2 weeks ago. It had an OG of 1.090. I pitched it onto the yeast cake from a Creme Stout (WL British Ale yeast). I had a very aggressive fermentation and blow off. Things settled down after about 5 days. I then removed the blow off tube, replaced with an air lock, and took a gravity reading last Saturday. The SG was down to 1.023. I left in the primary for another week, which is today.

I know that I should leave it in the primary until my gravity reading stops dropping. My questions are:

1. How long is it recommended to leave a RIS in the primary?

2. Once racked to the secondary, how long should I leave a RIS in the secondary?

3. Depending on how long the RIS is in the secondary will I have to add yeast when I prime and bottle, or will there be enough yeast still in suspension to carbonate?

4. I am not in any hurry with this RIS, but how long should it be conditioned and aged in the bottle, and at what temp?

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me on this one.

John

My answers may not be the best and I am certain that some people will disagree. You can leave your RIS in the primary for a long time. 2 months, no prob, so long as you were clean and the temp is kept in check.
As for secondary, you cansecondary it for a few months too, or go straight into bottles. You probably had lots of health yeast in the cake, so I'd think you'll be okay leaving it in primary for another month and then bottling it. you can toss in some dry yeast a day before bottling.
Your RIS is going to be happiest aging at cellar temps, the cold side of room temp.

I follow the standard 1-2-3.

1 week in the primary

2 weeks in the secondary, can go up to 30 days easily - w/o dry hopping whole hops.

3 weeks conditioning.

One week to 10 days in the primary should be the limit so you don't get yeast bite or autolysis from dead and decaying yeast.

I would use an "S" bubbler on the 2ndary so you can watch slow fermetation if it goes longer than expected. Don't bottle until it stops

You could bottle wait three weeks try one wait another month.... I usually wait about 3 months. I want each bottle to be fully conditioned. Hate to have the last bottle to be the best whereas the preciding others are OK to good. I have heard people let stout age many months to a year.

Good Luck!

From your above numbers, I'd say primary fermentation is about done. FG of 1.023 is about 75% attenuation, which is about right. I know you posted this a few days ago, so you may have already transferred already, which should be fine.

My rule with big beers is to leave it in the primary for 2 weeks just to be safe. Don't let the scary "autolysis" word get to you. It takes more than a few weeks to happen.

I would keep it in the secondary a while also. A month would be great.

You shouldn't need to add more yeast. You will notice some settling out in the secondary. If you want to be safe when bottling, suck some up at transfer.

Aging... As long as you can stand it. First let them carbonate at room temperature for about 3 weeks. You might want to check one just to make sure. Then keep them cool if you can. Give it a few months. Six would be great. My Old Rasputin was brewed in December, and I have only had a couple bottles just to monitor aging. The strength allows it to be aged a long time if stored properly.

Brewsmith said:

From your above numbers, I'd say primary fermentation is about done. FG of 1.023 is about 75% attenuation, which is about right. I know you posted this a few days ago, so you may have already transferred already, which should be fine.

My rule with big beers is to leave it in the primary for 2 weeks just to be safe. Don't let the scary "autolysis" word get to you. It takes more than a few weeks to happen.

I would keep it in the secondary a while also. A month would be great.

You shouldn't need to add more yeast. You will notice some settling out in the secondary. If you want to be safe when bottling, suck some up at transfer.

Aging... As long as you can stand it. First let them carbonate at room temperature for about 3 weeks. You might want to check one just to make sure. Then keep them cool if you can. Give it a few months. Six would be great. My Old Rasputin was brewed in December, and I have only had a couple bottles just to monitor aging. The strength allows it to be aged a long time if stored properly.

Click to expand...

Thanks a lot for your response Brewsmith. This is what I was looking for. I know that at 1.023, I was at about 75% attenuation. I have not racked it to the secondary yet. I will probably do it Saturday, which will be 3 weeks in the primary. Like you said, autolysis will not be an issue, even at 3 weeks. I am in no rush for this RIS. I intend on being patient so that I will experience the best results.

I will give it a month or so in the secondary like you recommended. I like your idea of getting a little of the yeast that has settled out in the secondary back into suspension for bottling. My cellar is at 63˚F or so all year round so it will be the perfect place to let it sit for several months to condition and age. I will of course keep it upstairs at 72˚F for the first 3 weeks to insure that it carbonates properly. At which point I will be forced to try one!

Thanks again,
John

Sounds like a great plan. I wish I had a cellar. I'm keeping my fermenters in water baths just to keep temps normal. I wish I had the place to put three cases of strong brew.