Complex Imperal stout

[Lele]

I want to make a very complex Imperial Stout, for example like Struise Black Albert or something like that. I create this recipe:

5 Gal
OG 1128
IBU 41 (I want a pretty sweet imperial stout)

Pilsner - 12,74 lb - 52,1%
Munich - 4,74 lb - 19,4%
Molasses - 1,56 lb - 6,4%
Carafa Special 1 - 1,35 lb - 5,5%
Roasted - 1,08 lb - 4,4%
Carafa Special 3 - 0,8 lb - 3,3%
Caramunich II - 0,73 lb - 3%
Caramunich III - 0,73 lb - 3%
Special B - 0,73 lb - 3%

Magnum - 1,83 oz - 60'

I ask you some advice. In order to create a very complex Imperial stout:

1) The grains are ok? The percentages?
2) What liquid and (better) dry yeast you recommended me?
3) What FG is better?

Thanks to all

 

[Lele]

Can someone help me, please?

 

[MrPowers]

The base grain choice looks good to me. However, you may actually want to simplify your specialty grains. Adding too many specialty malts for "complexity" more often than not just results in a muddy (for lack of a better term) flavor profile. Unless you have a very specific flavor contribution in mind from each individual grain.

In your recipe, I would personally leave out the Carafa Special 1 as well as the Caramunich II. Just replace them with pilsner malt. This will also bring down the total specialty grains as a percentage of your total grain bill to around 15% would should be plenty for this OG.

For that OG I would bump up your bittering hops to at least 60 or 80 IBU. That will still be a VERY sweet stout for that gravity.

For yeast, I would use a huge starter of Wyeast 1056 or multiple packets of SafAle US-05. You could also use White Labs 007 or 099.

Finally, keep in mind that your efficiencies will be much lower when trying to achieve such a high gravity. You may need to increase your base malt (pilsner) to actually hit 1.128.

 

[Lele]

Thanks MrPowers.
I've chosen these speciality grain because an Italian Brewer said to me that for their Imperial Stout (14% ABV) they use 60% pilsner, 20% Munich, at least 5 speciality grains (among which more types of Crystal malt). But if you say to leave out Carafa Special I and Caramunich II, OK.
About the yeast...I'v read something about WLP099 and maybe it sounds good for me. But I want a FG pretty hight. Does anybody have experience with this yeast? What is its flavour and its attenuation?

 

[specharka]

Thanks MrPowers.
I've chosen these speciality grain because an Italian Brewer said to me that for their Imperial Stout (14% ABV) they use 60% pilsner, 20% Munich, at least 5 speciality grains (among which more types of Crystal malt). But if you say to leave out Carafa Special I and Caramunich II, OK.
About the yeast...I'v read something about WLP099 and maybe it sounds good for me. But I want a FG pretty hight. Does anybody have experience with this yeast? What is its flavour and its attenuation?

I would propose the opposite recommendation...WLP099 is a Saccharomyces var diastaticus strain and will strip out a lot of the malty finish that you’re looking for. Yes it will pretty much guarantee a finished fermentation but it’s just not suitable for the style.

Neutral yeast like the Chico strain (US-05) and Whitbread Dry strain (S-04 / WLP007) are excellent for imperial stouts. If you are looking for a more traditional approach, McEwans (WY1728 / WLP028) is the iconic Russian imperial stout strain, and produces an excellent balance of dark cherry esters. Just make sure you make a massive starter if you’re using liquid yeast (5L), oxygenate well, and ferment cool (60-62F).

 

[MrPowers]

I agree with specharka on this one. Stay away from 099 on this beer. I suggested it because complex doesn't necessarily mean sweet, however, since you want a relatively sweet finish I would stick with 1056 (US-05) or WLP007.

 

[Lele]

Thank you very much
Just a last thing. This will be my second Imperial Stout. In my first one, I used 1,27 lb in 5 gal of roasted malts (Carafa Special 1 and 3), the 6,3% of the recipe, but it had not the classical strong toasted flavour of an Imperial Stout.
So, how many roasted malt do you recommend to use for the new recipe? If I leave out Carafa Special I, I'll have 1,9 lb of roasted malt for 5 gal (7,9% of the recipe). Is it enough or it's better more?

 

[MrPowers]

The last imperial stout I did was 3.5lbs roast malt in a 10 gallon batch (about 10% of the grain bill due to the lower OG). I think that amount of roast was about the right level. It was definitely the focus of the beer.

The 1.9lbs should be about the right amount for a 5 gallon batch.

 

[Lele]

Thank you, guys

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Supposedly Struise use T-58 for their "ordinary" beers at least, but it may struggle with something this big. I'd be tempted by the Rochefort yeast, WLP540 etc - it's not "Belgian", but a British yeast adapted to high-ABV dark beers.