Russian Imperial Stout Aging

[Holybarfly]

So, I've done some research on what to do with an RIS after primary fermentation has completed, all of which are conflicting. I'm planning one that will have an OG of 1.105 and I'm going to use WLP007.

Are there some best-used practices out there?

The poll has the options I'm capable of doing, and the plan is to age 4-6 months before serving via keg. Thanks in advance!

 

[kingwood-kid]

For a beer of this magnitude, I'd extend the primary an extra week or three, but after that, #1 is the worst option. It's also the only one I'm capable of (unless you count bottles), and it's always worked fine for me, so there isn't a bad answer, just some that are better than others. The advantage of #4 is that you could sample as it went along, unless too many samples would prove to be a disadvantage.

 

[jahdub]

You probably don't need to age very long for a plain imperial stout, as long as your fermentation is not too hot. A month in primary should get you to FG, but you'll want to verify. After that, you can just rack it to a keg and leave it for however long you want.

 

[CorporateHippie]

Looking forward to the results

 

[Holybarfly]

Yea, I'm not worried about hitting FG or letting primary finish appropriately. Planning on pitching low at like 63 and letting free rise a bit to 66, hoping my blowoff doesn't explode in my ferm chamber.

I figured there's no real wrong or right way of doing it, but figured someone might have experience with a few of these options and could provide some anecdotal evidence on which they think is best. Thanks for the insight thus far, guys.

 

[MVKTR2]

What you do depends on what you're trying to accomplish.

I shared a 9.6% abv RIS with my LHB proprietor today that was 3 months shy of being 5 yrs old. Since you're talking of aging in a keg I'm guessing (sans beer gun) you're planning on aging it till it's smoother/rounder for consumption as opposed to stored aging. If it were mine I'd maintain ferm temps throught fermentation then let it rest for say a month at room temp then sort of 'lager' it under very light/no pressure for 4-6 weeks, then consume.

 

[chickypad]

Since you have the keg I would personally get it out of the primary to age, mainly thinking of oxidation risks. I've had good luck with aging big stouts at room temp for 3-4 months (purged and sealed in keg) then carbing/aging a few wks at keezer temps. If I had a place for cellar temp aging I'd probably do that, alas no basements in Cali.

 

[Qcbrew]

Aging includes two big steps; 1. the yeast "cleans up" after itself 2. oxidation. Both these are temperature dependent, ie the colder it is the slower both of these steps happen.

Usually we consider step 1 as good aging and step 2 as bad aging, however in a very big beer (RIS/barley wine) some form of oxidation is good for the beer.

So best practices would say you want to store the beer warm enough for the yeast, but not too warm for it to oxidize in a couple of months. Therefore 55 F is a good aging temperature.

Moving your beer off the yeast is necessary for extended aging (more than a month). However, moving it off too early can also be detrimental (ie stuck ferment/funky by product flavors that linger). In the case of a big beer you therefore want to keep on the yeast as long as possible, but still want to move it off the yeast because extended aging is still required. Therefore after 4-5 weeks you should transfer to a keg.

Finally, pressure creates added stress on the yeast meaning they won't "clean up" as efficiently. Also, pressure increase oxidation rate (though quite minimally in beer). For this reason you should only put it at serving pressure when you want to consume it.

So best option is to let it on the yeast for 4-5 weeks, transfer to non-pressurized keg at 55F and age it for another 4-6 months or until you feel it's ready for consumption.

 

[catdaddy66]

Great thread! I am three weeks into primary fermentation of an RIS and plan to bottle next week. Thanks for all of the useful info...


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[Holybarfly]

Yea, thanks for useful info, guys. Im still not positive which direction I'll take, but it'll probably be the hybrid of bulk aging in primary and then cellaring it in the keg at 55ish.

Maybe I'll even get ambitious and split the batch to experiment with 2 of the different methods.

 

[Qcbrew]

Yea, thanks for useful info, guys. Im still not positive which direction I'll take, but it'll probably be the hybrid of bulk aging in primary and then cellaring it in the keg at 55ish.

Maybe I'll even get ambitious and split the batch to experiment with 2 of the different methods.

If are thinking of letting the beer on the yeast for many months, don't. I know that yeast lysis is quite rare with high quality yeast, but you will get it after 2-3 months on the yeast. Always transfer off the yeast if you intend to age for more than 4-6 (usually 5) weeks.

 

[catdaddy66]

Well, I was hoping to get the RIS in the bottle on Sunday but this am I heard the fermenter gurgle twice in 5 minutes. This is 6 days after I last swirled the primary, and it's just shy of 4 weeks since I pitched, so does this mean it's still fermenting? If so I wouldn't want to bottle right now, correct?

I know the beer shouldn't stay on the yeast cake much past 6 weeks or so. Should I take it to a secondary before bottling? So many questions on my first RIS...!


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[adiochiro3]

Well, I was hoping to get the RIS in the bottle on Sunday but this am I heard the fermenter gurgle twice in 5 minutes. This is 6 days after I last swirled the primary, and it's just shy of 4 weeks since I pitched, so does this mean it's still fermenting? If so I wouldn't want to bottle right now, correct?

I know the beer shouldn't stay on the yeast cake much past 6 weeks or so. Should I take it to a secondary before bottling? So many questions on my first RIS...!


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Doubtful that is fermentation; probably CO2 gas that was in suspension (did you recently move the vessel?) or an ambient temp rise that pushed a bit of air out of the headspace (opposite of the dreaded "airlock suck" when temps fall).

I have a RIS currently aging in a bourbon barrel, and I am debating whether I will bottle straight out of the barrel or bulk age it a while after the barrel influences are where I would like them to be.... Fortunately, there is no rush on my decision because that puppy is still improving each week.

 

[Holybarfly]

Well, I was hoping to get the RIS in the bottle on Sunday but this am I heard the fermenter gurgle twice in 5 minutes. This is 6 days after I last swirled the primary, and it's just shy of 4 weeks since I pitched, so does this mean it's still fermenting? If so I wouldn't want to bottle right now, correct?

I know the beer shouldn't stay on the yeast cake much past 6 weeks or so. Should I take it to a secondary before bottling? So many questions on my first RIS...!


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Have your hydrometer readings been stable after readings at least several days apart? Have you reached or nearly reached your expected FG? If so, I'd say it's done fermenting.

 

[catdaddy66]

Have your hydrometer readings been stable after readings at least several days apart? Have you reached or nearly reached your expected FG? If so, I'd say it's done fermenting.

I'll take a hydro reading tonight and then again next Saturday. That's the only definitive way to know. Generally I don't do multiple readings but I've never brewed an RIS either...


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[catdaddy66]

Today's hydrometer reading on my RIS was 1.021, down from 1.092 OG. Not bad actually. I used wlp011, European ale yeast.

I gave the bucket some more agitation and will wait another week before bottling. Let's hope for 1.016-1.018!

Oh, I also pulled the primary out of the swamp cooler so it should warm up to 70'ish for the final week. That should get them chewing more. Lol
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[saxowam]

For RIS I generally leave them in primary for a month or so till fermentation is complete (constant hydrometer readings over several days) then transfer to a secondary or a keg in your case and age for a few months at ambient temps. I always enjoy adding bourbon soaked oak chips as well to the secondary to make it a little more complex.

Don't carb it until the remaining yeast have had a chance to do some house cleaning and mellow out the alcohol burn. For that you will just have to take samples every week or so.

I know it will be difficult to suffer through those tastings , but it will get you to where you want to be for a great beer.

 

[catdaddy66]

For RIS I generally leave them in primary for a month or so till fermentation is complete (constant hydrometer readings over several days) then transfer to a secondary or a keg in your case and age for a few months at ambient temps. I always enjoy adding bourbon soaked oak chips as well to the secondary to make it a little more complex.

Don't carb it until the remaining yeast have had a chance to do some house cleaning and mellow out the alcohol burn. For that you will just have to take samples every week or so.

I know it will be difficult to suffer through those tastings , but it will get you to where you want to be for a great beer.

It's the 4th week finished today, and I'll check again next week.

So, you don't want to carb too early before drinking? I was planning on bottle conditioning for 4-5 months and would carb as per normal procedure. Do I not want to do that? Do I need to age in a secondary and bottle right before drinking, ie 4 months in secondary and only the last month in the bottle?


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[catdaddy66]

I'm getting ready to take my RIS off of the yeast cake but I need to know where to condition it... In the bottle (which includes priming the batch) or in a carboy/bucket until near drinking age (about 4 months from now) which will delay priming?

My decision will be to prime and bottle condition unless I hear otherwise. I've heard conflicting info on this.

 

[MVKTR2]

I'm getting ready to take my RIS off of the yeast cake but I need to know where to condition it... In the bottle (which includes priming the batch) or in a carboy/bucket until near drinking age (about 4 months from now) which will delay priming?

My decision will be to prime and bottle condition unless I hear otherwise. I've heard conflicting info on this.

There is no wrong answer here. If it were me I'd transfer to secondary and let it sit for 4-12 weeks then bottle. Wether you're bulk aging in a carboy or bottling the beer is going to change little in the first 6-12 months, except for the hop character. If it's a hoppy RIS, go ahead and bottle, if not it doesn't really matter much. In reality you could go ahead and bottle with little impact, especially since we're talking about a dark beer where clarity/clearing is as important.

 

[catdaddy66]

There is no wrong answer here. If it were me I'd transfer to secondary and let it sit for 4-12 weeks then bottle. Wether you're bulk aging in a carboy or bottling the beer is going to change little in the first 6-12 months, except for the hop character. If it's a hoppy RIS, go ahead and bottle, if not it doesn't really matter much. In reality you could go ahead and bottle with little impact, especially since we're talking about a dark beer where clarity/clearing is as important.

Thanks for the feedback

 

[catdaddy66]

Just bottled the 'Kate the Great' RIS clone last night. Used .75 cups of DME (calculator called for .83 cups) as I've had some issues with over carbing some recent batches.

The beer will condition for 4-4.5 months and I hope I have no bottle bombs! Hope it will be excellent to celebrate my 8th anniversary on 4/28/15!

 

[Holybarfly]

Just bottled the 'Kate the Great' RIS clone last night. Used .75 cups of DME (calculator called for .83 cups) as I've had some issues with over carbing some recent batches.

The beer will condition for 4-4.5 months and I hope I have no bottle bombs! Hope it will be excellent to celebrate my 8th anniversary on 4/28/15!

Very cool! Mine is still in primary happily bubbling away.