Imperial Stout Russian Imperial Stout (2011 HBT Competition Category Winner)

[MaxStout]

Just bottled my RIS. I had it in primary 1 month, then 4.5 months secondary with 2oz toasted oak cubes I had soaked in bourbon. FG didn't go much lower, bottomed out at 1.029, but the hydro sample tasted very good and it wasn't cloying. Good roasty flavor and a hint of the oak. I primed and repitched 3g of CBC-1, as the fermentation yeast was probably toast.

Now to remain patient while it bottle conditions.

 

[olotti]

Racked mine into secondary two weeks ago on boubon oak cubes and now the plan is to let it secondary for 4-6 months but I may pull it sooner if it tastes right at any point. I used a monster 5.5L starter and lost .5 Gal to blowoff so there was a ton of yeast, FG stopped at 1.028 before transfer after 4 weeks in primary, should I add yeast when bottling or should there be enough in poss 4-6 months when bottling.

 

[Puddlethumper]

, should I add yeast when bottling or should there be enough in poss 4-6 months when bottling.

From my experience I would definitely plan to add a neutral yeast to the bottling bucket. This beer will completely use up the yeast pitched for fermentation

 

[fenners]

Since these beers have their roots in England I would think you could find examples to try there.

This is not as common a style in the UK as you'd expect. That "over the top" element of RIS is just not a UK thing in my experience, commercially.

 

[olotti]

From my experience I would definitely plan to add a neutral yeast to the bottling bucket. This beer will completely use up the yeast pitched for fermentation

So if I end up with 4-4.5 gal to bottle whats a neutral yeast to use and I'm assuming it'll b a dry yeast so is it also necessary to rehydrate it or can I just sprinkle it right into the bottling bucket.

 

[ja09]

This is not as common a style in the UK as you'd expect. That "over the top" element of RIS is just not a UK thing in my experience, commercially.

How about Courage or Samuel Smith's? They should be two solid examples that are easy to get. Not sure how close they are to this recipe because I haven't brewed it yet, but they should be in the ballpark.

 

[TheZymurgist]

Some are complaining about a slight acridness to this. Has anyone tried replacing half a pound of the roasted barley with de-bittered black malt? I'm curious what effect that would have.

 

[Puddlethumper]

So if I end up with 4-4.5 gal to bottle whats a neutral yeast to use and I'm assuming it'll b a dry yeast so is it also necessary to rehydrate it or can I just sprinkle it right into the bottling bucket.

There were a few posts addressing this a few months back. Don't have the time to look for them right now, but I seem to recall one recommendation for a dry wine yeast or perhaps Nottingham. And I would think sprinkling it dry would work just fine. Perhaps someone else with more experience will chime in with a better suggestion.

Cheers!

 

[Puddlethumper]

How about Courage or Samuel Smith's? They should be two solid examples that are easy to get. Not sure how close they are to this recipe because I haven't brewed it yet, but they should be in the ballpark.

Samuel Smith's is distributed almost world-wide so it should be available with some searching. However, I don't find it to be a premium example of the style. It does have a lot of the flavor components but lacks the body and robustness (is that a word?) of the better examples.

 

[MaxStout]

So if I end up with 4-4.5 gal to bottle whats a neutral yeast to use and I'm assuming it'll b a dry yeast so is it also necessary to rehydrate it or can I just sprinkle it right into the bottling bucket.

I just repitched mine with CBC-1, a dry yeast for cask and bottle conditioning. Jury's out on my beer, but I have heard the yeast doesn't alter the flavor. Repitch with 0.1g/litre, so about 2g for a 5-gallon batch. It works best if you rehydrate the yeast.

Edit: info on the yeast.

 

[Dixon]

I bottled mine last night that was brewed in April. It's been on oak spirals that were soaked in jack Daniels and let dry. The taste test last night shows incredible potential. A bit hot right now. Think it came out at around 10.5%. Used normal priming sugar and didn't ad any yeast. Suggestions for when I pop the first bottle?

 

[TrustyOlJohnson]

I bottled mine last night that was brewed in April. It's been on oak spirals that were soaked in jack Daniels and let dry. The taste test last night shows incredible potential. A bit hot right now. Think it came out at around 10.5%. Used normal priming sugar and didn't ad any yeast. Suggestions for when I pop the first bottle?View attachment 231975

When? New years Days!! Enjoy it with a large Filet Mignon and roasted red skin potatoes!! Yeah!

 

[olotti]

How big was your starter? ?? Just curious as I did this recipe and its in secondaey on knob creek soaked oak cubes plan on ageing for 4-6 months. Then plan on bottling and ageing for another 4-6 months. So don't know if I need yeast at bottling or not. Great recipe though.

 

[TrustyOlJohnson]

Mine jus went into primary.... It feels like Chrismas Eve here. I followed the original recipe. But I was able to get my hands on 3 cans of Coopers Dark LME, so I substituted that for 12 lbs of pale malt. At $5 a can, it seemed like a good buy. Made a 2L starter of WLP002 last week, so I had a nice yeast cake going in. Added 3 tsp of yeast nutrient and 1 1/2 tsp of yeast energizer for good measure. OG came in at 1.109. Hydro sample tasted unbelievable. Figure I'll be drinking this in January, and brewing it again then!

 

[TrustyOlJohnson]

Mine jus went into primary.... It feels like Chrismas Eve here. I followed the original recipe. But I was able to get my hands on 3 cans of Coopers Dark LME, so I substituted that for 12 lbs of pale malt. At $5 a can, it seemed like a good buy. Made a 2L starter of WLP002 last week, so I had a nice yeast cake going in. Added 3 tsp of yeast nutrient and 1 1/2 tsp of yeast energizer for good measure. OG came in at 1.109. Hydro sample tasted unbelievable. Figure I'll be drinking this in January, and brewing it again then!


View attachment 232220

And at 1 1/2 hours after pitching, its throwing off CO 02 without even any J
Krausen yet. And at 62 deg.... This is gonna get interesting


"Sometimes Im right half of the time..."

 

[winstonia]

Anybody ever brew this with Irish Ale Yeast? wlp004

 

[TrustyOlJohnson]

Mine jus went into primary.... It feels like Chrismas Eve here. I followed the original recipe. But I was able to get my hands on 3 cans of Coopers Dark LME, so I substituted that for 12 lbs of pale malt. At $5 a can, it seemed like a good buy. Made a 2L starter of WLP002 last week, so I had a nice yeast cake going in. Added 3 tsp of yeast nutrient and 1 1/2 tsp of yeast energizer for good measure. OG came in at 1.109. Hydro sample tasted unbelievable. Figure I'll be drinking this in January, and brewing it again then!


View attachment 232220

And at 24 hours, 16 belches per minute (bpm) and an inch of krausen. Fridge set at 59. Primary at 61.

 

[Puddlethumper]

How big was your starter? ?? Just curious as I did this recipe and its in secondaey on knob creek soaked oak cubes plan on ageing for 4-6 months. Then plan on bottling and ageing for another 4-6 months. So don't know if I need yeast at bottling or not. Great recipe though.

I would absolutely plan on yeast at bottling. With the lengthy fermentation/aging any yeast you used for fermentation is stone dead by bottling time.

 

[olotti]

I would absolutely plan on yeast at bottling. With the lengthy fermentation/aging any yeast you used for fermentation is stone dead by bottling time.

Any yeast recommendations and would I just add it to the bottling bucket. Is there a ratio of yeast to bottling volume I'd need to look at or for generic purposes would say 1 pack of dry yeast into 4 gal my projected bottling amount suffice??? Does the dry yeast need to be Rehydrated.

 

[Jupapabear]

I aged in secondary for 3 months and three months in bottles. I only used priming sugars during bottling. I'm carbonated , it just took 2-3 months. This beer deserves that much at least anyway.

 

[TrustyOlJohnson]

Any yeast recommendations and would I just add it to the bottling bucket. Is there a ratio of yeast to bottling volume I'd need to look at or for generic purposes would say 1 pack of dry yeast into 4 gal my projected bottling amount suffice??? Does the dry yeast need to be Rehydrated.

2 grams, definately rehydrated, added into the bottling bucket should work nicely. I typically use SO5.

 

[1fast636]

I aged in secondary for 3 months and three months in bottles. I only used priming sugars during bottling. I'm carbonated , it just took 2-3 months. This beer deserves that much at least anyway.

Same here no extra yeast just priming sugar and took forever to carb, I think if I brew this in January when I bottle im deffinitly going to use some extra yeast for a nice carb and no worrys this time around

 

[D_Nyholm]

Entered mine into a local beer competition to be judged November 15th. Let's see how it does! I'll report back!

 

[Puddlethumper]

Any yeast recommendations and would I just add it to the bottling bucket. Is there a ratio of yeast to bottling volume I'd need to look at or for generic purposes would say 1 pack of dry yeast into 4 gal my projected bottling amount suffice??? Does the dry yeast need to be Rehydrated.

Here's what MaxStout posted a few days ago:

Just bottled my RIS. I had it in primary 1 month, then 4.5 months secondary with 2oz toasted oak cubes I had soaked in bourbon. FG didn't go much lower, bottomed out at 1.029, but the hydro sample tasted very good and it wasn't cloying. Good roasty flavor and a hint of the oak. I primed and repitched 3g of CBC-1, as the fermentation yeast was probably toast....

Cheers!

 

[MaxStout]

Any yeast recommendations and would I just add it to the bottling bucket. Is there a ratio of yeast to bottling volume I'd need to look at or for generic purposes would say 1 pack of dry yeast into 4 gal my projected bottling amount suffice??? Does the dry yeast need to be Rehydrated.

The CBC-1 dry yeast that I used is specifically designed for cask and bottle conditioning. It isn't supposed to add any flavor. The pitch rate is 10g/hectoliter, so about 2 grams for a 5 gallon batch. I used 3g just to give it a little headroom. I rehydrated in a few ounces of 80 degree water and pitched it into the sugar solution I just poured into the bottling bucket. Then I racked the beer onto that. When rehydrating, be sure it is mixed in well and that there are no clumps before pitching. You don't want uneven amounts of yeast bottle to bottle. Give it a good 30 minutes. After racking to your bottling bucket, gently stir but be careful not to mix any air into the beer.

 

[finsfan]

Entered mine into a local beer competition to be judged November 15th. Let's see how it does! I'll report back!

Same here. Ive got two different comps i sent it to that are judging next weekend.

 

[olotti]

The CBC-1 dry yeast that I used is specifically designed for cask and bottle conditioning. It isn't supposed to add any flavor. The pitch rate is 10g/hectoliter, so about 2 grams for a 5 gallon batch. I used 3g just to give it a little headroom. I rehydrated in a few ounces of 80 degree water and pitched it into the sugar solution I just poured into the bottling bucket. Then I racked the beer onto that. When rehydrating, be sure it is mixed in well and that there are no clumps before pitching. You don't want uneven amounts of yeast bottle to bottle. Give it a good 30 minutes. After racking to your bottling bucket, gently stir but be careful not to mix any air into the beer.

Awesome thanks for the advice. Ill note all of this in my beer journal as it's going to b awhile before I bottle.

 

[1fast636]

To those that entered it in a comp I give you good luck I wasn't going to enter mine and it took best of show and class, 45.5 out of 50 all the judges loved it had to crack the extra one I gave them just to see what they where tasting cause when input it away it was not a 45.5 beer that's for sure lol. Good luck and wish you guys the best

 

[finsfan]

To those that entered it in a comp I give you good luck I wasn't going to enter mine and it took best of show and class, 45.5 out of 50 all the judges loved it had to crack the extra one I gave them just to see what they where tasting cause when input it away it was not a 45.5 beer that's for sure lol. Good luck and wish you guys the best

That is awesome and congrats on the score! I hope it does well because i enjoy it so much but you never know with competitions.

 

[CSI - CandiSyrup]

Any feedback on barrel aging this?