Rockwell Russian Imperial Stout

Going to give my first attempt at creating my own recipe. I'd appreciate any comments or suggestions.

5 Gallon - All Grain - 60 min boil
0.G. - 1.088
F.G. - 1.022
IBU - 69
SRM - 35
(Stats According to QBrew)

Grain Bill
6.5 lb - British 2-Row
6.5 lb - Maris Otter Malt
3 lb - British Crystal 50/60
8 oz - Roasted Barley
8 oz - British Chocolate Malt

Hops
1.75 oz Tettnanger (60)
1.75 oz Fuggles (60)
1.25 oz Tettnanger (30)
1.25 oz Fuggles (30)
1 oz Hallertauer (15)

Yeast
English Ale

This looks quite good, but just a quick sanity check. Assuming you are using a 1.25 qt - 1lb of grain.... that will be 17lbs of grain with 5.3 gallons of water in your mash tun. Have you got the space for it?

Also, with bigger beers like this, you tend to get lower efficiency. From the looks of this recipe, it seems like you are planning ~ 70%. If that is your typical efficiency for a 1.050 beer, I would consider planning ahead with either more grain, or some light DME to make up for the potential loss.

Otherwise this looks great, let us know how it turns out.

One last question came to mind as I was submitting my other post. Why the British 2-row and Maris Otter? For a base malt, I don't find that Maris brings extra complexity to the party. I have used it in the past to maintain authenticity of a style (when UK 2-row wasn't easily available to me). Maybe either consider going with all 2-row, or all Maris Otter instead of the blend? One less variable to calculate.

For such a big beer, it seems pretty heavy on the crystal and light on the roasted malts. That's fine if what you're going for is on the thick and sweet side, rather than roasty, of course, but it's worth bearing in mind. It all depends what you're going for. What do you want it to taste like? That's the question you should address if you want constructive criticism from others.

GuldTuborg said:

For such a big beer, it seems pretty heavy on the crystal and light on the roasted malts. That's fine if what you're going for is on the thick and sweet side, rather than roasty, of course, but it's worth bearing in mind. It all depends what you're going for. What do you want it to taste like? That's the question you should address if you want constructive criticism from others.

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On a lighter note, I want it to taste good. However, on a serious note, I am looking for something with bold earthy flavors, a heavy body, and good head. I'd like to stay away from the "coffee" overtones that some Imperial Stouts often have.

3 pounds of crystal seems like a lot.

that's 17%

23% including roasted malts.

motobrewer said:

3 pounds of crystal seems like a lot.

that's 17%

23% including roasted malts.

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My understanding is that the crystal would impart a caramel sweetness to the stout, and that coupled with the darker grains, would almost make the crystal seem more like a roasted caramel.

i'm just saying 17% seems like a lot.

you will also get a bit of sweetness from the fact that it'll finish in the 20's

motobrewer said:

i'm just saying 17% seems like a lot.

you will also get a bit of sweetness from the fact that it'll finish in the 20's

Click to expand...

What would be your recommended modification then?

cut it in half

motobrewer said:

cut it in half

Click to expand...

this would be the updated recipe. thoughts?

5 Gallon - All Grain - 60 min boil
0.G. - 1.083
F.G. - 1.021
IBU - 71
SRM - 41
(Stats According to QBrew)

Grain Bill
6.5 lb - British 2-Row
6.5 lb - Maris Otter Malt
1.5 lb - British Crystal 50/60
12 oz - Roasted Barley
12 oz - British Chocolate Malt

Hops
1.75 oz Tettnanger (60)
1.75 oz Fuggles (60)
1.25 oz Tettnanger (30)
1.25 oz Fuggles (30)
1 oz Hallertauer (15)

Yeast
English Ale

looks great!!

I'd still keep the crystal down at the 1.5lb range, but I'd replace these grains with your base malt(s), rather than upping the roasted grains. Given your taste preference, I think that might work out better.

The more I think about how you want this to taste, the more I wonder if you shouldn't be conceiving of this as a big porter rather than a stout. Not that the name dictates how it will taste, but if you start with a basic porter recipe that you like, and then up the crystal and base grains, give it a thick mash and a long boil, you may get the taste profile you want. then again, maybe I'm just crazy.

yeah, if you don't want coffee, eliminate the roasted