I am new to brewing and decided to brew an imperial stout for my third run. I have been trying to find some opinions on how long to ferment, whether to use secondary fermenter and how long to wait to bottle. Any help is appreciated
Imperial stout fermenting and aging
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Ramitt
Well-Known Member
More info would help. How big is the stout and are you bottling or kegging. I am not sure on how long to age it offhand, but on a the only ris I did 1.080, 6 months in the bottle after 3 wk primary it was pretty good. If I did it again I would probably bulk age in a carboy for many of those months. If kegging and you have enough of them just age in keg.
eltorrente
Well-Known Member
I have a kegging system, so I would do secondary in a keg.
When I used to prime in bottles, I preferred aging in the bottle. In your case, I would let it sit in primary for a month, then I would bottle it and age right in the bottles.
I feel that aging in bottles is preferable, because you get them carbed up right away, then you give the chance for the yeast and sediment to fall out. The beer will condition right in the bottle. Oxygen absorbing caps are nice for extended aging. You can store bottles easier, also - plus you free up a fermenter for other batches.
When I used to prime in bottles, I preferred aging in the bottle. In your case, I would let it sit in primary for a month, then I would bottle it and age right in the bottles.
I feel that aging in bottles is preferable, because you get them carbed up right away, then you give the chance for the yeast and sediment to fall out. The beer will condition right in the bottle. Oxygen absorbing caps are nice for extended aging. You can store bottles easier, also - plus you free up a fermenter for other batches.
Im aging in bottles. My main concern is wether to rack to a seconday to rid it of the troob. I have seen a imp. Stout in a carboy with a hose in a glass of water with massive blow back but no explanation. Can someone elaborate. Thank you for previous input.
How long to ferment (or maybe how long to leave in primary) is fairly straightforward. It stays in primary until the gravity has stopped going down. This is determined by checking the gravity with a hydrometer. From there, it's not uncommon to leave it another week or two.
I guess if you're going to rack to secondary why not bulk age/condition it? If you're not interested in that then I'd probably just bottle it, being careful not to disturb the trub/yeast cake when you transfer.
Generally what I've seen for RIS aging/conditioning is 4 to 6 months, minimum. So for that lengthof time, yes, I think secondary is a good plan. I will be racking my 1.086 RIS to secondary this weekend, after roughly 4 weeks in primary, then it will sit. Exactly how long I have not decided, but it will be 4 to 6 months, minimum.
The last bit you describe about the hose in a container of water is called a blow-off tube. When there is agressive fermentation more CO2 and krausen forms than can escape through the normal s-tube or three piece airlock. They can/will plug up then pressure builds and can/will either blow the lid off the bucket or push the stopper out of the carboy and spew krausen and beer all over the place making a big mess. So, the apparatus you saw is basically a high capacity airlock that allows that agressive fermentation to vent off in a controlled way.
Since RIS is typically a fairly high gravity beer, needing a fairly large starter for good results, that combination of high gravity and large starter increases the propensity for agressive fermentation that results in blow off.
I guess if you're going to rack to secondary why not bulk age/condition it? If you're not interested in that then I'd probably just bottle it, being careful not to disturb the trub/yeast cake when you transfer.
Generally what I've seen for RIS aging/conditioning is 4 to 6 months, minimum. So for that lengthof time, yes, I think secondary is a good plan. I will be racking my 1.086 RIS to secondary this weekend, after roughly 4 weeks in primary, then it will sit. Exactly how long I have not decided, but it will be 4 to 6 months, minimum.
The last bit you describe about the hose in a container of water is called a blow-off tube. When there is agressive fermentation more CO2 and krausen forms than can escape through the normal s-tube or three piece airlock. They can/will plug up then pressure builds and can/will either blow the lid off the bucket or push the stopper out of the carboy and spew krausen and beer all over the place making a big mess. So, the apparatus you saw is basically a high capacity airlock that allows that agressive fermentation to vent off in a controlled way.
Since RIS is typically a fairly high gravity beer, needing a fairly large starter for good results, that combination of high gravity and large starter increases the propensity for agressive fermentation that results in blow off.
I've been letting my 1.104 RIS age in the keg for 6 months now on Nitrogen/C02 and I still think it needs more time to finish. It was aged in a bourbon barrel for a month after primary and has been left to sit in the keg at 55 degrees.
I would make a large starter and make sure to aerate the crap out of it to help the yeasties reproduce more.
I would make a large starter and make sure to aerate the crap out of it to help the yeasties reproduce more.
There are a few ways to aerate as well. Many people use an aeration stone and pure oxygen; others use an aquarium pump and an aeration stone.
There are pitching calculators that you can use that will calculate the proper starter size for your batch.
http://www.brewersfriend.com/yeast-pitch-rate-and-starter-calculator/
There are pitching calculators that you can use that will calculate the proper starter size for your batch.
http://www.brewersfriend.com/yeast-pitch-rate-and-starter-calculator/
