OFFICIAL Kate the Great Russian Imperial Stout Clone

[Keithww]

When he says 'condition for about 5-6 months' does that mean at 70 degrees the entire time? Or just in the bottle? i.e. prime and bottle, store at 70 degrees for 6 months? Or does he really mean prime and bottle, store at 70 degrees for 3 weeks for carbonation, then store at colder temperature for the remaining 5 months?

For me it was both, I did bulk for about 6 months and bottle for 6 months, now just over a year and it is great.

 

[mtnagel]

One thing I don't understand is how I attenuated down to 1.016. I did end up mashing 1 degree lower, 149F, but I don't think that could account for a 12 point change in FG from the recipe's guidelines. Right now I'm sitting at ~12% ABV.

This is one thing I'd like to know as well. I haven't brewed this beer yet, but the last imperial stout I did, it dropped 11 points lower than the recipes stated final gravity. I always pitch a proper amount of yeast and I oxygenate by shaking/pouring, so I know I don't even get the proper amount of dissolved oxygen for these big beers. I'd love to have this one finish higher so it has a sweeter finish. Any things I can do to ensure that?

 

[bleme]

This is one thing I'd like to know as well. I haven't brewed this beer yet, but the last imperial stout I did, it dropped 11 points lower than the recipes stated final gravity. I always pitch a proper amount of yeast and I oxygenate by shaking/pouring, so I know I don't even get the proper amount of dissolved oxygen for these big beers. I'd love to have this one finish higher so it has a sweeter finish. Any things I can do to ensure that?

What do you use for temperature control?

 

[mtnagel]

Water bath in my basement. I've confirmed that the temps in the fermentor match closely with the water bath temp even at the height of fermentation.

 

[ultravista]

Does anyone have this in Beersmith? If yes, please post your BSMX file.

And for those with 10 gallon mash tuns, why not split the mash? I would think that two 12.x pound mashes would yield greater efficiency than one 24.x large batch.

 

[stompbox]

And for those with 10 gallon mash tuns, why not split the mash? I would think that two 12.x pound mashes would yield greater efficiency than one 24.x large batch.

Not neccessarily, It would be the same grist/water ratio. So unless you have a problem with the malts softballing, there should be no difference. I just makse sure I pour in slowly and stir well.

 

[ultravista]

I am going to get some oak soon. For soaking in port/whisky/wine, does it matter if the oak is chipped, spiral, cube, or strips?

For this recipe, what level of toasting works best?

 

[catdaddy66]

Subscribed! Looks like an awesome RIS and how could you go wrong with the 'dark' reputation of Kate the Great???!


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[Hawkfish]

Subscribed. Looking to making this soon.

 

[AceVeres]

I am going to get some oak soon. For soaking in port/whisky/wine, does it matter if the oak is chipped, spiral, cube, or strips?



For this recipe, what level of toasting works best?

I used 1 spiral of medium French oak per 5 gallons. Steam sterilized then put it in a mason jar full of port on brew day. On racking day I plopped it into th bottom of the bottle. The port tasted phenomenal with the oak. I added a drop or two to my tasting sample and was very pleased. I didn't want to over oak it with a heavier roast.

I'll be bottling in the next week or two and can give another flavor update then


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[brewski09]

What kind of port are people using?


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[1Mainebrew]

I like Fronseca, the more expensive one, I can't remember what its called...

 

[atimmerman88]

I've sat on this recipe for over a year and finally ordered the complex grain for this and the hops....Pretty excited to get this guy in the fermentor this week! 'Gyling off another 5 gallons off the grain for a session CDA hopefully.

Merry Xmas to me !

 

[atimmerman88]

What kind of port are people using?


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I'll be using this:

and medium toast french oak

 

[stompbox]

Bummer. I brewed this again today and made a major rookie mistake.

I threw the grains in at mash temp , not strike temp. Stupid.

I stirred it after 15 minutes and checked my temp and it was at 141.

Ended up taking some mash water out and added about 2 gallons of boiling water which put me right in range. I then at boil, added the mash water i took out.

Net result though is i got 6.5 gallons of 1.085 OG instead of my targeted 5 gallons at 1.097.

 

[catdaddy66]

Bummer. I brewed this again today and made a major rookie mistake.

I threw the grains in at mash temp , not strike temp. Stupid.

I stirred it after 15 minutes and checked my temp and it was at 141.

Ended up taking some mash water out and added about 2 gallons of boiling water which put me right in range. I then at boil, added the mash water i took out.

Net result though is i got 6.5 gallons of 1.085 OG instead of my targeted 5 gallons at 1.097.

A longer boil would raise the OG and lower the volume but it would change the hops utilization. Go with it!


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[stompbox]

A longer boil would raise the OG and lower the volume but it would change the hops utilization. Go with it!


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Yeah, that was my volume with an extra 15 minutes of boil. That is all thw time i had for b/c i had to get my kids. 8.5% wont be too bad, just disappointed i made the dumb error.

 

[atimmerman88]

Dam this is a big roasty grain big

Can't wait to brew this


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[ultravista]

I sure hope you're going old school and cranking that mill by hand.

 

[atimmerman88]

Only did that for 1 batch to say I did!!

The old corded drill is in the upper left. She busted through it in maybe 6 or 7 min...22#


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[TheBrewinator]

Brewed this 3 years ago and it was my first big beer, was expecting poor efficiency and got very good efficiency so my batch finished at 13.2% ABV. Just opened one up for its 3 year birthday, this one has aged quite well. Port and oak have long faded but the stout itself is might tasty. I look forward to the next couple years with it.

 

[brewski09]

Sad that the port faded. May not even be worth it then. I'll probably bottle some without any to see how much it changes it. Anyone else do that already and have thoughts/feedback?


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[simontja]

Brewed this, was thinking of splitting the beer in 4 batches and different aging, one in oak + bourbon, one coconut, vanilla, one coffee cocoa nibs. Anyone got any recommendations for last one? Rum/Port?

 

[stompbox]

Anyone know where the brewer that made this went? According to what i found on the net he was going to another brewery and had thw rights to the recipe and would brew it again .....?

 

[ab12]

He is opening his own brewery in kittery Maine. It is called Tributary, and is due to open very soon.


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[stompbox]

Wow, seems to be taking a long time no? You'd think you'd stick it out until you are ready to be up and running.

 

[atimmerman88]

Feeling happy

Biggest beer I've ever made.

Hit 1.100 which was right at my SG @ 65%

Was able to make another 5 gal batch of CDA at 1.034 from the grain too.

Can't wait to report back in 6 months




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[adamg8504]

I brewed this yesterday also. I hit 1.106 but added a pound of DME to my boil to give me about 6 more gravity points to account for poor efficiency (~60%).

My brew buddy came over to help and he suggested just racking the entire wort, trub and all, in the carboy. He stated that Jamil said when doing ales racking the trub/cold break into the fermenter won't hurt anything. It's not worth wasting the wort that is there. Hopefully he is right.

I oxygenated 6 gallons with my buddies oxygen tank and diffuser setup then pitched a 1.7L, two vial, starter of WLP001.

I'm ferementing at a controlled 68°F in my fermentation chamber. Hope it turns out great. It's definitely the biggest beer to date. I've made a belgian tripel that was ~10.5% abv but that included 15-20% sugar.

 

[brewski09]

It takes a few extra days to clear when you rack all the trub but won't hurt anything unless you have a ton of hops like in an iipa and then you may get a vegetal of flavor from all the hop matter.

 

[adamg8504]

It takes a few extra days to clear when you rack all the trub but won't hurt anything unless you have a ton of hops like in an iipa and then you may get a vegetal of flavor from all the hop matter.

I used a hop sack so there isn't any hop debris in the carboy. So I should be good there.