First RIS - What did I do wrong????

[BDJ1311]

So, I made an attempt at my first Russian Imperial Stout, brewed in May, sat until last night (I tried a few along the way), and it came out super dry. Especially when cold out of the fridge, it was the only thing I could notice about the taste, as it warmed it got slightly more tolerable and I could taste more flavors but still ever present. On top of being super dry, it has more of a brown ale color and is very thin. I looked at a few recipes online and then talked with the local homebrew shop. Below is the recipe. I was really shooting for a thick RIS (like old rasputin, but maybe with a little more sweetness). Also, I let the shop owner talk me into trying Sorachi Ace as something different, which may have been a bad idea....
Extract
3 Lbs - Light Dry Extract
3 lbs - Table sugar
1 lb - Dark candi sugar, amber
1 lb - Wheat dry extract
4 oz - flaked barley
8 oz - caramel 80
12 oz - chocolate malt
12 oz - Black Barley
1 lb - flaked oat

Steeped the specialty grains, then added everything else at boil. boiled for 60 minutes.

California ale yeast - Wyeast starter

I brew about 3-4 times a year so i don't have as much time to change 1-2 things and see what happens. Any insight would be more than welcomed!

 

[trav77]

I am not an RIS expert, but a couple of things stand out to me:

1) Your recipe is 36% sugar so that is why it's so dry and thin
2) Your flaked adjuncts need to be mashed rather than steeped
3) Sorachi ace seems to me like a weird hop in an RIS but that's not your main problem here

I would recommend trying a proven recipe... something like:
https://byo.com/stories/issue/item/3183-10th-anniversary-russian-imperial-stout

(I have not personally brewed it).

 

[kh54s10]

3 pounds of table sugar is the biggest problem. That would REALLY dry out the beer. I use none in any of my stouts. I don't think candy sugar is right either.

As said the flaked adjuncts need to be mashed.

The recipe itself is the main problem.

 

[Patrick87]

So, I made an attempt at my first Russian Imperial Stout, brewed in May, sat until last night (I tried a few along the way), and it came out super dry. Especially when cold out of the fridge, it was the only thing I could notice about the taste, as it warmed it got slightly more tolerable and I could taste more flavors but still ever present. On top of being super dry, it has more of a brown ale color and is very thin. I looked at a few recipes online and then talked with the local homebrew shop. Below is the recipe. I was really shooting for a thick RIS (like old rasputin, but maybe with a little more sweetness). Also, I let the shop owner talk me into trying Sorachi Ace as something different, which may have been a bad idea....
Extract
3 Lbs - Light Dry Extract
3 lbs - Table sugar
1 lb - Dark candi sugar, amber
1 lb - Wheat dry extract
4 oz - flaked barley
8 oz - caramel 80
12 oz - chocolate malt
12 oz - Black Barley
1 lb - flaked oat

Steeped the specialty grains, then added everything else at boil. boiled for 60 minutes.

California ale yeast - Wyeast starter

I brew about 3-4 times a year so i don't have as much time to change 1-2 things and see what happens. Any insight would be more than welcomed!

Without a doubt, 4lbs of simple sugars is why your recipe is so dry. If you're looking for a thick, malty RIS, skip simple sugars all together.

 

[Turkeyshot]

So, I made an attempt at my first Russian Imperial Stout, brewed in May, sat until last night (I tried a few along the way), and it came out super dry. Especially when cold out of the fridge, it was the only thing I could notice about the taste, as it warmed it got slightly more tolerable and I could taste more flavors but still ever present. On top of being super dry, it has more of a brown ale color and is very thin. I looked at a few recipes online and then talked with the local homebrew shop. Below is the recipe. I was really shooting for a thick RIS (like old rasputin, but maybe with a little more sweetness). Also, I let the shop owner talk me into trying Sorachi Ace as something different, which may have been a bad idea....
Extract
3 Lbs - Light Dry Extract
3 lbs - Table sugar
1 lb - Dark candi sugar, amber
1 lb - Wheat dry extract
4 oz - flaked barley
8 oz - caramel 80
12 oz - chocolate malt
12 oz - Black Barley
1 lb - flaked oat

Steeped the specialty grains, then added everything else at boil. boiled for 60 minutes.

California ale yeast - Wyeast starter

I brew about 3-4 times a year so i don't have as much time to change 1-2 things and see what happens. Any insight would be more than welcomed!

Where did you find this recipe, or was it your own creation?

 

[JLump]

Simple diagnosis. Just to echo what everyone else is saying, it is most definitely your added sugar. When you do that you are adding easily fermentable sugars that will only increase your alcohol content without contributing any sweetness to the beer.

 

[BDJ1311]

Thanks for all the feedback. I built a quasi-recipe based on some RIS recipes I had found online, and went to the local brew shop. Talked with the owner and he helped with it from there. I don't recall the exact sources, but most were BYO or Old Rasputin clones that I started with. Thanks for all the feedback, and the apparent mistake.

 

[kh54s10]

A quick search found 2 recipes. https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/homebrew-recipe/north-coast-old-rasputin-clone/ and https://www.brewtoad.com/recipes/old-rasputin-clone-extract

Neither uses any sugars adjuncts or any flaked adjuncts. If your LHBS came up with this I would look elsewhere for advice. My 2 cents....

 

[BDJ1311]

A quick search found 2 recipes. https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/homebrew-recipe/north-coast-old-rasputin-clone/ and https://www.brewtoad.com/recipes/old-rasputin-clone-extract

Neither uses any sugars adjuncts or any flaked adjuncts. If your LHBS came up with this I would look elsewhere for advice. My 2 cents....

Yeah, I will be going forward. I started out with the intent to copy something proven, and then followed the direction he gave me thinking he would know more than me. I'm just bummed I wasted the brewday and subsequent time on it, as I only brew 3-4 times a year at my current pace. Again, thanks for the feedback!

 

[z-bob]

https://byo.com/hops/item/31-20-great-extract-recipes <--about halfway down the page.