Imperial Stout Russian Imperial Stout (2011 HBT Competition Category Winner)

Williams 728
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MON5TER said:
Update…. There was 1 bottle that had firmed up and carbonated. I thought it would be an infection and maybe it was but…. I chilled it for a couple of days and it’s…. Delicious! I need to save this batch!

So, 2 weeks ago I put a sprinkle of CBC-1 yeast in each bottle and made sure they were kept at 19 to 20c. There was a little bit of vegemite smell but this has dropped right away and been replaced by cocoa and roast flavours.

Still no carbonation.

When I originally bottled them I added 1 coopers carb drop per 740ml bottle. This is usually perfect for stout. I assumed that as there had been no previous carbonation the sugar would still be there and the CBC-1 would kick off.

should I try again with some more CBC-1 and add a new carb drop?

The single carbed bottle was so good I don’t want to send the rest down the drain!

Any advice would be great fully received. Thank you.
Click to expand...

So what did you do and did it work?

I'm still debating if I should use WLP002 or Voss.
Easier for me to keep something at 32oC with a fermiwrap and jacket than find a month free in my Kegerator to keep the WLP002 under control.
 
Well it’s just over a year in the bottle.
After the initial addition of cbc1 the bottle (PET) firmed up a bit but not enough. I left them for a few months.
Then I added a bit more cbc1 and popped in a carb drop. This seemed to work and in 2 weeks the squeezability of the bottles was just right for a stout.
Finally tired one last week after 3 or 4 days in the fridge…..
It’s a winner!!!! Rich, smooth, syrupy, tight lasting head, toasty, coffee and powerful. Gets better the further down the glass you go. First few mouthfuls are a bit overpowering but the journey down the glass is well worth it.

Will I brew this again? Yes! Will I go through the same protracted birth as this batch? I hope not!

A good lesson to me in patience perseverance and to not be afraid to try to save a batch especially when your gut (and nose) tell you it could be worth saving.
 
Hey, I'm gonna brew a variant of this one in the coming days. Using pilsner malt instead of pale ale malt, another hop for the 60 min addition and two 11g bags of rehydrated s-04 yeast instead of wlp002. The rest is identical.

The yeast in the beer recipe has an attentuation of 63-70%, the yeast I intend to use has attenuation of 74-82%, OG will be 1.105 and intended FG is 1.028, mash temperature is 66°c. if I want the same FG with the yeast I intend to use can I increase the mash temp to generate more non fermentable sugar to make up for the stronger attentuation in the s-04? Anyone with a clue of how much?

I have lutra kveik also which I could use, would it fit the recipe better?
 
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Honestly, I wouldn't even worry about adjusting the mash temp unless you absolutely don't want to risk going under 1.028. According to the specs I have seen, 1.024 is the lowest S-04 or Lutra will go anyway with that grain bill and OG. You'd be looking at a difference between about 10.5% and 11% ABV.

I personally am not a fan of any Kveik yeast that I have tried, but this recipe tasted pretty good with S-04 from what I recall.
 
TestTickle said:
Honestly, I wouldn't even worry about adjusting the mash temp unless you absolutely don't want to risk going under 1.028. According to the specs I have seen, 1.024 is the lowest S-04 or Lutra will go anyway with that grain bill and OG. You'd be looking at a difference between about 10.5% and 11% ABV.

I personally am not a fan of any Kveik yeast that I have tried, but this recipe tasted pretty good with S-04 from what I recall.
Click to expand...
Thanks! I saw in the pitch rate/yeast starter tool in brewfather it recommended me to pitch about 750 billion cells or 5 bags so now I'm making a 3.4 liter yeast starter for the two yeast packages to hopefully hit that amount. I think I will maybe increase temp 1°c or such.
 
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