First ever RIS. Is my FG too high?

[charliethebum]

As the title suggests, I brewed my first ever imperial stout a while back. My efficiency was much higher than expected (calculated for 65% but hit 74%) for an OG of 1.120. It's been sitting at 1.032 for a few days now, after ramping it up from 63f to 68f over the past several days. (Nottingham) should I pitch some champagne yeast, or yeast nutrient, or crash and package? I plan to age in a keg until Christmas. The gravity samples seem good, if a bit sweet, with definite fusel heat I'm sure will age out and a toffee like finish. Let me know what y'all think

 

[Pappers_]

The BJCP style guidelines put the final gravity upper range at 1.030, so 1.032 is very close (within the margin of error, in my world). I definitely wouldn't add champagne yeast or anything else to try to start up fermentation again. An imperial stout with a nice big thick mouthfeel is a thing of beauty! The last imperial stout I brewed had an OG of 1.120 also - we barrel aged it and are drinking it now. I love that beer.

 

[thehaze]

Try to raise the temp a bit more than 68F and see what happens in the next 3 days. But 1.032 is an OK-ish gravity... bottle conditoning will surely make the beer better.

 

[Dcpcooks]

^^^^^^ this from Pappers!

You may see a bit more attenuation in the barrel as well. I wouldn't mess with it unless your hops were light for the OG and it's still sweet.

 

[charliethebum]

It's pretty sweet (cannot believe the calculated 75 ibu) but not syrupy or cloying. I'll probably just leave it be.

 

[Dcpcooks]

I used this once post ferment on a imperial pilsner that was lacking bitterness. It worked for me.
https://www.hoptech.com/products/iso-alpha-extract-2-oz

 

[thespiff]

Nah that's just fine. If you hunt around for some of the forum posts on cloning Hunahpu/Marshal Zhukov's you'll see they all finish even higher than yours, pushing 1.040.

If you check out the stat sheet for that beer...
https://cigarcitybrewing.com/beer/marshal-zhukovs/?age-verified=e0b9dc4a57
OG of 30 Plato = 1.129. ABV 11.2% suggests FG for that beer is 1.043! And this beer is referenced in the BJCP American Imp Stout section.

 

[C-Rider]

As the title suggests, I brewed my first ever imperial stout a while back. My efficiency was much higher than expected (calculated for 65% but hit 74%) for an OG of 1.120. It's been sitting at 1.032 for a few days now, after ramping it up from 63f to 68f over the past several days. (Nottingham) should I pitch some champagne yeast, or yeast nutrient, or crash and package? I plan to age in a keg until Christmas. The gravity samples seem good, if a bit sweet, with definite fusel heat I'm sure will age out and a toffee like finish. Let me know what y'all think

Bottle some and let it sit for at least 1 year. I did that and my RIS went from a 2nd place to a 1st place the second time entering the SAME brew.

 

[Comfort_Zone]

Is your final gravity too high? Nah, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Now if you were brewing a Dark Lord clone you'd be rather low......

https://www.beeradvocate.com/commun...at-1-055-dark-lord-clone.126962/#post-1980643

 

[couchsending]

Everett from HF finishes at 1.030 I believe and it's only an 7.5% beer, it's hardly sweet at all...

All depends on the balance.

 

[secondbase]

That's a very respectable FG for a RIS that big. I remember reading some about some folks decarbonating some Bourbon County and measured a FG of 1.035. RDWHAHB