How long should I leave Russian Imperial Stout in primary fermenter

[Dalymiddleboro]

Hey guys,


I bought and brewed a batch of Russian Imperial Stout from Brewers Best last monday, it went into the fermenter. Now the instructions say to let it ferment for 4-6 days and when there's been no bubbling in the air lock for 48 hours, bottle it.

I've heard from people here, that it's beneficial to let a stout like this ferment in the primary longer. What do you guys think? Should I let it ferment another week, or plan on bottling it tomorrow? How long then, would you guys leave it in the bottles?

I've pretty excited for this batch, so I want it to come out perfect. Thank you!

 

[flars]

I would have it in the primary at least four weeks, if it was my RIS. Check the SG about day 14, and check again on day 21. SG can change very slowly over time with higher gravity beers.

 

[philber]

AG, PM or Extract?

AG: 1 Week to 30 days, bigger beers longer. Some people only do primary, I do 15-45 days depending on the style. Then bottle condition.

PM/Extract: 1 - 4 weeks. Then secondary 2-3. Then bottle condition.

You will get a clearer beer if you ferment longer.

 

[kyle187]

As many people say, the airlock is not an indication of fermentation/completed fermentation. Two identical gravity readings a few days apart will let you know fermentation is done.

I personally leave everything in primary for 17-21 days, then bottle/keg. 4-6 days is way too soon to bottle.

 

[LandoLincoln]

Hey guys,


I bought and brewed a batch of Russian Imperial Stout from Brewers Best last monday, it went into the fermenter. Now the instructions say to let it ferment for 4-6 days and when there's been no bubbling in the air lock for 48 hours, bottle it.

I've heard from people here, that it's beneficial to let a stout like this ferment in the primary longer. What do you guys think? Should I let it ferment another week, or plan on bottling it tomorrow? How long then, would you guys leave it in the bottles?

I've pretty excited for this batch, so I want it to come out perfect. Thank you!

I wouldn't even consider touching it until at least the three week mark. The longest I've ever waited to move an RIS from primary is six weeks.

 

[PGEduardo]

I'd wait a full 4 weeks to ensure it's done without monkeying with it. Then wait a full 3 weeks for it to carb up in the bottles (at around 70F) and age a bit more before cracking one.

I'm betting this beer will age gracefully out to 6 months or so. Don't rush it.

 

[mucci2k]

I'd wait a full 4 weeks to ensure it's done without monkeying with it. Then wait a full 3 weeks for it to carb up in the bottles (at around 70F) and age a bit more before cracking one.

I'm betting this beer will age gracefully out to 6 months or so. Don't rush it.

I would agree, don't rush anything.

I have a Imperial Red that was in the bucket for 3 months before bottling and it is now bottle conditioning for another 6 months, it keeps getting better the longer I wait.

 

[Dalymiddleboro]

Thanks to EVERYONE!!!

This beer used Liquid malt extracts, and dry malt extract. So I'm guessing this is an extract brew correct?

When I started the OG was spot on.

So I don't need to worry about taking a FG reading yet? When should I take a FG reading? around week 3?

Also, so let me get this straight, the longer this sits in the primary the clearer / less sediment the brew will have? Good to note.

I didn't realize the airlock had nothing to do with the brew being finished, the airlock only bubbled for about 3-4 days. I wanted to make sure the brew will carbonate properly.

Why would the instructions say to bottle after a week? Just curious...

 

[azazel1024]

I'd wait a full 4 weeks to ensure it's done without monkeying with it. Then wait a full 3 weeks for it to carb up in the bottles (at around 70F) and age a bit more before cracking one.

I'm betting this beer will age gracefully out to 6 months or so. Don't rush it.

Or out to several years. Most beers over about 1.090OG tend to age really well, so long as they are not hop forward beers (DIPAs).

I have a 1.105 OG Coffee Oatmeal Russian Imperial Stout that continues to improve and I bottled it 18 months ago (though I only have one bottle left).

IMHO, most beers over about 1.090OG don't hit their stride until around month 5-8. Beers over about 1.120 are closer to a year. I just bottled a 1.110 OG RIS (1.030FG). It was in the carboy about 6 weeks. I shoved a case of it under my oil tank to forget about till next year (the fall at the earliest). A 4-pack and a spare bottle went on my shelf. I'll check the spare bottle in a couple of weeks when it should be carbed up and the 4 pack I'll open a bottle every month or two. They are my canary in a coal mine. Just make sure there isn't any kind of infection or something else strange going on.

On the low end I go 2 weeks before bottling for lighter beers, but I generally give beers 4 weeks before bottling.

 

[Dalymiddleboro]

Or out to several years. Most beers over about 1.090OG tend to age really well, so long as they are not hop forward beers (DIPAs).

I have a 1.105 OG Coffee Oatmeal Russian Imperial Stout that continues to improve and I bottled it 18 months ago (though I only have one bottle left).

IMHO, most beers over about 1.090OG don't hit their stride until around month 5-8. Beers over about 1.120 are closer to a year. I just bottled a 1.110 OG RIS (1.030FG). It was in the carboy about 6 weeks. I shoved a case of it under my oil tank to forget about till next year (the fall at the earliest). A 4-pack and a spare bottle went on my shelf. I'll check the spare bottle in a couple of weeks when it should be carbed up and the 4 pack I'll open a bottle every month or two. They are my canary in a coal mine. Just make sure there isn't any kind of infection or something else strange going on.

On the low end I go 2 weeks before bottling for lighter beers, but I generally give beers 4 weeks before bottling.

For reference,


In the directions, the target OG was 1.076-1.080. Ours clocked in at 1.078 OG

 

[LandoLincoln]

Thanks to EVERYONE!!!

This beer used Liquid malt extracts, and dry malt extract. So I'm guessing this is an extract brew correct?

When I started the OG was spot on.

So I don't need to worry about taking a FG reading yet? When should I take a FG reading? around week 3?

Also, so let me get this straight, the longer this sits in the primary the clearer / less sediment the brew will have? Good to note.

I didn't realize the airlock had nothing to do with the brew being finished, the airlock only bubbled for about 3-4 days. I wanted to make sure the brew will carbonate properly.

Why would the instructions say to bottle after a week? Just curious...

Yes, I'd take a reading at week three.

Yes, the longer it sits around the more time the yeast has to do its thing and then settle to the bottom.

BDMA: Bubbles Don't Mean Anything. There's lots of reasons why a beer could still be bubbling even when it's done fermenting and lots of reasons why a beer is not bubbling and is not done fermenting. A better visual indication is the krausen falling. The best visual indication is taking gravity readings with a hydrometer.

We still don't know for sure why so many kit makers want to rush the process. Maybe it's like a beer arms race. If kit maker A tells people that their beer will be ready in three weeks and kit maker B tells people that their beer will be ready in two weeks then people will stop buying kit maker A kits because newbie brewers are impatient and will buy whichever kits (seemingly) take less time.

 

[PGEduardo]

So I don't need to worry about taking a FG reading yet? When should I take a FG reading? around week 3?

Also, so let me get this straight, the longer this sits in the primary the clearer / less sediment the brew will have? Good to note.

Consider kit instructions beyond the brewday garbage.

Take a FG reading at 4 weeks/bottling day to ensure it's where it needs to be. You don't want to be opening it up multiple times (chances of infection increase).

Yes, beers do clear up as the yeast flocculates, but this is a stout so clarity isn't really an issue. Some would recommend cold crashing before bottling even though it's a dark beer just so that all the sediment/yeast compact nicely and the beer will be a bit clearer/finer...

 

[azazel1024]

I'd wait 3 weeks, take a reading and then take another reading 3-5 days later. If they are the same, bottle it.

1.078 is pretty "weak" for a RIS. Its more like a robust stout. I know BJCP guidelines start at 1.075OG and go up to 1.115OG for the catagory, but IMHO, you don't start getting the more classic RIS "flavor" until you are hitting at least 1.090OG. Which doesn't mean it is a bad beer if it is lighter, I just don't think you get the same thing.

 

[Dalymiddleboro]

I'd wait 3 weeks, take a reading and then take another reading 3-5 days later. If they are the same, bottle it.

1.078 is pretty "weak" for a RIS. Its more like a robust stout. I know BJCP guidelines start at 1.075OG and go up to 1.115OG for the catagory, but IMHO, you don't start getting the more classic RIS "flavor" until you are hitting at least 1.090OG. Which doesn't mean it is a bad beer if it is lighter, I just don't think you get the same thing.

Good to note.

Will this taste more along the lines of a guinness then? Will it have that nice thick stout flavor Still with that OG?

 

[azazel1024]

Good to note.

Will this taste more along the lines of a guinness then? Will it have that nice thick stout flavor Still with that OG?

Nothing like a Guinnes. A guinness is an Irish dry stout. No sweetness, modest bitterness and roast from the roasted barley, very thin body, very low ABV (4%).

At 1.078OG (about twice a guiness) you'll have a nice round body, moderate sweetness and probably some decent roast to it. You just aren't going to have the intense maltiness that you'll get with something a third again the gravity as well as probably some slight alcohol warmth to it (or at least I've never noticed the later in anything under about 9% ABV, unless it was fusel alcohols I was tasting from a bad fermentation).

 

[Dalymiddleboro]

Nothing like a Guinnes. A guinness is an Irish dry stout. No sweetness, modest bitterness and roast from the roasted barley, very thin body, very low ABV (4%).

At 1.078OG (about twice a guiness) you'll have a nice round body, moderate sweetness and probably some decent roast to it. You just aren't going to have the intense maltiness that you'll get with something a third again the gravity as well as probably some slight alcohol warmth to it (or at least I've never noticed the later in anything under about 9% ABV, unless it was fusel alcohols I was tasting from a bad fermentation).

Good to note.

We are thinking this should be around 8%.

It boiled over a bit, when we added the first bag of hops (dry hop pellets). I'm hoping I didn't loose too much bitterness or IBUs...

 

[slym2none]

Or out to several years. Most beers over about 1.090OG tend to age really well, so long as they are not hop forward beers (DIPAs).

I have heard about people taking DIPAs and aging them out until the "turn into barleywines". Is this not true, or is it somewhat conditional? Obviously the hops will fade, but what about the other aspects? I know ones like DH's 90-Minute have a pretty big malt backbone.

 

[bragona71]

I would save this one for xmas! If you try to rush it you will not like it and possibly give up on the hobby(seen that happen)if you want something fast, brew an IPA or APA, those styles you want to drink fresh. Mine are in the zone around 4 week mark . MY choco vanilla porter hits the zone around 6 months So I brew my winter beers in the summer so they are ready in winter(makes sense) and brew APA and IPA year round to keep the neighbors happy!!

 

[azazel1024]

I have heard about people taking DIPAs and aging them out until the "turn into barleywines". Is this not true, or is it somewhat conditional? Obviously the hops will fade, but what about the other aspects? I know ones like DH's 90-Minute have a pretty big malt backbone.

Well, Barleywines are typically more in the 12-15% ABV range and most DIPA's I've seen are more like 8-11%. However, yes, I'd say if you age it out for several months it is kind of a Barleywine light. Other than gravity, the composition of the grain bills is often pretty similar.

Again, limited experience, but with barleywines, or most beers over around 11-12% ABV, you can't get the same bitterness you can with something like a DIPA in the 8-11% range. You start hitting 11 or 12% ABV, and even if you mash real low so it attenuates well, it it just so strongly malty that all you can do is balance the maltiness, you can't really develop something that is strongly bitter like you can with something a little lighter.

That 1.110 OG RIS I just bottled is 10.5% ABV (of course it under attenuated a little instead of hitting the 75-78% range I had hoped), but it is around 60IBU (an ounce of cluster at 90 minutes and 2 ounces of cluster at 10 minutes).

It is milder (in hop character and bitterness) than the 35IBU 1.055OG APA I brewed a few months ago. You get some of the black currant from the cluster hops in the final RIS, but there is no evident bitterness (but it does seem to be balancing the maltiness, as it isn't overtly/overly sweet even though it finished at 1.030OG). To me that is the thing with really big beers, you can't hope to get a truely bitter beer, but you CAN balance the maltiness. That is my biggest complaint with a lot of barleywines is that the IBUs aren't high enough so you get a cloying mess instead of something I'd call "robust".

 

[Dalymiddleboro]

I would save this one for xmas! If you try to rush it you will not like it and possibly give up on the hobby(seen that happen)if you want something fast, brew an IPA or APA, those styles you want to drink fresh. Mine are in the zone around 4 week mark . MY choco vanilla porter hits the zone around 6 months So I brew my winter beers in the summer so they are ready in winter(makes sense) and brew APA and IPA year round to keep the neighbors happy!!

Gotcha. Man should I pick up a second fermenting bucket?

My girl is gonna wanna brew a heffeweizen style brew soon. I'm into the heavier ABV/IBU thicker brews, she likes summer style ales and belgian white ales.

 

[bragona71]

Gotcha. Man should I pick up a second fermenting bucket?

My girl is gonna wanna brew a heffeweizen style brew soon. I'm into the heavier ABV/IBU thicker brews, she likes summer style ales and belgian white ales.

you need 3 fermenting buckets to keep up a pipeline. sounds like she is ok with it, so brew on!!

 

[Dalymiddleboro]

Ahhh Alright.

I guess I'll be buying two more fermenting buckets then!

 

[slym2none]

Well, Barleywines are typically more in the 12-15% ABV range and most DIPA's I've seen are more like 8-11%. However, yes, I'd say if you age it out for several months it is kind of a Barleywine light. Other than gravity, the composition of the grain bills is often pretty similar.

Again, limited experience, but with barleywines, or most beers over around 11-12% ABV, you can't get the same bitterness you can with something like a DIPA in the 8-11% range. You start hitting 11 or 12% ABV, and even if you mash real low so it attenuates well, it it just so strongly malty that all you can do is balance the maltiness, you can't really develop something that is strongly bitter like you can with something a little lighter.

That 1.110 OG RIS I just bottled is 10.5% ABV (of course it under attenuated a little instead of hitting the 75-78% range I had hoped), but it is around 60IBU (an ounce of cluster at 90 minutes and 2 ounces of cluster at 10 minutes).

It is milder (in hop character and bitterness) than the 35IBU 1.055OG APA I brewed a few months ago. You get some of the black currant from the cluster hops in the final RIS, but there is no evident bitterness (but it does seem to be balancing the maltiness, as it isn't overtly/overly sweet even though it finished at 1.030OG). To me that is the thing with really big beers, you can't hope to get a truely bitter beer, but you CAN balance the maltiness. That is my biggest complaint with a lot of barleywines is that the IBUs aren't high enough so you get a cloying mess instead of something I'd call "robust".

Thanks for that clarification!

On a similar note, when I made my barleywine, I was hesitant to add extra hops when I added some extra DME, but now I am glad I did. Boiled 1/2 oz. of Columbus for 40 minutes to offset the pound of DME.

 

[azazel1024]

I keep qualifying things, but only because everyone's taste varies, my experience with barleywines is it has more to do with what hops are used, as well as the malts and the process behind it than it does than "too much hops". I suppose if you got really ridiculous and dump a pound of hops in a 5 gallon batch that might actually qualify as too much.

I have 2x6 gallon carboys, 1x5 gallon carboy, 2x3 gallon carboys and 1x6 gallon bucket. I have from time to time had all of them full with something. Most recently over spring break while my family was away (and I was stuck home with work) I brewed 5.5G of Berliner Weisse, 4.5 Gallons of Belgian Blonde, 3.5 gallons of RIS, 2.75G of Schwarzbier and 2.75G of English Pale Lager. My bucket was the only thing empty.

Now my wife demands I make her a Pumpkin Ale (because sadly, I make an AWESOME pumpkin ale). I informed her it was May, not September. She informed me if I wished to ever sleep in her bed again, I brew the pumpkin ale, or I get the hose (and couch) again. Still gotta bottle my split batch of English mild I brewed for big brew 1 1/2 weeks ago (half went with S04 and half with Nottingham). This weekend I probably will. I think I have just enough empties to put the 5 gallons in to bottles. I'll have to use most of my bombers though (I think my head count was ~25 12oz and 15 22oz bottles empty and about 160 12oz and 20 22oz bottles filled).