Imperial stout

[Redman1340]

I have a batch of imperial stout in the primary fermenter on day 4. Do I wait longer in the secondary so it ages or do I wait till I bottle it for the aging process? How long is an appropriate time to age this beer? I was told anywhere from one to two months.

 

[Calder]

I'd leave an Imperial at least 2 weeks, probably 6 weeks or more before moving it anywhere.

 

[tdogg]

how high was the starting gravity? what yeast are you using?
generally with that style you would want to wait a couple weeks in primary, and several months in secondary. they can be "drinkable" in a couple months but will drastically improve with age.

 

[Redman1340]

My starting gravity is 1.08. I don't remember what kind of yeast I used.

 

[tdogg]

1.08 isnt super high, depending on the yeast it could be very drinkable in 2-4 months. would still go a couple weeks in primary and make sure the gravity has stabilized before you rack to secondary. secondary and then bottle.

 

[tdogg]

* my last imperial stout OG was 1.102 . it was very drinkable at 4 months, but now its almost 11 months old and its awesome!

 

[Tall_Yotie]

Id you can, it seems to be thought that bulk aging (in the carboy) is better than bottle aging. Make sure fermentation is complete before racking, of course. I say a month of conditioning, be it in the secondary or in the bottle, is minimum for an Imp Stout. I have an Imp Stout that a judge said I should let age for a year and re-enter it. The brew had aged for about 4 months at that point. It was delicious after a month in the bottle though!

 

[TrubDude]

This thread is old but I have a similar question. I've been brewing for almost a year and learned about bulk aging vs bottling aging. I want to do a russian imperial stout soon (waiting for a rainy day) and my plan is to bulk age in secondary for 6 months then re-pitch before bottling. Is this even possible? My basement will be ~60-70F throughout the summer and fall. I would like it ready by Thanksgiving.

 

[AZBeer]

This thread is old but I have a similar question. I've been brewing for almost a year and learned about bulk aging vs bottling aging. I want to do a russian imperial stout soon (waiting for a rainy day) and my plan is to bulk age in secondary for 6 months then re-pitch before bottling. Is this even possible? My basement will be ~60-70F throughout the summer and fall. I would like it ready by Thanksgiving.

I have my RIS in primary right now, getting ready to rack to secondary (after 4 weeks in primary) next weekend. I am going to bulk age for 6 mos or so, and then bottle with CBC-1 cask yeast.

 

[TrubDude]

I have my RIS in primary right now, getting ready to rack to secondary (after 4 weeks in primary) next weekend. I am going to bulk age for 6 mos or so, and then bottle with CBC-1 cask yeast.

Ok, so it is a thing. I have a couple home brew books and no where does it mention bulk aging or really aging at all. Weird.

 

[C-Rider]

My American Imperial Stout brewed late in 2015 took a second place. I aged some in bottles for a year and the same beer took first place. LOL I'm doing it again. I have two 12 packs I'm ageing in bottles. One for a year and the other for 2 years.