Imperial Stout Dark Night of the Soul Russian Imperial Stout

[Haputanlas]

I brewed this the first week of February. I did a partial mash due to limited space. I wanted to boost it up a bit so I did 15lbs of light DME and added .5lbs Black Patent (only because it was a bit light due to the DME). I used a 1/4 gallon starter of WLP099 and 2 packs of US-05. Primary for 5 weeks. Then aged it in a barrel I got from Farmhouse Brewing Supplies for an additional 6 weeks.(When I got the barrel I put 2 bottles of bourbon in it right away for about 7 weeks so I could get the bourbon barrel qualities in it). Tasted absolutely amazing when I transfered from barrel to bottling bucket! It's been bottled for almost a month now. It had some heat so I will let it sit for a while still. I did add Brown sugar a few times during Primary. I am unsure of the abv because of the brown sugar additions and what the bourbon in the barrel contributed. OG - 1.146 FG - 1.030 = 15.2% + brown sugar and bourbon. I will crack one this weekend to see how it is.

Any updates on this?

 

[stinkynathan]

Any updates on this?

Check my picture. At the highest point I had just as much kraussen as I had beer.

That is 3.5 gallons of DNotS in a 6.5 gallon carboy.

 

[Haputanlas]

Check my picture. At the highest point I had just as much kraussen as I had beer.

That is 3.5 gallons of DNotS in a 6.5 gallon carboy.

Damn, that's a great pic.

 

[dcHokie]

Should I split the 5 gal batch into 2 buckets to ferment? Think I'll be OK in a 6.5 gal bucket with blowoff (only about 1/2 inch ID)? I was thinking I might split into two 2.5 gal batches to Primary and then combine them in carboy for Secondary. Thoughts? Is it overkill and will I be OK with 5 gal in 6.5 gal bucket?

I think you'll want more headspace than that. Check out stinkynathan's pic, this beer will krausen like crazy. From the last RIS I brewed, definitely glad I split the batch into 2 fermenters or I would've lost a lot of beer.

 

[BrewNinja1]

I just finished adding oak to mine after 8 months and thought I would give a tasting update.

Mine ended up right around 13% alcohol. At 6 months, it was undrinkable. Was way to harsh of flavors. I took about a 2oz sample and didnt have more than a sip. Now at 8 months, its divine. Still can use some aging, but in a worse case could be drank. Another 2 months and it would probably be perfect. I just added about .75 oz of wood chips and will age for another 4 months before I bottle it.

Im already planning on brewing this once a year.

Awesomeness!

 

[Niilo]

I brewed this the first week of February. I did a partial mash due to limited space. I wanted to boost it up a bit so I did 15lbs of light DME and added .5lbs Black Patent (only because it was a bit light due to the DME). I used a 1/4 gallon starter of WLP099 and 2 packs of US-05. Primary for 5 weeks. Then aged it in a barrel I got from Farmhouse Brewing Supplies for an additional 6 weeks.(When I got the barrel I put 2 bottles of bourbon in it right away for about 7 weeks so I could get the bourbon barrel qualities in it). Tasted absolutely amazing when I transfered from barrel to bottling bucket! It's been bottled for almost a month now. It had some heat so I will let it sit for a while still. I did add Brown sugar a few times during Primary. I am unsure of the abv because of the brown sugar additions and what the bourbon in the barrel contributed. OG - 1.146 FG - 1.030 = 15.2% + brown sugar and bourbon. I will crack one this weekend to see how it is.

So it's been 7 months since I brewed and barrel aged this beast. This is f*cking amazing!!! It was very hot at bottling and has since came together to be the greatest beer I have ever brewed!!! I got very little carbonation from it at bottling. I dropped a packet of S-05 at bottling and it didn't do a whole lot. But I didn't want a whole lot of carb from it. It's a big awesome sipper. I bottled in 22oz. bombers. Highly recommended!!!

I currently have a 10 gallon variation of this in primary for 1.5 months that I will be barrel aging in a 10 gallon barrel that I got from Farmhouse Brewing Supplies. I did add some oat and will dry hop whole espresso beans and vanilla beans right before bottling. I plan on letting it sit for about 4 months in the barrel. The 6 weeks was perfect for the 5 gallon batch. If you have the space and funds I highly recommend getting a used barrel from Farmhouse Brewing Supplies and putting this beer in it. You will not regret it!

 

[Brewpastor]

That sounds really good. I am glad you are enjoying your creation. I still have 4 bottles from my first shot at this. They are precious to say the least. I can't say for sure when I will drink them, but it will have to be a SPECIAL occasion!

 

[imtrashed]

Brewed this about a week ago. OG came in WAY too low (probably my fault) for my liking even after a LONG boil with a BIG pre-boil volume. In any case, that's not my current question or issue....

Do you think I'm good with a 3 week primary on this, if I plan to secondary a while (maybe another 2 months before bottling)? That's enough for the yeasties to do their thing and clean up a bit before racking, right?

I'll be checking in gravity tonight to see where I stand.

 

[stinkynathan]

An update for all that are interested in this great recipe:

I just received an email stating that my brew of this recipe won best of stouts/porters at the Clearwater Beer Festival in Eau Claire, WI. I'm still waiting to hear who won the Best of Show for this event, but I'm at least in the running.

GREAT recipe!

 

[Brewpastor]

An update for all that are interested in this great recipe:

I just received an email stating that my brew of this recipe won best of stouts/porters at the Clearwater Beer Festival in Eau Claire, WI. I'm still waiting to hear who won the Best of Show for this event, but I'm at least in the running.

GREAT recipe!

Very cool! Sounds like a great brewer to me. Well done.

 

[MrHat]

How long would you recommend aging this beer? I brewed in early May and bottled 3 months ago. The heavy alcohol is starting to relax and the flavors are blending so nice. The only issue is that every bottle I've opened has instantly become a geyser. I generally keg my beer, so I have little bottling experience. The beer doesnt taste over carbonated, but it just gushes everywhere. I literally lose 1/2 of each bottle. I made a 5 gallon batch and primed with 1/2 cup of corn sugar dissolved in water.

I'm hoping that aging will help with the gushing issues. Any help is greatly appreciated. This recipe is phenomenal!

 

[lumpher]

glad this thread is still going. i've been trying to remember what the beer was called, since i'm going to brew it

 

[BrewNinja1]

You should age at least a year for the flavors to be best. High alcohol needs time to mellow. As for the gushers...look at this: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/gushers-what-do-i-do-now-188170/

 

[MrHat]

Thanks for the info. I hope I don't have the gusher bug, that would be a shame to spend all this time and waiting to have gushers, but I'll just have to deal. Thanks for the link, i'll give one of those ideas a try.

 

[Thunder_Unicorn]

Just made this on Saturday in 5 gallon format. This was my first ever beer I brewed, it went really well (I figured jump in deep). Actually got 70% efficiency for my first time so I was stoked. Tasted amazing (we drank the gravity readings). It's been bubbling like mad since then.
Also did a Parti Gyle on a third runnings so as to maximize the high grain bill...added some fermentables to bring up the gravity.
Thanks BrewPastor for creating this recipe it was so much fun to make!

 

[Wolfhound180]

I plan on brewing a 5 gallon chocolate chili version of this next week. Any ideas on the cocoa, ancho chili combination for a beer like this? I was thinking 6oz of nibs and 4 dried anchos in secondary for a subtle flavor. I plan on keeping this in secondary for 3 months or so. Will it be ok for it to sit on the cocoa and chiles for that long? Ive never made a chocolate chili beer, and everything I research is for a much smaller stout than this.

 

[BrewNinja1]

So I made this recipe about 14 months ago. I finally cracked it open and tried it out. It seems very....sweet? I checked the FG 3 different times, with both a refractometer and hydrometer, and they were both at 1.020 exactly. Maybe thats normal, but I really wasnt expecting that. Anyone have any insight? Thanks!

 

[bottlebomber]

So I made this recipe about 14 months ago. I finally cracked it open and tried it out. It seems very....sweet? I checked the FG 3 different times, with both a refractometer and hydrometer, and they were both at 1.020 exactly. Maybe thats normal, but I really wasnt expecting that. Anyone have any insight? Thanks!

You've got to take into consideration that the high level of alcohol is making the FG deceptive. 1.020 for a 1.110 brew is not the same as 1.020 for a beer that had a SG of 1.050. In other words because alcohol has a much lower gravity than water, the more of it you have the more it throws off the whole FG measurement

 

[smokinghole]

That's the whole apparent vs real extract issue. Anyhow I've taken this recipe and sort of morphed it into my own with additional roast and other grains.

 

[Wolfhound180]

Brewed this on the 29th. Efficiency was crap and OG was 1.112. Made a 1 gallon starter of WLP090 and yesterday, the 4th it was at 1.022. Nice strong fermentation but didn't even need a blow off tube. I will bulk age this for 6 months and then bottle. Won't crack any open until Dec 21 as this is my Mayan End of The World brew. I also added chocolate and chipotle powder so we shall see how this turns out.

 

[OneFeather]

Is there a partial mash version that is out there and well tested? I keyword searched this and found one.

 

[abatsch]

I'm brewing a 2.5 gal batch of this Friday. With a 6.5 gal fermenter, do I need to look into getting a blow off tube set up?

 

[Haputanlas]

Man, I still haven't had the balls to brew this yet. I plan to brew a few different recipes from the forums here at the same time. This is definitely going to happen though!

Anyone have any of their brew left that's been aged for over a year? Tasting notes for an aged version would be well appreciated.

 

[sfrisby]

This thread is a blast from the past.

 

[smokinghole]

I have some from two years ago that was a slight tweak. I think I removed the Special B and added dark jaggery sugar. Anyhow at two years it is lacking a strong roast backbone that I like. I used this recipe as an inspiration to brew other stupid big imperial stouts. My recipes have eventually evolved to include more roast and no caramel/crystal malts. The two year old beer is very port like with strong cooked plum flavors and some bitterness. The best way I can describe it is as a roasty black port really except with a little carbonation. It's very good and you should give the recipe a shot. At least chocolate rye is much more common now compared to when I first brewed this recipe. I couldn't find the chocolate rye so I had to use plain rye and I upped the chocolate malt. The second time I ended up ordering online. Now my local carries both chocolate rye and cararye.

 

[eulipion2]

This thread is a blast from the past.

And this brew should never have been allowed to sit for nearly a year without comment! This one, and Rhoobarb's Damned Kids Oatmeal Stout are THE two best stouts I've ever brewed, yet they're being forgotten.

As for aging this beer, fresh it's intensely bitter, bordering on undrinkable to all but the stoutest D) of hop heads. After two years it smooths out and despite being between 11-14% ABV is very drinkable. Dangerously so.

I haven't been able to brew this since switching to BIAB, but as my signature suggests, I hope to do it soon.

 

[Haputanlas]

And this brew should never have been allowed to sit for nearly a year without comment!

True

 

[Br3wb1e]

Ok obviously I am a total newb at this.... I have made a couple All grain brews but NOTHING as awesome as this... I have a 10 gallon beverage cooler converted to a mash tun.... I will only be doing a 5 gallon batch of this. CAN IT FIT?!?!?! My educated guess and heart tells me no!

But if it won't fit is there a partial mash route or any suggestions?!?!?!
P.S. I am so down with this recipe it hurts

 

[smokinghole]

You should be able to fit 24lbs in a 10 gallon tun. I've fit 36lbs in a 13 gal tun but I was mashing at .9qts per lb. So I don't see why it wouldn't fit you'll just have to mash thicker and have more sparge water ready.

 

[outside92129]

Wow, just kegged my first batch of this and it's great straight from the fermentor (i am a hop head). Not sure i can wait to age this, i'll have to make more.

Btw, i used roasted rye, not roasted malted rye or chocolate rye (which is malted). Roasted rye is incredibly hard to find, MFB makes it, but i had to buy a 50lb sack of it from a brewery. Weyerman makes it too but i couldn't find anyone who'd order/sell me any. Please help me find ways to use up 47.5lbs!