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

[1fast636]

I just bottled mine, how long would you say it took you? And did ypu add any yeast at bottling or just priming sugar?

Bottled with just priming sugar next time will definitely add yeast too, I bottled it on 5/17/14 and that was the first bottle that carbed for me in the pic, I set them and forgot them hopin and praying guess the beer gods where looking out for me

 

[fenners]

Has anyone added brown sugar to the fermentation of this to keep the yeasties going?

 

[CSI - CandiSyrup]

Has anyone added brown sugar to the fermentation of this to keep the yeasties going?

US style brown sugar would add too much of the acrid molasses flavor. Using a cassonade, (european style brown sugar), might work though. We use D-180 in our RIS and it works very well.

 

[huhwha]

Many thanks for the recipe! 1.092 to 1.026 in 8 days. Had a hydrometer sample last night. Exactly what I was looking for -excellent! I think I'll move it to my bourbon barrel this weekend for about 3 months, then keg it up. I suspect it will be a little young, but quite drinkable at Christmas.


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[Almfamily]

Kegged mine up yesterday - going to be REALLY hard to wait even a month!

Fortunately, I made 10 gallons so perhaps the 2nd keg will be untapped for a few months...

 

[barhoc11]

I brewed up this recipe on Sunday with a few variations due to missing my OG but everything else was almost spot on after adding in some DME.

I was planning on having a huge blow off with this batch but after fermenting for almost 2 days, I am finding that the krausen is rather tame. I stepped up a starter of wlp002 to get a good amount of yeast so I don't think it's that I didn't pitch enough yeast but I just figured for a beer with an OG around 1.109, I would have a lot more krausen.

Is this just because of the wlp002? My batch was only around 3.5gallons and it is in my 6 gallon bucket so maybe it just doesn't seem like as much as I normally get with 5 gallon batches?

I did start fermentation out around 64F so I know a colder temperature can cause a less vigorous fermentation. After thinking about this yesterday turned off the temperature controller to see if I could get it going a bit more and the temperature shot up to the mid 70's, which I have quickly started to lower back down gradually since I do not want any off flavors.

Maybe I am just being paranoid since I want to try my best to avoid a stuck fermentation? I am trying to walk the line of keeping the fermentation cool to avoid any hotness but not too cool to where I stall out the fermentation. Any ideas are appreciated!

 

[jamursch]

Added some cold brewed coffee to this after brewing in April and moving into a keg. 64 oz later and I'm getting very little coffee flavor?

I know cold brewed is smoother and less acidic but I'd expected more flavor. Am I just jumping the gun, will it show up in time?

Cold brewed coffee recipe:
7 oz of grounds in mesh bag and fill gallon pitcher to the top. Usually get almost 160 oz of coffee as end product. Pasteurized & cooled before adding.


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[Brewski_59]

I think 7oz isn't enough for this beer. I'd go for a pound if it were me.

 

[MaxStout]

Did this BIAB back in May, hit OG 1.092, even got 2.5 gallons of "bonus beer" parti-gyle. Pitched Denny's Favorite 50 (big honkin' starter), and fermented at 63F, with a few days diacetyl rest at 67F at the end of primary. Racked the RIS to secondary after a month--hydro sample tasted great, but FG was only down to 1.032 (I had mashed at 156). I added 2 oz. medium-toasted oak cubes that I had soaked in Maker's Mark for 2 weeks.

I'll let this bulk age a couple more months, then bottle. Should I add a bit of dry yeast to the priming solution? I'm concerned the remaining 1450 might be a little weak.

The bonus beer turned out nicely, BTW. A quaffable brown ale around 4.2% ABV.

 

[te-wa]

opinions:

i have marris otter and 007 on hand. would this be a great sub for the OP's recipe?

*edit: i used 12 lbs of english 2 row and 5 lbs otter. still going with the wlp007.

 

[CSI - CandiSyrup]

opinions:

i have marris otter and 007 on hand. would this be a great sub for the OP's recipe?

*edit: i used 12 lbs of english 2 row and 5 lbs otter. still going with the wlp007.

Yes, Maris Otter would do very well.

 

[barhoc11]

I sampled this after a week in the primary and it is very good. I am getting that hotness of alcohol but I know that will die down over time. Anyone have a good idea of when that burn starts to fade?

 

[CSI - CandiSyrup]

I sampled this after a week in the primary and it is very good. I am getting that hotness of alcohol but I know that will die down over time. Anyone have a good idea of when that burn starts to fade?

About 6 months in bottle conditioning and it will fade, however, to keep the fusels to a minimum we like to keep good temp control on primary.

 

[finsfan]

I tried one after only a few weeks in bottles and did not taste any heat from alcohol.

 

[D_Nyholm]

Just reminded me I need to get my oak beans! Guess mine is going to age a bit more!

 

[finsfan]

Just reminded me I need to get my oak beans! Guess mine is going to age a bit more!

Yeah id give the oak beans at least three months. Mine went three and a half and it tastes great. Plus once its carbed it'll be ready to drink

 

[barhoc11]

I tried one after only a few weeks in bottles and did not taste any heat from alcohol.

I am seeing conflicting responses and that is probably due to the variables that go along with brewing but I can't imagine this beer is going to need 6 months to lose the burn since when I drink my samples after a week, the beer is very good already. It is raw but I think a few months might be a great time to start trying to add in some bourbon/oak and vanilla beans.

I cellar a lot of beers so I know that conditioning helps out for most of these types of beers but I was more curious to when this thing hit the point where it was still a little hot but not undrinkable.

 

[te-wa]

pitch a huge starter, 3L or so, and ferment at 60... that is my plan, and im sticking to it.

 

[CSI - CandiSyrup]

Not really a conflict at all. It depends on how badly it is brewed and the volume of fusels generated by the lack of primary temp control. If it's brewed correctly (primary temps) there should be no detectable fusels to begin with. It will take a variable amount of time for a particular volume of fusels to be masked/absorbed.

 

[te-wa]

had to go with 1.25 qt/lb for the mash water. for this, im going to do a 154 mash for 90 mins. i also want to do a 90 min boil.

question: would a 1/2 lb of light brown sugar near the end of boil be a good idea? i was planning to add about 2oz of bourbon soaked oak chips, and a vanilla bean also.

short notice, but chime in if you can. thanks!

 

[olotti]

I'm planning on brewing this next week and throwing in 2lbs dme to get the gravity up to 1.106 then into bourbon oak cubes for 6 months then bottled and aged for another 4 months.

 

[MaxStout]

had to go with 1.25 qt/lb for the mash water. for this, im going to do a 154 mash for 90 mins. i also want to do a 90 min boil.

question: would a 1/2 lb of light brown sugar near the end of boil be a good idea? i was planning to add about 2oz of bourbon soaked oak chips, and a vanilla bean also.

short notice, but chime in if you can. thanks!

If you plan to age it on that oak for a long time, use oak cubes instead of chips. Soak them in your favorite bourbon for a couple weeks, then drop into the fermenter. Oak chips are meant to be in for a shorter length of time, maybe a couple weeks. Otherwise, I've heard they can leach tannins.

 

[D_Nyholm]

Hmm, I could only find oak chips by me. So far I have 2 oz soaking in about 6 oz bourbon. I was going to soak them for a week and then put them in for 3 months, but I guess I should go shorter? Can anyone else chime in on this?

I don't want to ruin this beer as it cost about $70 to brew it!

 

[ja09]

Just place the chips in a bag and taste until the desired oak level is reached, then remove. I'm guessing it wouldn't take much longer than a week. Never set a hard timetable with oak and always go by taste. You really don't want to over oak this one!

 

[finsfan]

Hmm, I could only find oak chips by me. So far I have 2 oz soaking in about 6 oz bourbon. I was going to soak them for a week and then put them in for 3 months, but I guess I should go shorter? Can anyone else chime in on this?

I don't want to ruin this beer as it cost about $70 to brew it!

I agree with Ja. Just continue to go by taste and dont give it too long. Oak beans can go up to 8 months without being over the top, but oak chips act completely different and are infused pretty soon.

 

[D_Nyholm]

OK I'll give it a taste every week. Twist my arm

Also, are you guys dumping in the whole jar of bourbon that you soaked the oak in? Seems like a lot to me. I was thinking I would reserve it and if it needed more, I would add it?

 

[finsfan]

OK I'll give it a taste every week. Twist my arm

Also, are you guys dumping in the whole jar of bourbon that you soaked the oak in? Seems like a lot to me. I was thinking I would reserve it and if it needed more, I would add it?

I did. I added enough jameson to cover the oak and then just added it all. It adds a very subtle taste of it which i like.

 

[barhoc11]

I did. I added enough jameson to cover the oak and then just added it all. It adds a very subtle taste of it which i like.

I also think by adding the liquid Jameson along with the oak, you will get some of that oak taste that came out of the oak so it would be a best bet to do the bare minimum to cover the chips and then add everything to the beer. If you ever want more Jameson taste, you could add some straight Jameson to the beer.

 

[finsfan]

I also think by adding the liquid Jameson along with the oak, you will get some of that oak taste that came out of the oak so it would be a best bet to do the bare minimum to cover the chips and then add everything to the beer. If you ever want more Jameson taste, you could add some straight Jameson to the beer.

Exactly. Whenever I soak something in whiskey or vodka, I always add the liquid as well because it has extracted some of the flavor out of the oak, vanilla beans, etc.

 

[te-wa]

yep, chips will be added for about 4-5 days. that's usually all it takes, but i'll taste frequently to make sure... ;P
ive also found that a shallow glass baking pan allows much less bourbon to be used for soaking. shake it every few days.