Raspberry Fields Forever (Imp Stout)

[jimpdx]

So I brewed my first Imperial Stout in July, what I was calling a "Napoleonic Stout" (inspired by my trip to France) which would have Vanilla, Cocoa Nibs and Raspberry (also a play on Neapolitan ice cream - choc, vanilla, strawberry).

Shortly after racking to secondary, I added raspberry puree which I preserved in Ball jars. I had 4 quart jars for 6lbs of fruit. I added the 6 pounds of raspberry puree into my 6 gallon fermenter along with the vanilla pods (2, split and soaked in vodka) and two french oak spirals.

I have been sampling the beer as it sits in secondary and it is INCREDIBLY tart. Besides not having the thicker body I would expect with an Imp stout, I am concerned that I "watered" it down with all the raspberry juice, a byproduct of the canning process when sealing the jars. We mashed at 152-154 so we have the expected residual sweetness but not enough to balance the tart.

I am going to do a final "vanilla bomb" with 6 or 8 more split and scraped beans when I add the pound of cocoa nibs this weekend (too many??). However I am wondering if I should first rack it off the raspberry must in this process. Also any suggestions on flavors to balance the tartness of the berry?

Appreciate any flavor guidance you guys have.

 

[insanim8er]

You could have watered it down, but it don't know how much liquid you added with the purée. You could try mashing at a higher temp next time. Be around 156-158 for more mouth feel.

If you feel the raspberry flavor is good, rack off the berries and let the beer sit and bulk age. It will probably mellow over time.

6 or 8 MORE vanilla beans sounds like way too much vanilla, but I don't know what you're going for.

 

[jimpdx]

You could have watered it down, but it don't know how much liquid you added with the purée. You could try mashing at a higher temp next time. Be around 156-158 for more mouth feel.

If you feel the raspberry flavor is good, rack off the berries and let the beer sit and bulk age. It will probably mellow over time.

6 or 8 MORE vanilla beans sounds like way too much vanilla, but I don't know what you're going for.

So I tried to rack off the berries but I still got tons of pulp and seeds and a clogged racking tube. We went to the dark side and poured through a sanitized strainer I am quite certain I probably F'd it up by oxidizing it on the transfer. However we sampled the transfer (still at 1.030, think that is terminal) and it was much more mellow and balanced than before which was all tart. I was now getting some roasted coffee notes. We did add 6 more vanilla beans and 5 ounces of cocoa nibs soaked in Cognac. We will be adding more Cognac at bottling so this was a desired flavor. Was hoping for a massive raspberry, chocolate and vanilla flavor so we will see. Let's hope the little splashy splashy doesn't ruin it.

 

[insanim8er]

So I tried to rack off the berries but I still got tons of pulp and seeds and a clogged racking tube. We went to the dark side and poured through a sanitized strainer I am quite certain I probably F'd it up by oxidizing it on the transfer. However we sampled the transfer (still at 1.030, think that is terminal) and it was much more mellow and balanced than before which was all tart. I was now getting some roasted coffee notes. We did add 6 more vanilla beans and 5 ounces of cocoa nibs soaked in Cognac. We will be adding more Cognac at bottling so this was a desired flavor. Was hoping for a massive raspberry, chocolate and vanilla flavor so we will see. Let's hope the little splashy splashy doesn't ruin it.

Yikes... Ya you may get some cardboard in there with that splashing, but man with that much vanilla IDK. It sounds like a lot, so it could mask anything else.

I see you live in PDX, I'm in Oregon city. If it turns out good, send a bottle my way :cross:

Some friends and I did a 10 gallon batch of milk stout last weekend. I still have about 2 weeks to go until I keg. But I was planning on turning some of it into an orange cream stout by adding vanilla and orange from tinctures I made. I was also thinking about playing with some mint for an Andes mint stout.

I've also been experimenting with graffs. I made a pumpkin pie graff recipe doing all grain. That turned out fantastic. My next batch will be a chocolate cherry jubilee graff.