Omega Red Russian Imperial Stout

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igliashon

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I know I shouldn't count my chickens until they're carbonated, but I bottled this last night and the tasting was so encouraging I almost peed myself. My No-Nonsense Stout was good, but I feel like I could put this bad-boy up against Old Rasputin! I'll update again in about a month once it's (hopefully) carbonated, but after 1.5 months in secondary, I'm guessing it's gonna take a while to carbonate. I probably should have re-dosed it with yeast, but whatever...this is a winter beer if ever I've had one, so I'm happy to wait for the colder weather.

Here's the recipe for a 3 gallon batch (only about 2.25 gallons made it into bottles, FEAR THE TRUB):

Malt bill:
3# rice solids, 90 min
2# D-90 candi syrup, 90 min
8 oz molasses, 90 min
2# chocolate-roasted buckwheat, steeping
2# chocolate-roasted purple rice, steeping (same grains that I steeped for Purple Hefereisen)
1.5# oven-roasted beets, pureed, steeping

Hop Schedule:
0.5 oz Columbus pellets (15.4% AA), 90 min
0.75 oz Willamette whole-leaf (5.5% AA), 60 min
0.75 oz Willamette whole-leaf, 20 min
0.5 oz Willamette whole-leaf, 5 min

S-33 Dry Yeast

OG: 1.089
FG: 1.023
ABV: 8.8%
IBUs: 71.5 (Average method)

This one needs a longer aging; hydrometer samples taken at 1 and 2 weeks were both AWFUL--sharp, burnt, and almost tongue-numbingly bitter. But after 6 weeks in secondary, it has a nice chocolate/black coffee taste with a clean assertive bitterness and a pleasing hop aroma. It is rich, full-bodied, with a nice sweetness to balance the hops--a perfect dessert beer. It is true what they say about aging Imperial stouts, if I had bottled it young I might have thought it was undrinkable!
 
Were the beets mainly used for color since they were only steeped? I'm curious what rice syrup only tastes like; I wasn't pleased with rice/tapioca syrups. Looks good!
 
Adding this to my to brew list. It sounds great and not to complicated. let us know how it comes out when you start drinking it!
 
The beets were steeped to add flavor, which they did--a subtle earthy flavor that was stronger at first but has mellowed. I think they may have also added a wee bit of sugars. I think the rice syrup base is undetectable here, flavor-wise, the way pale malt is undetectable in most stouts. Considering it provides just a little over half of the sugars, that's not surprising. It provides a base of fermentables, and a balance to the dark roasty flavors, and that's about it. I think the key to this recipe was the 5.5 pounds of steeping material (grains + vegetables), I've concluded that you really need to steep a LOT of grains to get their flavor to come through. And this is why stouts work better than other styles for gluten-free brewing: their flavor is characteristically roasty, and ANY grain when roasted dark enough will start to taste similar. Dark candi syrup provides a nice residual sweetness. I fully expect this beer to fool normal beer-drinkers, but we'll see!
 
Thanks igliashon. I'm going to brew this exactly as is this coming week. I've been thinking about a RIS for a while now and I think we've discussed our our ideas on recipes before. Trusting what you said about this I'll try it and wait it out. Honestly, I don't see how this wont be too dry but I guessed the crystalization of the Belgian candi sugar and sufficient grains will add body. Do you think I can just leave it in the primary for 6-8 weeks and not develop any yeasty/ off flavors? Also, what would you recommend as an optimum fermentation temperature? I have lagering capabilities so I could ferment it lower and bring out the bitterness. Or I could ferment it higher and bring out some of the typical Belgian flavors. Thanks for the help. Sorry I haven't posted in a while with new recipes. I've been out of town for the longest time.
 
Important note: use candi SYRUP, not candi SUGAR! I learned early on that this makes a huge difference! Candi SUGAR can ferment out completely, but the process of making candi SYRUP can leave a fair amount of non-fermentables, due to caramelization IIRC. Mine finished at 1.023, which was about .003 higher than I calculated, so there's plenty of sweetness left. Make sure to use the stuff that comes in the pouch, rather than the jar, if you want to follow the recipe precisely. I've never used the stuff that comes in the jars, so I can't vouch for its similarity.

I can't comment on doing this as a long primary; I do most of my beers as primary-only, but after a couple weeks when I knew I was gonna have to age this one, I racked it off into secondary. Seemed like a worthy precaution given the amount of time and work invested in this beer. I fermented it at my ambient room temperature, which is usually between 70 and 74. I doubt it ever got colder than 68. You could certainly try doing a secondary at a colder temp, but if you do the primary at a lower temp then I can't vouch for the results. I did not get any objectionable character from the yeast at the temps I used, so I don't know if there would be any benefit to doing it colder.

Also, I may or may not have added some amylase to the steeping grains. I didn't take as good of notes as I should have, but I vaguely feel like I did. Note that I did NOT cook the grains into porridge, but I wonder if toasting them in the oven had the effect of gelatinizing them? Anyway, I've taken to adding amylase to my steeping grains just to ward off any excess starchy characteristics, so if you have some on hand it wouldn't be a bad idea. You don't need to grind and do a full-on partial mash or anything, I'm quite sure I didn't do that. At most I added the amylase a few minutes into the steep, and let it go for an hour.

Lastly, remember that this recipe is for 3 gallons; scale up carefully! In Beer Calculus, I used 20 PPG for the buckwheat and rice and a 40% mash efficiency, and did not include the beets as a sugar source, if that helps.
 
Thanks again. I have the Belgian candi syrup, but it is from a jar. I cant see how that'd be too much different though. I also have amylase so I throw some into the steep. I'm definitely sticking with 3 gallons though, especially for a new recipe. One last question. How did you roast the grains? 350 in the oven stirring until brown.
 
I soaked the grains in hot water until they absorbed as much as possible, then toasted at 350 for a few hours, stirring frequently. The black rice is hard to gauge the color of toasting, because it's already black, so you kinda have to go by time and smell. Do you have Dark Candi Syrup or D2? The Dark Candi Syrup is closer to the stuff I used (D-90, 90 SRM). I can't imagine it being that different either, but I really don't know. I'll have to do a comparison one of these days.
 
So you did a sort of crystal malt without the malt itself? I see. I have the dark candi syrup, the D, not the D2. Looking online, they don't loo too much different. Anyway, the recipe looks delicious and I cant wait to see how it comes out, both yours and mine.
 
Off topic but I haven't heard anything positive about brewing with agave. Do you have anything to share about the vanilla cream ale in your primary? I'm curious about that one.
 
I should have an update on the agave beer later this week. My preliminary hydrometer sample last week was very interesting. It was tasty, but completely unlike any beer I've ever had (both glutenous and gluten-free).
 
I brewed this exact on Aug 21 and pitched the yeast on the 22nd. The wort sample was as you described, mind-numbingly bitter. I have high hopes though. I ended up using dried rice extract so we'll see how that comes out. I didn't an OG reading since I no longer have a hydrometer. I'm glad I have a blow off tube because the krausen is crazy with this beer. Given I have almost filled my carboy with wort, the krausen is still impressive.

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igliashon, any update on your beer? I have received a challenge from my LHBS to brew a GF Imperial Stout, but I would like to hear from you first before I do.

To be honest, I was surprised you didn't use oatmeal in your grain bill. Any reason you did not?

P.S. I have a pound of buckwheat honey sitting in the basement that might have a place in this recipe too?
 
Well, I haven't been able to drink alcohol for a few weeks (and won't for a few more) because of some health issues. But when I last tasted it after a few weeks in the bottle, it's every bit as good as I suspected. Like most RIS's, it's a challenging beer; it's got a LOT of roasty and hoppy flavors, with a mild alcoholic warmth, and strong notes of fruity dark chocolate. It is absolutely the most convincing beer I've ever brewed, so much so that I actually entered it in a local homebrew contest (along with a few other beers that I do not expect to perform as well). Brew it, and don't change a thing. No honey, trust me--it doesn't need it. I left oats out because I wanted to see what I could do in a dark beer with other grains, but if you can't find black rice (NOT wild rice, which is also black!), you can sub oats (dark roasted, of course), probably to good effect.
 
I second igliashon's taste notes. The bottling sample was great for any beer, gluten free or regular. I just finished bottling and the color is deep black as expected. The beer definitely could use some aging as the hops are bit intense and need to mellow out.

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Just a quick couple of questions... Can someone who's made this go into a little bit more detail about the beets used? I assume they were fresh, not canned, right? And how long did you roast and at what temp? Then you just stuck them in a blender until they were pureed?
 
They were fresh, yes. I wouldn't touch canned veggies with a 10-foot clown pole, not here in the SF Bay Area! I roasted them at about 350°F, whole and unpeeled, until they were soft. I don't recall how long it took. Then I cubed them and ran 'em through a food processor, not a blender. You don't need it to be pureed, finely diced will do. They added a nice red color at first, which was later dominated by the darkness of the candi syrup. Kinda disappointing, I was hoping for a dark pink head!

I entered this, along with three other beers, in a regional homebrew contest; mine were the only GF entries and were not judged in a specialty category. Nevertheless, it scored highly with the judges, higher than any of my other beers, just shy of full marks from the several of them (BJCP-certified, at that!). No awards were given for second place or honorable mentions, but many commented that it "tasted like a beer" and was "better than any GF beer they'd ever tried". It is really quite a good beer.
 
That is good news Igliashon, hopefully it will encourage you to keep at it. Regarding the recipe and beets--now this is theoretical, I've never used beets in a beer--the dark candi syrups are made from beets. If you wanted more color from the beet, why not halve the dark candi syrup and make up for it with more beets? If it is an issue of maintaining fermentables you could always just add more sugar. I saw some beets at the farmer's market we shop at a few weeks ago, I almost bought some for this recipe. I now wish I had.
 
Hi folks,

This recipe sounds amazing. Going to brew it this weekend. As we Australians call things by odd names, I just wanted to check: beets means the taproot of the beet plant, right? The red root that Aussies call beetroot?

Cheerio!
B
 
Hi folks,

This recipe sounds amazing. Going to brew it this weekend. As we Australians call things by odd names, I just wanted to check: beets means the taproot of the beet plant, right? The red root that Aussies call beetroot?

Cheerio!
B

Yes, we 'Muricans thought the Queen's English was too complicated, so we call beetroot's, beets ;-)

Post updates on your progress too!

Question for you: When you stir your kettle, do you have to stir clockwise or counter clockwise?
lol
 
Thanks! Another question - would this be blackstrap molasses? I saw on Ig's blog a general advice not to use blackstrap in gluten-free beer, but maybe it found a place here? There are so many different types of molasses - English is an inadequate language :)
 
Thanks :)

Does it use blackstrap molasses? I saw on Ig's blog a general advice not to use blackstrap in gluten-free beer, but maybe it found a place here? There are so many different types of molasses - English is an inadequate language ;)
 
Thanks :)

Does it use blackstrap molasses? I saw on Ig's blog a general advice not to use blackstrap in gluten-free beer, but maybe it found a place here? There are so many different types of molasses - English is an inadequate language ;)

I recommend not using black strap. What is it called in Australia, treacle? Use that stuff. :thumbup:
 
Thanks fellas. Final questions: do you reckon 'chocolate roasted buckwheat' means roast it til it's black? And I assume you lightly crack gluten-free grains before steeping, like you would glutenous grains :)

I notice Ig's blog had another recipe where he has a picture of 'crystal buckwheat' which is very dark brown-black, and 'medium roast buckwheat' which is more brown: http://beyondbarley.blogspot.com/2013/05/recipe-and-evaluation-black-ipa.html

Not sure which he meant here in this recipe. I'm worried getting my buckwheat any browner will just burn it...
 
Thanks fellas. Final questions: do you reckon 'chocolate roasted buckwheat' means roast it til it's black? And I assume you lightly crack gluten-free grains before steeping, like you would glutenous grains :)

I notice Ig's blog had another recipe where he has a picture of 'crystal buckwheat' which is very dark brown-black, and 'medium roast buckwheat' which is more brown: http://beyondbarley.blogspot.com/2013/05/recipe-and-evaluation-black-ipa.html

Not sure which he meant here in this recipe. I'm worried getting my buckwheat any browner will just burn it...

Be ye forewarned about roasting whole buckwheat! The hulls will char very quickly. Soak them in water prior to roasting. It'll help keep burny-bits from starting too early in the process. Well, that's my experience. Not sure if someone has a better method ;-)

Not speaking for Ig here, but I think you're looking for about 45 minutes at 160C, mix well, then another 10 minutes or so at 175C. Add time for darker roasts, but you're probably looking for around 200L color. I tried going 300L on whole malted buckwheat, but ended up burning them.
Experiment with a small amount first. That always helps reduce the risk of mistakes.
Cheers!
:mug:
 
Thanks! Well, that was a learning experience :) I will convert my metric notes to imperial in thanks for your tips ;)

I soaked the grains in hot water as per Ig’s notes, which I guessed at 120F for about an hour. This turns out to be a heck of a lot of swollen grain. I crammed three toasting trays into my oven, but could only do half the grain at a time. As per Ig’s notes, I did about 3 hours at 350F for the rice, maybe 2.5 hours for the buckwheat which was looking like dark crystal malt by then. So that’s 5-6 hours down already :)

Then I steeped in about 2 gallons at 160F. Ig’s notes said 180F, but I read that amalyse wouldn’t work at that temperature and I had added a teaspoon of it. I may have made a tactical error here, in that it was still looking a bit liquidy at 40 minutes, but by 70m when I looked again the grain/beetroot had swelled a lot. I might have found it easy to sparge earlier, but perhaps I extracted more by waiting. Who knows :) I sparged with maybe 1 gallon to get about 2 gallons pf slightly thick red brew in the boil pot.

Because I wasn’t doing a full boil, I kept back half the rice solids and candi syrup to the end, which I thought might help hop utilisation.

When I topped up to 3 gallons I had 1.070, rather than 1.082 as per the recipe. Oh well, I added a bit more rice syrup to take it to about 1.075. Tastes pretty stouty so far! Pitched S-33 last night and quite a lot of foam this morning.

One thing that puzzles me is that Beer Smith calculates this as finishing at 1.006, which is a lot lower than Ig’s estimates/actual. Is this because of unfermentables in the beetroot/rice?

Cheerio!
B
 
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