Imperial Stout Russian Imperial Stout (2011 HBT Competition Category Winner)

dougdecinces · Dec 10, 2011

A coworker of mine was thinking about getting into brewing and wanted to brew a Guinness clone with her first recipe. After I bought all of the ingredients and suffered through one postponement, she decided to leave me in a lurch for good and cancel outright, leaving me hold the bag (of grains). Luckily I ran accross your recipe. After buying an extra couple pounds of pale malt and specialty grains, I'll be brewing a 2.5 gallon batch of your RIS instead. And, yes, I am keeping it all to myself.

gluttonoussloth · Dec 12, 2011

Just bottled 5 gallons of this last week. I will post a picture when finished and let you guys know how it turned out. Merry Christmas to me.

discndyno · Dec 14, 2011

Thanks for the recipe! I impulse brewed this one yesterday but had to modify it quite a bit based on what I had on hand (a classic case of "I want to brew NOW and consequences be darned").

I used (in equivalent quantities/IBUs) carafa II instead of roasted barley, wheat malt instead of cara-pils, columbus and saaz on the hops, and 05 for the yeast. Yes, I know much of that isn't to style and will drastically change the final beer, but it was the best I could do on short notice.

The OG came in quite high (1.113!), but it tasted GREAT, and is happily bubbling away right now. I'm very excited about this one and will report back in several months on it's progress. Thanks again!

bluehenbrew · Dec 18, 2011

This looks great. I am planning to brew it next week. Question about the hops though. I plugged the recipe into Beersmith and total IBUs show 39 which is below the RIS style guideline of 50-90. Is this on purpose? Am I doing something wrong in Beersmith?

discndyno · Dec 19, 2011

bluehenbrew said:
This looks great. I am planning to brew it next week. Question about the hops though. I plugged the recipe into Beersmith and total IBUs show 39 which is below the RIS style guideline of 50-90. Is this on purpose? Am I doing something wrong in Beersmith?

I'd check your boil volume. That can have a big effect on IBUs and is an easy thing to miss. 39 is very low (the original recipe shows 87.2 IBUs).

bluehenbrew · Dec 19, 2011

Thanks discndyno, you were right. I am new to the software. So, after bumping up the boil volume, my IBUs are too high. Tried messing with the hop alpha values and the brew efficiency to match but no luck. I am not too worried about it.

I am thinking about aging it with some oak cubes in the secondary. Any thoughts?

HopLife · Dec 28, 2011

beerspitnight said:
Mar-
Any suggestion on getting a beer from the "second runnings" of this grist? (not sure if I am using the right terminology here). It is a ton of grain and if we can pull off another batch of wort after the RIS is lautered, I would like to do so. Any suggestions on how to, or even if we can do this?
Thanks.

I was thinking the same thing. Just brewed this last night. Followed the origingal recipe to yield 5 gallons to primary at 1.094. The second runnings yielded 5 gallons at 1.035.

For the second beer, I approximated color by inputing 1/4 of the original grain bill into a calculator. My goal for gravity was 1.040. I estimated that 1 pound of DME will increase gravity in 5 gallons by about .009.

Since my gravity was at 1.035 I added one pound DME to the end up with a gravity of 1.044.

The second boil would not need nearly as much hop flavor or bitterness. I went with a 60 minute addition with 1 oz of Serebrianka and a 30 min addition with 2 ounces serebrianka. This would be added to a 1 Liter starter.

I will post the two beers side by side... eventually. I can also give a flavor report on the second beer in a couple months as I predict it will mature more quickly.

blip01 · Jan 3, 2012

Just brewed this yesterday. The wort tasted great. Can't wait til It's ready to drink!

blip01 · Jan 3, 2012

Guess the starter worked. Clogged the airlock and the lid was bulging from the pressure. Nearly had a blowout.

HopLife · Jan 3, 2012

blip01 said:
Guess the starter worked. Clogged the airlock and the lid was bulging from the pressure. Nearly had a blowout.

I would definitely recommend using a blowoff tube to anyone attempting this beer.

I had tons of krausen and the fermetation was super active for at least 4 days.

blip01 · Jan 4, 2012

hoplife said:
i would definitely recommend using a blowoff tube to anyone attempting this beer.

I had tons of krausen and the fermetation was super active for at least 4 days.

+1

E_mott09 · Jan 7, 2012

Hey guys. I plan on making a modified version of this recipe. I made a new thread for the questions I had since it's a different beer. I'd appreciate it if you'd read this and lend any advice you can. Thanks a lot.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/advice-hefty-ris-292603/#post3637925

malweth · Jan 7, 2012

Brewing this Monday...
I'm hoping to get 10 gallons (total) from a partigyle... but I'm just going to wing the second batch.

Here are all my available hops:
Challenger 7.8% 8.0 oz } These were bought for this
Uk goldings 5.0% 2.0 oz } RIS recipe.
Uk goldings 5.8% 1.0 oz
Uk goldings 4.5% Partial oz (half-ish)
Unknown, partial oz
Cascade 7.5% Partial 8 oz (half-ish)

I'm thinking of just doing a mini version of the hop bill... so challenger for bittering and goldings for flavor on the half-sized stout.

*** Are your AA% correct (in the original recipe) for the Challenger hops? It seems really low... and the Goldings seems high. I wondered if they were backwards.

marubozo · Jan 8, 2012

malweth said:
*** Are your AA% correct (in the original recipe) for the Challenger hops? It seems really low... and the Goldings seems high. I wondered if they were backwards.

You know, I very well could have punched in the AA numbers in the wrong order. You're right in that challenger would typically be around 7% and EKG should be 5-6%. I don't have any hops in the freezer from that far back to verify, but I would think you are correct.

malweth · Jan 8, 2012

I don't have access to your BeerSmith file anymore (no longer available where you originally posted it), but when I switched the AA% in mine the IBUs were much closer to what you originally put in the recipe.

In any case, I'm going to just use the listed amounts with the hops I have since it seems to be right in style...

I'm looking forward to tomorrow's brew. The partigyle should be exciting!

Bombeque · Jan 21, 2012

Brewing this one tomorrow!! Just got done grinding the grain. All I could do to stuff it into a 5 gal bucket. Anyone tried adding chocolate??

Tim

HopLife · Jan 21, 2012

Bombeque said:
Brewing this one tomorrow!! Just got done grinding the grain. All I could do to stuff it into a 5 gal bucket. Anyone tried adding chocolate??

Tim

Ha! I use a 5 gallon bucket for grain too. Sitting there in my local shop's grain room watching the specialty malts fill up the bucket and nearly overflow was pretty hilarious.

I would skip the chocolate. I just transfered from primary to secondary, and the hydrometer sample was really good. There are a lot of subtle flavors already, I think chocolate might hide some of those good flavors from the malt.

Bombeque · Jan 23, 2012

HopLife said:
Ha! I use a 5 gallon bucket for grain too. Sitting there in my local shop's grain room watching the specialty malts fill up the bucket and nearly overflow was pretty hilarious.

I would skip the chocolate. I just transfered from primary to secondary, and the hydrometer sample was really good. There are a lot of subtle flavors already, I think chocolate might hide some of those good flavors from the malt.

Good call, Ill leave as is. I brewed yesterday, couldnt have asked for a better day. Everything went to plan. Preboil was 1.072 @7.5 gallons and OG was 1.100 @ 5 gallons. Ill keep yall posted!

wdchandlersmith · Jan 26, 2012

Would it be fair to switch the 17 pounds pale malt for about 10 pounds of light DME, and then steep the grains and carry on with the recipe in order to make this easier for someone who can't do all grain brews yet? Or am I totally off here?

HopLife · Jan 27, 2012

wdchandlersmith said:
Would it be fair to switch the 17 pounds pale malt for about 10 pounds of light DME, and then steep the grains and carry on with the recipe in order to make this easier for someone who can't do all grain brews yet? Or am I totally off here?

Yeah, I think this would work out fine. Some might say to skip the car pils if using DME because it is designed to add head on its own. I would also recommend doing a full volume boil so that you can get decent hop utilization, and allow the dme to incorporate a little easier.

Bombeque · Jan 28, 2012

Well brewed it this past sunday. Still bubbling every 30 seconds or so. Checked gravity, 1.022!! Guess I had a good fermentation! Its at 10.24% and counting!

ThatGuyRyan · Jan 30, 2012

I brewed this on Saturday and got 16.25 gallons at 1.106 in my 22 gallon brewhemoth. I just got a call from home that the little lady heard some strange sounds coming from my brewery and when she opened the door the blow-off hose turned volcano!

So I gave her instructions on how to replace the blow off with a clean hose and now I have to take the 40 mile round trip home at lunch to survey the mess and secure the fermenter. Once its fermented I am going to put 10 gallons in my whiskey barrel the rest will be aged on fresh cut vanilla beans. Now I need to think of what to call this monster.

Bombeque · Jan 30, 2012

Wow, nice! Never thought of the vanilla beans. How many beans? I just did a 5 gallon batch. You just rack on to secondary?

ThatGuyRyan · Jan 31, 2012

Bombeque said:
Wow, nice! Never thought of the vanilla beans. How many beans? I just did a 5 gallon batch. You just rack on to secondary?

Yes I am racking onto the beans that I will give a short soak in some vodka or everclear first. I am going to go all out on the beans with these since I have 1/2 a pound of Madagascar beans so I want this to be like a Vanilla Dark Lord. And with the high % on this I thing I will need more than normal to get the Vanilla upfront so for the 10 Gallon barrel I will start with 5-6 beans sliced. For the remaining 6 gallon carboy I plan on making that one like Vanilla Candy if possible so I will also add 4-5 beans to that one. In the past I have always used 1-2 beans per 5 gallon batch and have had success but it was not an overpowering Vanilla flavor like the Dark Lord Vanilla and since I am using a Whiskey Barrel also these will need to sit once bottled for a while to mellow and I don’t want too much of the Vanilla to get lost.

Fermenter that threw up!

E_mott09 · Jan 31, 2012

Vanilla sounds like a great addition to this. I've done two vanilla porters now, both at 1.075~ and two beans in the secondary for 1-2 weeks does a nice job. Not too over powering, but noticeable. I'd imagine that one the gravity goes up the vanilla should as well.

P.s. I always soak my vanilla in bourbon, after I cut and scrape the beans I put them back into the small spice jar they came in and fill it with bourbon. Let it sit for a couple days then dump the whole ounce or two in. Always good results.

Bombeque · Feb 9, 2012

Great info. Thanks guys. I may do this, just debating because this is my first imperial stout. May just enjoy the way it is for now. Then do this on my next batch

von-block · Feb 11, 2012

Will I go to hell if I ask for a Semi extract of this recipe.

I only need something to replace the 17lb of Pale Malt (2 Row) UK Grain.

The rest I can have. I just dont have a mill - too poor - but still want a nice imperial stout.

Jimmyjoe · Feb 11, 2012

Has anybody added coffee to this recipe? If so how much (cold steeped) , and when was it added?

marubozo · Feb 12, 2012

von-block said:
Will I go to hell if I ask for a Semi extract of this recipe.

I only need something to replace the 17lb of Pale Malt (2 Row) UK Grain.

If all you're replacing is the 2-row, you could substitute that with 12.75 pounds of light liquid extract, or 10.2 pounds of dry extract.

von-block · Feb 12, 2012

marubozo said:
If all you're replacing is the 2-row, you could substitute that with 12.75 pounds of light liquid extract, or 10.2 pounds of dry extract.

Thank a lot

This will be my next HB

Just need to drink the other faster or I wont have anymore place to stock those bottles.

Imperial Stout Russian Imperial Stout (2011 HBT Competition Category Winner)

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