Imperial Stout Sweet Chocolate Milk Stout

[Dockside_Brewing]

At the most you just diluted it a little.

 

[Abrayton]

Sitting at 1.020 after two weeks. Probably done but Gonna let it sit for two more. Sample tasted awesome!

 

[redarmy990]

Mine has been kegged 1 week at 12 psi, temp 45, its not carbonated yet but tastes a little watery, not much chocolate, The sample tasted better.

 

[Abrayton]

Bottled about four weeks ago at FG 1.020. Tastes is good but lacks the body I am used to with a big stout and seems a bit watery. I added 1.5lb flaked oats. Would adding 1.5lb flaked barely next time be a good idea for extra body?

 

[redarmy990]

Here is my stout. Turned out great. Tapped the keg at the weekend

 

[Abrayton]

Figured I would post a redaction to a previous post. With a bit more time in the bottle this beer is awesome! Will be brewing it again in May and adding vanilla beans cinnamon and a touch of habanero. Also finally made the switch to kegging so no more bottles!

 

[redarmy990]

My keg kicked just now, This baby was just getting into its prime, and tasting even better Darn it.

Definatley brewing again but instead of the Cocoa powder, i have bought unsweetened Cholaca, how much would you use.

 

[Nichols2127]

My keg kicked just now, This baby was just getting into its prime, and tasting even better Darn it.

Definatley brewing again but instead of the Cocoa powder, i have bought unsweetened Cholaca, how much would you use.

On a 5 gallon batch I’ve used half a 32oz bottle and it worked out very well. I also added 1 lb of lactose (in the boil) to keep it from being a bitter chocolate.

 

[Abrayton]

Just brewed this for the second time. I added 2lb oats. Undershot mash temp and ended up just leaving it at 149°. Planning to add cocoa nibs, vanilla beans, habanero and cinnamon to this one.

 

[txnnok]

I think this is my first post on a thread after being a member for several years. Before I start I feel a little confused, because I was born in 73 and I believe my profile says 90. Must have been drunk, anyway, dont really care to much, but my kid was born in 94m and find it hard to relate to that generation.You can guess spears, aguillara, so on....

Anyway, I wen to my local homebrewers shop and presented this recipe to them.It's called Fermentables in Little Rock AR.They stated because of the 14 lbs of grain,I would have a high gravity, at least a 8% or above beer.
That alcohol level is a bit high for my usual beer recipes I've been buying, but ok. My issue is when I try trying to bottle it.
I'm wanting to take it to octoberfest in FT. Worth in September, not for competition, but for personal use. At that high of a lvl, yeast die off, so would kegging and bottling be a better choice.
I havent started this recipe yet, was gonna get fermentasaurus, but thinking I should wait till I have enough for pressure kit at start of month, which is payday.

 

[Abrayton]

At that high of a lvl, yeast die off, so would kegging and bottling be a better choice.

You’ll be fine either way. If bottling you may need a little extra time to fully carb up.

 

[a1dookie]

I think I found the imperial stout recipe I’ve been looking for. Thank you

 

[Abrayton]

Wow vanilla beans got expensive! Looks like I’ll be using pure extract instead.

 

[redarmy990]

Wow vanilla beans got expensive! Looks like I’ll be using pure extract instead.

I bought my last batch of vanilla beans on Amazon, got a very good deal

When do you add the vanilla in the mash,boil or in secondary in a ticture of vodka

 

[Abrayton]

To date all I’ve ever used is pure extract at bottling of my vanilla cream ale. I was going to use beans for the first time in secondary, but at the current price I can’t justify paying as much for beans as my batch cost. Hopefully Madagascar has a good harvest this year!

 

[Abrayton]

Went from 1.095 to 1.030 where I think she has stopped. Would have liked a few more points but it taste damn good so I’ll take it. Adding cinnamon, nibs and peppers in a week, kegging in two weeks with vanilla extract. Excited about this one!

 

[mark1964]

Dear brothers across the Pacific I need some advice please.
I've been looking for a stout recipe for weeks and finally found it on this site. First of all I apologise for using metric, but that's what we use here in Australia. Not that I should apologize.

I brewed this stout on the 13th which would make it 18 days ago and its a 42 litre batch. OG 1.094. I used the recipe on this thread and hit all my marks pretty well. the only thing I changed was the yeast which was recommended to me by my LHBS. I used 4 packets of Lallemand Nottingham yeast. Just to note that there wasn't any active fermentation in the airlock ever. I did used pure oxygen to oxygenate the wort after cooling it to 20 deg C. I didn't rehydrate the yeast because I never have in the past and always worked fine.
I gave it a rock on day 2 (42 Litres is quite heavy) to try and get the yeast going but still nothing. There is a small amount of krausen but no foaming at all, and the liquid in the airlock has been even. this yeast is supposed to go like a rocket and has a high attenuation. The gravity reading on day 2 was 1.046 so it has dropped 48 points,and today on day 18 it's still at 1.046. So last night I upped the temperature to 24.5C still no activity 24 hours later. Im now getting desperate so I sterilized my wooden brewing paddle and gave it a gentle stir touching the bottom of my 60l fermenter.. How can I dry this out further?
Hopefully all is not lost!
Thank you in advance fellas.

 

[Metalchef1]

Personally I would think we need to know more about the mash?
When that happens it usually means you mashed out (and accidentally happens all the time) too soon. You have a lot of sugar but not a lot of fernentable sugar. If that's the case and you got too high of a temp during the mash, it can't be fixed...
You can finish it with a lower abv, add a bunch of corn sugar (boil and serialize first of course) to up the abv, or it is possible that the fermentation is simply stuck... But 4 packs is a lot of yeast.

 

[Metalchef1]

And either way... As long as it's not infected or doesn't become infected.... Nothing is lost.

 

[Metalchef1]

Sterilize..... I hate autocorrect

 

[mark1964]

Thanks for your advice metalchef1,
I brew with eBIAB Using a Hosehead brew controller
my grains totalled to 18.3 kg (40pounds) 15 kg of that was Marris otter. I did a (68C (154F) recirculating mash for 75 min and a mash out at 75C ( 167F) and also did a batch sparge in another pot where I placed the grain bag into 80C (176F) water for 20 min. Then did a 120min boil. I never rely on just one temperature device so after stirring my mash every 15 min or so I use a thermapen to keep things honest. The pre boil Gravity was 1.063 keeping in mind I added 1kg (2.2 pound) of lactose and 2 cups of unsweetened cocoa powder to the boil which are both adjuncts so unfermentable. These I know will add to my my gravity. Which was as stated earlier 1.094. Can you MC1 or anyone else see anything that could cause the issues I'm having?

 

[Abrayton]

I just kegged mine at 1.028 after 4 weeks and I thought that was high. I mashed low at about 150° but I ran out of oxygen and I think my old yeast pooped out. You could try pitching an active vitality starter and see what happens? Good luck and i bet it still tastes good even at 1.046!

 

[Abrayton]

Yum

 

[Dockside_Brewing]

Mark any updates?

 

[goodolarchie]

I brewed this stout on the 13th which would make it 18 days ago and its a 42 litre batch. OG 1.094. I used the recipe on this thread and hit all my marks pretty well. the only thing I changed was the yeast which was recommended to me by my LHBS. I used 4 packets of Lallemand Nottingham yeast.

Just Curious if this worked out in the end? I'm a big fan of Nottingham for lots of different ales, but I'm wondering if your OG was asking too much of it? The most I've put through Nottingham was 1.078 and it took it down to 1.007. At your OG it could plow down to 11.0%...

 

[Dockside_Brewing]

Initially it took off like a bat out of hell but looks like it is stalling. Any ideas or should I just wait? I just bumped it up to 69 degrees.

View media item 69404

 

[LoneTreeFarms]

you can try and re-pitch some yeast to see If it takes off again. this one will finish sweeter because of the lactose addition. not sure what the OP had for a final gravity.

 

[Dockside_Brewing]

My original OG was 1.087, the OP had 1.090 and a FG of 1.030 I may pick up a pack of SF-33 in case It continues to stall, I brewed a 10 gallon batch.

 

[LoneTreeFarms]

My original OG was 1.087, the OP had 1.090 and a FG of 1.030 I may pick up a pack of SF-33 in case It continues to stall, I brewed a 10 gallon batch.

Build up a starter and try that with the sf-33 packet

 

[Metalchef1]

I've read some success stories with uvaferm 43 restart yeast.... Look into it?
It's a special yeast that is alcohol tolerant up to 18%? Ph shouldn't affect it, etc. etc..
Supposed to be a super yeast that when used properly will restart stuck fermentation..
I guess it's primary use is in the wine industry but why can't it be used with beer?