Converting a Recipe to Imperial

[rivercity_homebrew]

I had a fun idea to do a Christmas brew each year for family and friends. Part of my idea is to create the recipe myself.

I'm thinking of brewing an imperial version of a stout I recently brewed and had a few questions about formulating the recipe.

1- Does "imperializing" a recipe seem like it will work or do I need to start from scratch? I will be taking the recipe from 1.052 to around 1.080.
2- What should I use to increase the gravity? From what I have learned I don't think it as simple as merely increasing the total ratio of grains.

Thoughts? Thanks in advance.



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[Tiber_Brew]

You certainly can boost the gravity of your favorite beer to "imperialize" it as you say, but you'll need to adjust a few other aspects as well of course. For something like a stout, you might want to increase the roast malts/grain as well as the base malt to hit your desired SRM rating. You'll also need to increase your bittering hop charge to obtain your desired BU:GU ratio. Not all malts will scale linearly necessarily, but that will depend on what you use. You must first decide what you want the beer to be, then work towards that. Can we have a look at the recipe?

 

[brewkinger]

1) Yes, imperializing a recipe does work.
The no portion of this is answer is that you have to increase hop quantities to offset the increased alcohol.

2) Increasing grain ratio is one option for increasing gravity.
Other options are additions of honey, table sugar, or other fermentable sugar source (alone or in addition or the increased grain quantity)


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[Tiber_Brew]

1) Yes, imperializing a recipe does work.
The no portion of this is answer is that you have to increase hop quantities to offset the increased alcohol.

2) Increasing grain ratio is one option for increasing gravity.
Other options are additions of honey, table sugar, or other fermentable sugar source (alone or in addition or the increased grain quantity)


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Good point, which goes back to what I was saying about what you want in the final product. Do you want this imperial version of your stout to have a more rich body to it, or just boost alcohol? Do you want to make the color deeper? Do you want to add complexity? Etc., etc...

 

[rivercity_homebrew]

The recipe I am starting from is an Oat Malt Stout:
9lb Maris Otter
1lb Extra Dark Crystal (160srm)
1lb Oat Malt
.75 Roasted Barley
.25 Black Patent

½ oz of Challenger at 60
½ oz of Target at 60

1.052 SG
40 SRM
35 IBU
ABV ~5%
Bitterness Ratio- 0.672

I am thinking:
14 lb Marris Otter
2lb Oat Malt
1lb Extra Dark Crytal
1lb Roasted Barley
.25lb Black Patent

1oz Challenger @ 60 min
.7 oz Target @ 60 min

1.081 OG
42.7 SRM
55.4 IBU
7.5-8% ABV
Bitterness Ratio 0.676

The lower gravity Oat Malt Stout turned out excellent and is aging well. Very chocolatey.

 

[rivercity_homebrew]

I upped the Oat Malt a little because I want it to be a rich beer. I don't want to up the roasted malts too much because I don't want it to be over roasty.

 

[Tiber_Brew]

I don't want to up the roasted malts too much because I don't want it to be over roasty.

*Side note* The thing with high gravity brews is that certain astringent properties of a beer can do well to balance a huge malt character. For example, I make an imperial stout that has a significant amount of roasted malts/grains, but it doesn't come across as overly roasty on account of the huge malty backbone to balance. I also hop my barleywines to 80+ IBUs, but the balance comes through nicely with the prominent malt presence.

To me, IMO, boosting gravity isn't all there is to making an imperial version of a beer; I want to balance the resulting brew because it really is a whole new beer. Just my $0.02.

That being said, your proposed recipe doesn't look bad, if you're shooting for just a stronger, maltier version of your base beer.

 

[rivercity_homebrew]

Well, I was thinking of just adding corn sugar to make it boozier. (Just kidding)

Seriously though, should I up the other grains to:
1.5 extra dark crystal
1.5 roasted barley
.4 black patent

That will add to the roasty flavor without going overboard.


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[b-boy]

I've done the sugar thing.

I have a Red Ale that I tried to imperialize. I used Turbinado sugar.

It was OK, but it definitely thinned it out. There was a slight cider flavor as well. It wasn't overpowering, and it was still good. No one else noticed it, but it bothered me.

I'll take a different route next time. Probably try to get 50% of the boost from sugar, and 50% from grain.

 

[Tiber_Brew]

Well, I was thinking of just adding corn sugar to make it boozier. (Just kidding)

Seriously though, should I up the other grains to:
1.5 extra dark crystal
1.5 roasted barley
.4 black patent

That will add to the roasty flavor without going overboard.

I agree that wouldn't be overboard by any means. It will be not only be stronger, but have a more robust balance to it. I personally prefer high gravity brews that way, but it's up to you. It may take you two or three tries to get it where you want. Brew. Taste. Repeat.

 

[rivercity_homebrew]

Sounds like a pilot batch might be in order.

I can dial in my efficiencies with the bigger beer as well. I don't usually brew above 1.060 OG.


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