Imperial Stout Double-W Imperial Stout

[r2eng]

I will look at my notes... no, something is wrong with what was accidentally saved in the beersmith file.

I normally would use about 5 gallons of mashwater, and 2-each 4 gallon sparges. I will check my log.

 

[crazyboy]

Ok I just got all the stuff I need to brew this beast but when i was over at my LHBS the guy that worked there looked over and exclaimed this beer was going to be INSANELY bitter. He said it was unheard of for an imperial stout but that it would still be quite intense.

Did the hops give too much of a bite? Would you tone them down a bit or do you think they balanced out nicely?

 

[r2eng]

Your LHBS is wrong.

It's balanced. Very much so, actually. Look at the attenuation, OG, FG and IBU's. Unless you like a sweet stout, brew as described. RIS's need some bitter to balance the sugars left in them. Trust me, it's a nice RIS.

I hope to have feedback from the NHBC next week, and I will post results.

 

[PtotheL]

Just chiming in to let you know that I racked this to secondary after 4 weeks in primary.

Had a OG of 1.117 and it's down to 1.030.

Had a taste and it's already great as is... very chocolaty and smokey. Not bitter, nor overly sweet... just well balanced. The whoping 11.4% ABV is actually not noticable until 30 some seconds after taking a taste, and it's just a warming effect in the back of the throat... marvelous.

I'll leave it in secondary 2 weeks or so, keg it, and let it sit until the end of july before putting it on tap.

 

[Jeepnbrew]

We are brewing this one tonight!! We have everything ready to go, and I decided to whip up a mash ton out of 12 gallon igloo square cooler.

I have beer smith, and was wondering what I should mash in and sparge with?? Looks like you had a 75 quart mash in? That would be a huge mash ton!!

I have a 6.5 gallon brew pot, 12 gallon sparge with SS braid bottom

Would the 5 gallon mash and (2) 4 gallon sparges be the way to go?

 

[eschatz]

I'm thinking about brewing this.... thinkin', and hopin', and wishin', and dreamin'

 

[r2eng]

Sounds like a good plan... mash 90 minutes, too.

I received additional feedback on the "aged" WW... The bitterness dissipates and the beer becomes a bit unbalanced. My recommendation is to age 2-3 months and drink it and enjoy. I have to do a bit of polish on this recipe to get a full year in bottles. Maybe lower FG and a bit more hops.

Good luck!

 

[Jeepnbrew]

Sounds like a good plan... mash 90 minutes, too.

I received additional feedback on the "aged" WW... The bitterness dissipates and the beer becomes a bit unbalanced. My recommendation is to age 2-3 months and drink it and enjoy. I have to do a bit of polish on this recipe to get a full year in bottles. Maybe lower FG and a bit more hops.

Good luck!

Do you think I will collect 6 gallons Using 5/4/4? And what temperature should I strike? Trying to play with beersmith a bit, but can't find one that works out. I can only brew around 6 gallons in my pot.

 

[r2eng]

Too much sparge water... I have in my notes, and checked with Beersmith... the grain absorbs about 3 gallons of water.

I would do 5-2-2.

 

[Jeepnbrew]

Too much sparge water... I have in my notes, and checked with Beersmith... the grain absorbs about 3 gallons of water.

I would do 5-2-2.

We just did the mash in with 7 gallons, because 5 was way to low.. Is the 1st sparge supposed to be 200 Degrees? Will that stop the enzyme process? Wouldn't it be better at 180 and rest at 168 for 10 mins? Then the second around the same?

 

[r2eng]

You need to raise the temp to 168.

 

[Jeepnbrew]

1 week fermenting and still bubbling a bit. Did you sit in the primary for 2 weeks?

The side batch of 2 gallons, I added chocolate, clove and pinch of rosemary. We shall see.. Bubbling as well..

 

[r2eng]

I would leave it there until the fermentation stops. Use a hydrometer! Steady readings for 3-4 days means it's done.

I would add the chocolate and other ingredients in the secondary. You may lose a LOT of the flavor and aroma if put in the primary.

 

[Yeastie]

OG 1.100 FG 1.026, 9.7% ABV. Primary for a month secondary for a month bottled today. Gonna age it for a month or two.

 

[FailureDrill]

Bought all the ingredients for this recipe today. This will be my biggest beer so far. I couldn't find pale chocolate, so I just got another .5# of the 350 SRM chocolate in it's place. My LHBS was also out of Safeale S05, so I subbed in Wyeast Pacman yeast, we'll see how it comes out. Psyched to brew it though!

 

[FailureDrill]

Used a double batch sparge with this and pulled 7 gallons of wort out of the mash (which only dropped 2 degrees in my insulated keggle mash tun). After boiling down to about 5.5 gallons, I came up with an OG of 1.096. Not great efficiency, but apparently from what I read, to be expected with big large grain bill beer. I didn't think of capturing more of the wort for a smaller beer, I will do that next time. Black as coal the wort was, and thick. The foam from aeration had a brown color. I believe this is going to be an awesome brew. Probably primary for 3 weeks to a month. We'll see how it does.

Thanks again for the recipe.

 

[r2eng]

Don't let it age too much... the bitterness goes away after 9 months or so.

You wouldn't think so., but it does!

I have brewed this 3 times now, and have found the "sweet spot" for aging is about 3 months.

 

[claphamsa]

really? wow! i need to tap mine now then... i think its been 5 months! I was gonna wait for fall!

 

[FailureDrill]

3 Months is perfect, as I was trying to make a big beer that I could start cracking open in the fall when it starts cooling off.

24 hours in, the Pacman yeast from the smack pack are kicking ass and bubbling away aggresively and my garage smells like coffee and chocolate. Thanks for the recipe.

 

[claphamsa]

3 Months is perfect, as I was trying to make a big beer that I could start cracking open in the fall when it starts cooling off.

24 hours in, the Pacman yeast from the smack pack are kicking ass and bubbling away aggresively and my garage smells like coffee and chocolate. Thanks for the recipe.

so was I! I just also figured it at needed 6-7 months aging.

 

[FailureDrill]

Wow, last night I get off work, about two inches of Krausen and bubbling away. I wake up this morning about 10 hours later and am greated to wort being pushed all the way into water bucket and krausen in the blow off tube. This is my first experience with a more violent fermentation, quite impressive.

 

[r2eng]

Yep! Both of the recipes I have under my sig provide violent fermentations!

I have my last bottle of this brew in my glass. After a year, it is a bit sweet. My next beer to brew is a repeat of this one for Thanksgiving. I think I am going to up the IBU's at the 60 minute boil time. Possibly 50% more hops...

Keep me posted!

 

[FailureDrill]

I think my IBU's came in a little higher, due to the fact that with 10 minutes left in the boil, I realized I had only made my first initial hop addition. So I added the aroma hops, made them a 20 minute addition and the warrior ended up going for 70 minutes instead of 60. Based on what you're saying about recipe, this may be a good thing. We'll see. On another note, I popped the top for a smell....awesome.

 

[Jeepnbrew]

Yep! Both of the recipes I have under my sig provide violent fermentations!

I have my last bottle of this brew in my glass. After a year, it is a bit sweet. My next beer to brew is a repeat of this one for Thanksgiving. I think I am going to up the IBU's at the 60 minute boil time. Possibly 50% more hops...

Keep me posted!

Sounds yummy!!!!

We cracked our first bottle after 3 weeks of bottle conditioning. We only hit 8.5% ABV and I'm guessing cause we didn't have the capacity to boil the 8 gallons of wort we collected. We split this into 2 batches and didn't boil it down to 5. The sample we tried was a little slow on the carbonation, but I have to say, this is SUPER YUMMY.. I don't think I have had a stout quite like it. It hits the tongue sweet and frothy, cherry, almond then the hops start layering the palate. The taste lingers unchanged for many moments. Going to let the rest of this 5 gallon batch age out a bit. The second 2 gallon side batch we added clove, rosemary and M&M's! LOL (why not) I'll let you know how that turns out!! Will be brewing this again in the near future!!! Many thanks for the post!!

 

[claphamsa]

WOW I could cut this **** with a knife! I think its lacking a bit in hopage, but wow! GREAT recpie! (note I used my own hops not his)

 

[r2eng]

Your comments are actually quite right... the bitterness does fade. My next batch will have quite a bit more hops.

 

[claphamsa]

ya, I have 2 lbs of excess cascades..... I have a use for some now

next time i will use them 90 ibus maybe

 

[r2eng]

I am going above that, and will post the new recipe. My B-day's coming up, so I want to brew a big one for the occasion.

I am looking at 100IBU or so that this can age a bit. Currently, at 10 months in a bottle, the bitterness needed to balance it is gone.

I have some 16.6AA Zeus and 11.2AA Centennial. I'm going to go larger with the bittering hops.

 

[claphamsa]

funny thing... this is a brewsmith thing tho. i used 2.75 oz of nugget... and its at 11.2 % also at 60 mil boil, and brewsmith calculates it at 116 IBU....

 

[claphamsa]

i have 6% cacades think. 9 oz at 6o 3 at both 30 and 10... and see how tha goes