Porter, Stout and What Else? Must Hit 7%

The more I brew, the more I come to like really dark beer. Well, I suppose it started with Shiner Bock, really. Shiner Black Bohemian also kicks ass.

Anyway, I have brewed Porter and Stout and some kind of Bock in the dark beer category. I still have some Classic American Lager from the brew before my London Porter, but find myself passing it up for the Porter. So, dark beer it is.

Name me another dark beer. Something Porter or Stout like. Most of my brews have been made from The Home Brewery kits with various ingredients added. Maybe a Shiner Black Bohemian clone.

Hitting or topping 7% is a new personal goal. All my brews have been between 5% and 5.7%. I plan to make this goal doing extract brews with extra ingredients as needed.

Sofa you very much for your halp.

If you are liking the porter and stout categories you may like a Scottish Wee Heavy for maltiness or a barleywine for complete strength. Keep in mind that bigger/stronger brews usually require some aging to mellow out some. I'd also suggest that there is a world of depth in the Stout and porter world that could keep you brewing different beers for ages. I have a smoked porter and a chocolate stout in the fridge right now and a Russian Imperial Stout in the fermenter (10%.)

Also big alcohol isn't limited to dark. Try a Belgian trippel style on for size for something different...

I should say-

Right off I'm thinking of adding more malt extract. Maybe the recipe amount at boil and some extra near or at the end. Addition grains too. Perhaps honey in there somewhere.

I will be making a starter 12-24 hours prior.

Russian Imperial Stout does look promising.

Description:
Inspired by brewers back in the 1800's to win over the Russian Czar, this is the king of stouts, boasting high alcohol by volumes and plenty of malt character. Low to moderate levels of carbonation with huge roasted, chocolate and burnt malt flavours. Often dry. Suggestions of dark fruit and flavors of higher alcohols are quite evident. Hop character can vary from none, to balanced to aggressive.

Average alcohol by volume (abv) range: 8.0-12.00%

-Beer Advocate.

Storm King or Dragon Slayer or whatever I can get a hold of to get an idea. Suggestions for a commercial Russian Imperial or Imperial Stout?

If you have the ability to brew lagers, why not try a schwarzbier? Assuming you can get a suitable malt extract .

Try Dunkelweizen or Dunkel lager. Neither are over 6% but you can always just drink more.

Zul'jin said:

Suggestions for a commercial Russian Imperial or Imperial Stout?

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Check the BJCP guidelines for commercial examples of the style. Old Rasputin by North Coast is a good one though. Search out others if you don't have it in your area.

Look in the stout or porter sections of the guidelines for some more inspiration. You don't have to stick to a style, but it is good to get the ideas flowing sometimes. You say you've already done porter and stout, but there's more than one way to skin those cats!

Try Orfy's (Humbug's) Hobgoblin, although not as dark or the same style as a stout, it is a dark copper ale that is malty and delicious. You could proportionately amp up the ingredients to give you a higher abv.

Zul'jin said:

Suggestions for a commercial Russian Imperial or Imperial Stout?

Click to expand...

My favorite is Old Rasputin. Sam Smith's Imperial Stout is OK if you can find one that hasn't been sitting in the sunlight for a year at the store. Most of the others I have had have been homebrews or brewpub... Be prepared - a RIS is a big step up in flavor hit and alcohol punch from a basic stout and for me it took a little getting used to. Now it's one of my favorite styles.

Bell's Expedition Stout. At 10.5%, I am sure that qualifies as a RIS.
This is a very balanced beer, with a chocolatly mouthfeel. Nice drinker.

Zul'jin said:

Suggestions for a commercial Russian Imperial or Imperial Stout?

Click to expand...

I definitely recommend Old Rasputin as well. There is a good clone recipe for it in the BYO 150 recipe special issue and I'm sure you can find it online somewhere. This beer style, however, may be much more intense than you're expecting if you haven't had one. You will want to age it for quite a while but the Old Rasputin recipe is so well balanced that it gets away with much less time than most Impy Stouts in my opinion.

Aventinus wheat doppelbock clone.

My Russian Imperial Stout should top out above 7% I hope. My OG was 1.070 and if it hits anywhere under 1.027 that should net me about that level of ABV in the 6.5-7 range. (Recipe calls for 1.020 to 1.030 FG.

So here's what I've done. This isn't a box recipe. It's what me and the guy at the LHBS came up with. The requirements were dark, simple, not real hoppy and an ABV of at least 7% while remaining palatable.

9 lbs Crosby & Baker Muntons dark DME
1/2 lb dark grain
1/2 lb chocolate grain
1/2 pound crystal grain
1/2 oz Crosby & Baker Millennium hops
1 pack of Safale US-05 which I made a starter out of.

We shall see.

OG 1.091 and bubbling like mad for over 36 hours.

Sounds like a winner!

You could try a dopplebock too. I just did Papzian's recipe, Saunder's Brown Ale, and this puppy topped 9%. It's a fantastic partial mash.

man that sounds tasty, Zul'jin

Day 9 here and the air lock was quite. At least for the 6 minutes I watched it.

Going on the notion of a home brewer, who says it's time to get out of primary once the krausen falls, I checked the krausen. It's around a quarter inch thick. Was much thicker going by the ring in the pail. Doesn't look like his 7-10 day time period for the fall is gonna work out.

Better yet, the hydrometer says 1029 adjusted for 60F. The wort temp is 68F by the stick on thermometer and 69F by my glass floating thermometer.

OG was 1091. Now 1029. ABV 6.3% on day 9 of primary. Come on 7!

After being disturbed by me carrying it from the closet to the table, taking a sample and carrying it back, the air lock is bubbling again.

It tastes sharp. Even if I didn't know it was beer wort, I'd know it was alcoholic. The aftertaste is a bit chocolaty. That's OK. There's still clarifier and bottling to go.

You have a long way to go with this beer yet, its taste will change considerably before it is ready for prime time.

A 1.091 beer needs a minimum of 3 weeks in the primary.

I'd suggest one month...then 2-3 weeks in a secondary.

A beer that big will have a lot of residual fermentation (though not obvious through the airlock or even hydro readings).

You move that beer into kegs/bottles too soon, and you'll end up with overcarbonated beer.

The alcohol warmth of that beer will also be pretty strong until it's aged. A good RIS can use months of conditioning to get that smooth, velvety taste.

7%? Knocked it in the dust. 8%? In the rear view mirror. Yesterdays hydrometer reading had it at 8.8%! More readings will be taken in the coming days.

So far, the LHBS guy who helped with this recipe is half right. He said it would top 7%. Probably finish around 9-10%. The idea that the krausen would fall in 7-10 days and then move it to secondary? El wrong-o. Last night, it still had krausen. Not sudsy foam. Krausen.

More time in primary. Maybe 7-10 days in secondary. Bottle conditioning may take a month just to be good enough to drink, not just carbonated. Two to three months for really good drinking beer.

:rockin:

A bulk aging in secondary for at least a month would be a good idea for a beer of this stregnth. And for the love of god, quit messing with it!! You know you have a big beer, you know it's gonna need some time. Just leave the yeasts alone to get their fill of sugars. Look at it all you want, just kill the bright lights. It's obvious you're gonna get the ABV you desire, just be patient and you'll actually have something that makes you want to drink all of that alcohol.

Drawing a sample every other day for another week won't hurt it. It's dark in the closet and the hall way is rather dim. It's not like I light my home with search lights. This can be done through the air lock hole to further minimize exposure to light and any unwanted microorganisms.

I also want readings to take to the LHBS guy. He's one of those 1 week primary guys. Sure, for some beers. Not all beers though. Not this beer.

I second the Russian Imperial Stout idea. Old Rasputin is about 10% abv and a fine beer at that. Northern Brewer sells and extract kit for RIS.

Dang it, now i'l have to open a couple bottles of Old Rasputin. Before reading this thread I was enjoying a Black Butte Porter. Obsidian Stout has been spoken for by the wife tonight. Oh well she can have them as todays our 19th anniversary and staying home. This beat the last marriage lasted only 12 years, she hated my bier obsession hobby. Porters and Stouts in this house no see thru biers in glasses. Even the kids 15 and 17 like the Stouts. Note to self; add lock to patio refrigerator. Corny's are off limits to everyone unless i'm at the controls. Cheers to all the Porters, Stouts and RIS drinkers.

1025, 1024 ish for 3 days now. The hydrometers smallest measure is in increments of 2. The krausen has broken up a lot and covers less than half the surface area. The burning sensation from smelling it has lessened and the banana smell has lessened too. Fermentation is finishing. May go to secondary tomorrow or Thursday.