Imperial Stout critique

[B33F]

So this'll be my first Imp Stout and I really like creating my own recipes so i figured i'd have a go after doing some research into what it is that make a stout... I brew in metric so I'll be giving the malt bill in % and the hops in IBUs.

This is a partial mash brew cause I like the flavors that real malts give me alongside DME.

Extra light DME 39.5%
Maris Otter Pale Malt 26.3%
Munich 13.2%
Caramel 60 7.9%
Brown Sugar 5.3%
Carafa II 3.9%
Pale Chocolate 3.9%

Chinook (13.1%) 60 min 79,7 IBUs

I'll mash all that at about 143.5 F (63 C) for 75 mins because I have my beers have a tendency to be sweeter than I'd expect so I'm trying to dry them out with the a lower mashing temp.

I usually get circa 8% higher OG than what Beersmith estimates so that's giving me a OG of 1.100 and I was planning on using US-05.

So anyway, comments and crits are welcome.

 

[Arska]

I'd add some Roasted Barley to it, maybe 5%.

 

[aiptasia]

Carafa II will give you the roast without the bitterness. The brown sugar is more fermentable than people expect, so it will be dryer. Imperial stouts usually aren't all that dry, they're usually rich and malty and sweet with a lot of flavor depth. Think more like a sweet stout and less like a Guiness. IMHO, you'd be better with some darker caramel malts such as crystal 120 or even some special B malt, at about 5%. This will give you some dark fruit depth. US05 is a good general purpose yeast but it won't lend any character to the stout. It's a very clean, dry, idiot proof yeast that does it's job for a lot of ales where yeast flavors shouldn't play a major role.

Chinook is a powerful piney, resinous, citrus flavored yeast that usually does better in barleywines than in a RIS. I'm not saying not to use it, but use just enough to counteract the malt and don't overdo it. My favorite RIS combo for yeast and hops so far on an approx. 1.110 OG RIS is to use Burton ale yeast and UK Challenger hops for bittering (2 oz) and UK goldings for flavor and aroma additions (1 oz each). Burton yeast produces a lot of character and depth in an RIS including notes of pear, clover honey and apple.

 

[Melana]

aiptasia - The Burton has no issues with the RIS then?

 

[B33F]

I'd add some Roasted Barley to it, maybe 5%.

Unfortunately, I had the brewing fever and my Local Brew Store didn't have any. I'll definitely order that before my next Imp Stout.

Carafa II will give you the roast without the bitterness. The brown sugar is more fermentable than people expect, so it will be dryer. Imperial stouts usually aren't all that dry, they're usually rich and malty and sweet with a lot of flavor depth. Think more like a sweet stout and less like a Guiness. IMHO, you'd be better with some darker caramel malts such as crystal 120 or even some special B malt, at about 5%. This will give you some dark fruit depth. US05 is a good general purpose yeast but it won't lend any character to the stout. It's a very clean, dry, idiot proof yeast that does it's job for a lot of ales where yeast flavors shouldn't play a major role.

Chinook is a powerful piney, resinous, citrus flavored yeast that usually does better in barleywines than in a RIS. I'm not saying not to use it, but use just enough to counteract the malt and don't overdo it. My favorite RIS combo for yeast and hops so far on an approx. 1.110 OG RIS is to use Burton ale yeast and UK Challenger hops for bittering (2 oz) and UK goldings for flavor and aroma additions (1 oz each). Burton yeast produces a lot of character and depth in an RIS including notes of pear, clover honey and apple.

Wow! Thanks for the tips! Like I said above, I had some brew fever yesterday pretty bad and I couldn't wait so I went with it. I'm sure it won't be a exemplary imp stout but I'm sure it'll be drinkable and I look forward to taking some of your tips into consideration for some future brews! Will this be more of a imp black ipa now?