Imperial Stout Double-W Imperial Stout

[r2eng]

I know it's my recipe, and I am pretty proud of it

However, if you can hit the OG and ferment to about 1.030, you will have a thick stout that is satisfying to the Imperial Stout fan, and there is plenty of sweet balance to the hops.

My additions of upping the IBU's to 110 and dry-hopping has produced a beer I will enter into the NHC next year. I'll keep this thread up to date. I have high hopes for the new version!

 

[motobrewer]

Has anyone given thought to some lactose? I like a slightly sweet stout and 1.5lb of black patent sounds like it is setting up for a more bitter stout. My favorite non-limited supply stout is Weyenbacher Tiny. It has a slight sweetness that sounds like it could match up with the velvety smoothness that is described here. Any thoughts from those that have already drank this one?

ug, I hated Tiny. i donno what it was. just not my thing. i love belgians. i love stouts. apparently, I do not love belgian stouts.

anyway, mine is about two weeks from being a year old. i had one about a week ago and it was fantastic.

 

[sfrisby]

ug, I hated Tiny. i donno what it was. just not my thing.

Ehhh. To each their own. Nothings wrong with that. After realizing my error of black patent vs black barley, I will stick to the original.

 

[KIAKillerXJ]

Brewed this up today.

BIAB in my keggle pretty much filled her up! A lot harder to deal with than even my normal 16-18lbs IIPAs.

By some miracle, I hit right at 70%-- how the recipe was formulated, a bit lower than normal for me, but expected because of the grain bill. Stoked that I didn't have to add any of the DME I bought to hit the 1.124OG.

Did up the IBU to right at 100, using 1.5oz of Zeus 14% at 60 min, then left the other additions the same.

Did about a 100 min boil since I ended up with more pre-boil volume than wanted.

Pitched on a cake from Biermunchers Centennial Blonde of S-05 +1 more pack just because, and this thing is bubbling like mad through its blow off tube in LESS than 3 hrs!

Plan on letting it sit for a month in primary, and I did buy an ounce of oak chips that I'm thinking of oaking/bourbon for another month. Then plan on bottling this one in a combo of 12oz and 750ml Champagne bottles versus my normal kegging to allow easier aging.

My biggest and most challenging yet, so hopefully it will be worth it!

 

[motobrewer]

brewed this again today. did a parti-gyle like I did last year.

1.109ish and 1045ish.

i think I might take a gal of the imperial and put it on a bit of oak. not sure yet.

 

[r2eng]

I oaked my last batch with some toasted white oak... wow!

It takes a bit of time to get the oakiness, but the vanilla from the oak is really nice. It's that complex oak-vanilla that vanilla beans and extracts just CANNOT produce.

 

[KIAKillerXJ]

how much oak did you use? and how long....I was thinking like a month?

 

[r2eng]

I stuck a 1/2" thick, 1.5" wide, 10" long chunk of white oak in the keg for 2 weeks. I can taste the oak, but I do not like too much oakiness.

I took a torch to the oak to brown it - not burn. It lends more of a smooth note than a harsh, acrid woody note that way.

 

[runningweird]

well, I just brewed this gigantor up.

All I can say about this brew day is holy crap.

It broke my mash tun - the 10 gallon cooler had the warping problem and this brew gave it a nice vertical crack. time to switch to keg mash tun.

The wort is so thick it coats my finger like tar - I had to boil for over 3 hours because i added too much sparge water. So my IBU's are around 130.

its aerating right now, i will pitch a huge starter and pray.

 

[runningweird]

I need to post a pic of my hydrometer reading.

 

[r2eng]

nice!

 

[sfrisby]

Right there with you, Weird. Used some back up DME on Thursday due to poor efficiency. Used a little to much and ended at 1.125. Was afraid the two packs of 05 wouldn't be enough and threw in an extra packet of 04. May effect the flavor, but I figured it was better than a FG of 1.04.

Bourbon soaked oak are a'waiting.

 

[runningweird]

I might end up pitching in another pack of yeast - I did make a massive starter though, think it will be enough? it was stepped up three times

 

[runningweird]

So I pitched another packed of 05 that night, it has since stopped sounding like a machine gun. I'll give it its full time to clean up. when should I rack to secondary on this- two weeks?

 

[grundig5]

I gave it 5 weeks on the primary cake, then put it in a keg at room temp for about 3 months although I would suggest much longer. My remaining 12 bottles keep getting better and its a shame I didnt bulk age the whole batch this long.

 

[motobrewer]

i gave it about 5 weeks as well in the primary, then about 8 months in the secondary. been bottled about 2-3 months now.

 

[Waylit]

Looks like a nice imperial stout.

I question the rye, in a beer this big a half pound would go unnoticed.

 

[r2eng]

It's like not this, or any other, recipe MUST include anything. Experiments are what led to this recipe in the first place.

I just am not sure how to answer other than to say that I do think the rye adds complexity. Any ingredient change here does change the taste.. For example, I find it hard to find Warrior all the time, so when I bitter with something else it is a slightly different beer.

As always, to each his own. However to brew THIS beer, you need the rye.

 

[runningweird]

kegging tonight

 

[runningweird]

@11% alcohol.

 

[moviebrain]

Thanks for the recipe! I'll be brewing this with some washed 1028 cake in a week or two. Quick question for you R2, what temp are you mashing at? I'm guessing 155-156 to get the full body but wanted to ask before I blew through 20# of Maris Otter. My plan (with your 8 mo age suggestion) is to brew next weekend and save it for this Fall. Thanks again!

 

[r2eng]

Ah! Good catch! I mash at 156F.

I'll update the recipe...

 

[grundig5]

Thought you'd be interested to hear some results - I entered this in a bjcp competition and got a 33 and 35, not too bad but didnt place. It was brewed 8 months ago and I got knocked a little for some esters which I attribute to fermenting during a heatwave without a fridge.

R2, I'd be happy to scan the full scoresheets to you if you are interested since its your recipe, let me know.

 

[r2eng]

Rebrew to remove some of the esters and try again!

I have entered this in a couple of comps and have received a 40 average in one, and 42 in the other.

I don't do many comps much anymore, as tastes are so subjective. I have had an IPA average 42 in the first round, and then a 35 in the second (the rounds were 1 day apart). I now mostly judge on how quickly the keg gets drained at parties and get-togethers

 

[grundig5]

Most definitely I am rebrewing as soon as possible! I like entering to help make tweaks with my process.

Just wanted to say the recipe is great, people ask me to crack the few remaining bottles all the time.

 

[r2eng]

I am glad you like it!

I have 3 recipes that I have to brew regularly: My IIPA (NHC second rounder), my British Porter (2 kegs are going to a Superbowl party), and this one.

 

[moviebrain]

Brewing right now! This is dark like a black hole! It's sucking the tastiness from every other beer in its tasty well!

 

[completenewbie]

I really want to do a big beer, however with my biab setup there isn't a chance in hell I can mash 20+ lbs. I can do 14 at a stretch.

Is there any easy way to swap in some lme / dme for a chunk of that pale malt? Adapting recipes is still a little beyond my skillset, and I don't really want my first attempt to be something which I only find out I've screwed up after 4+ months in secondary

 

[runningweird]

1 lb grain = .75 lb LME = .6 lb DME

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f37/lme-dme-conversion-51664/

 

[moviebrain]

A couple things I wanted to share for anyone else who is attempting this recipe.

a 10 gallon mash tun is the absolute MINIMUM you can get away with, and that's mashing 1-1.1 liters of water per pound of grain (usually I mash 1.5L/pound)

I boiled for 90 minutes and got the approximately 8.6 gallons of collected wort down to 6 gallons in the fermenter. I used 5 drops of Fercamp-S and it was the most energetic and least foamy boil I've ever had. Highly recommend it if you have a 42Qt kettle like me.

Hoping the Fermcap-S would make it from the boil to the fermenter I didn't add any more, and surprised myself with collecting 6 gallons, thought it'd be closer to 5.5. I'd purchased an 8 gallon wine fermentation bucket knowing my Fermcap might not have been in stock at the LHBS, but at the 12 hour mark when I went to add the Fermaid-K the krausen had completely filled the 2-gallon headspace (minus a half inch or so). Perhaps adding additional Fermcap-S to the fermenter would be a good idea next time?

This is also the first time I repitched yeast (~500 mL 1028 from a cake, 1 smack pack of fresh 1028 just in case) and used oxygen instead of stirring for aeration. I had steady airlock activity within an hour and today before popping the lid to add the Fermaid-K it was going off like a machine gun.

Just keep all that in mind when brewing this beer.