New to Recipe Formulating, RIS Feedback PLZ!

[reichman]

UPDATE: I changed up my RIS recipe:

73% 15lbs Maris Otter Pale - UK
10% 2lbs Caramel/Crystal 120 - US
7% 1.5 Carastan 35 - UK
4% 0.75 Special Roast - US
3% 0.75 Roasted Barley - US
3% 0.5 Chocolate Malt - US
20.5 lb

Enough roasted malts? Will I have too many unfermentables? I was originally going to use 05 dry yeast or wyeast 1056, but now that I have changed it up quite a bit, a different yeast? Will my original hop schedule still work with the Maris Otter base? Thanks for any help!!


ORIGINAL POST:
Hey all! I have finally started creating my own recipes and would like some feedback on this Russian Imperial Stout. Looking for complexity obviously, but are there any contradicting grains I have chosen? I chose Maris Otter for the complexity, but am I wasting my time? Idk..

I am not too familiar with what is/is not as fermentable as others.. I want a sweet beer, but nothing overkill and I am not looking for a dry beer. Am I off the mark?

Yeast ideas, mashing ideas?

ALSO, I want to experiment with wood chips and vanilla. My friend is soaking some wood chips in bourbon that he wants me to use, what is everyone's experience with this? I'm not sure if I have seen too many RIS's with vanilla in them, anyone try using it in their RIS?

Thanks for any feedback!!! (also the hop schedule is from a clone of Rasputin RIS, I'm open to change it)


Fermentables
62% 12.5 2-Row - US 37 1° Mash
20% 4 Maris Otter Pale - UK 38 3° Mash
5% 1 Caramel/Crystal 120 - US 35 120° Mash
2% 0.5 Caramel/Crystal 60 - US 36 60° Mash
2% 0.5 Caramel/Crystal 40 - US 35 40° Mash
2% 0.5 Chocolate Malt - US 34 350° Mash
2% 0.5 Special Roast - US 33 50° Mash
2% 0.5 Roasted Barley - US 25 300° Mash


Hops
3 Cluster Pellet Boil 60 minutes 8.0 60.9
1 Northern Brewer Pellet Boil 6 minutes 9.5 5.7
1 Centennial Pellet Boil 6 minutes 11.0 6.5

 

[bmaupin]

The main thing I see is there is not enough roasted malts, especially with all of the crystal - I'd bump either the Roasted Barley or Chocolate to 1lb. The Crystal 120 will provide more complexity than the 60 or 40, and I'd drop the 40 and increase the 120 to 1lb or a little less. The special roast should be nice. I'd also either split the MO/2-row usage or use all MO.

How dry? If you want it dry, you can mash low (151), use higher attenuating yeast, or add sugar of some sort. I've never used WLP001, but it is said to attenuate a bit more than 1056. I'd try mashing at 153 and use WLP001.

I've made a bourbon/oak/vanilla stout before. I read a lot of posts before I tried and many said that the chips are pretty tannic initially and either initially boil or pour out (not add to your beer) the initial bourbon from soaking the oak. I like the cubes and a cube/chip combo works well too. I used 2 oz cubes and 1 oz chips soaked in bourbon for a week or so, 16oz bourbon, 1 tablespoon vanilla added to the keg and aged for a month before drinking. I find that the oak character fades somewhat quickly and I put the oak back in the keg after a couple weeks out and left it in till I killed the keg.

 

[bassmang4]

Too many caramel malts. Drop the 40 and 60. I agree that you probably need more roasted malt. Maybe .5 black. And I like special b in lieu of 120. But that's just me. I made one Friday similar and also had some flaked wheat and rye in there. Similar hops. Cluster for bittering as I have a pound to use up, then centennial for late additions. Threw the 11 centennial cones that grew on my first year plant in at 15 as a bonus.

 

[reichman]

Ive always wanted to try MO so I guess I will give it a shot. I replaced the crystal 40 and 60 with Carastan. I wanted a beer around the 9.5 ABV range so this is what I came up with after the feedback (thanks btw!!) I did up the amount on the special roast and roasted barley, and the crystal 120.. too much?

73% 15lbs Maris Otter Pale - UK
10% 2lbs Caramel/Crystal 120 - US
7% 1.5 Carastan 35 - UK
4% 0.75 Special Roast - US
3% 0.75 Roasted Barley - US
3% 0.5 Chocolate Malt - US
20.5 lb

This puts me around 1.098 OG. Will I have too many unfermentables? Any thoughts?

 

[reichman]

I updated my recipe above. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!!

Who's the best, your the best!

 

[bmaupin]

73% 15lbs Maris Otter Pale - UK
10% 2lbs Caramel/Crystal 120 - US
7% 1.5 Carastan 35 - UK
4% 0.75 Special Roast - US
3% 0.75 Roasted Barley - US
3% 0.5 Chocolate Malt - US
20.5 lb

You must be trying to improve the HBA Old Rasputin recipe - https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/homebrew-recipe/north-coast-old-rasputin-clone/ I have had Old Rasputin several times and thought it was pretty boring - certainly not roasty enough.

A pound each of 120 and Carastan will be plenty sweet. I would keep the special roast at 0.5lb. Probably need another pound of MO to hit your OG. Unless you like the low-roasted character of Old Rasputin, up either the chocolate malt or roasted barley a 1/4 lb and you're golden