Voss kveik or Nottingham for imperial stout

[RyPA]

I'm planning to do an imperial stout, using extract, just to make my brew day a little easier. I may switch to all grain as I have base malt already on hand and would just need the specialty grains & hops, but I've never done a recipe with this much grain so I'm a little hesitant. It's $43 vs $12 so I may switch to AG.

For yeast I am on the fence with nottingham and kveik. The recipe calls for US-05.

https://homebrewing.org/products/vanilla-imperial-stout-recipe-kit
I've used nottingham in the past and did what I could to keep it in the high 60's but it was a pain as I do not have great temp control right now, essentially only on the warm side, so I am leaning towards voss kveik.

Have you guys ever brewed a stout/imp. stout using a kveik yeast with success?

Thanks

 

[BongoYodeler]

I've never used Voss in a stout before.

I had planned to brew an Imperial Stout this winter but haven't yet. I was going to use S-04, would that be an option for you? Fermentis website says it can go to 78.8°, though I'm not sure I would push it quite that high.

Spunding valve?

 

[RyPA]

I've never used Voss in a stout before.

I had planned to brew an Imperial Stout this winter but haven't yet. I was going to use S-04, would that be an option for you? Fermentis website says it can go to 78.8°, though I'm not sure I would push it quite that high.

Spunding valve?

Yeah, I can spund. I didn't realize so4 allowed that high, that may work.

 

[TheMadKing]

Neither one

I find Nottingham harsh in big beers and Kveik has a funky flavor I don't care for

I'd opt for Dry English Ale or Scottish Ale yeast, or just plain old US05

I just did an English barleywine with US05 and it came out with plenty of character and finished at 12%

 

[RyPA]

I think I'm going to go with us-04 at the lower end of room temp.

 

[DonT]

I was thinking about using voss in a stout I was designing. My plan was to add pineapple puree and I thought Voss would go well...
I changed my mind on that because any roastyness would cover it up.
I would recommend just using WLP001 as it's clean...

 

[Beerstein]

Ive used Voss in a stout. it was….ok. Id prefer to use Nottingham over voss in a stout every time. I would not hesitate to use Nottingham in this recipe. I might suggest using two packets or doing a starter.

 

[RyPA]

Nottingham also has a room-temp range for fermenting so it's an option, 50°F – 72°F

 

[Kickass]

Without hesitation, Nottingham. I brewed a 12% RIS last year with Notty and it was perfect.

 

[GoodTruble]

On my bigger stouts, I like Nottingham, MJ New World Strong Ale, or Omega Scottish. I made a vanilla milk stout (12% abv) last year with Nottingham that was great. I think the key to Nottingham or MJ New World in bigger stouts is to ferment at 60F or lower.

I also really like Omega Scottish, but above 9%, it's starts to have a sweeter finish. Still very good, but I like to keep those beers at 10% or less.

 

[RyPA]

What about fermenting at ~68-70F, notty or S-04?

 

[hottpeper13]

I've used both and have a barrel aged one on the shelf with voss at 12.5%. Notty is my go to for big beers and I always do a step temp fermentation, pitching at 55* and set the chamber to 60*. When it stops coming out of the blow off I raise temp to 64* to finish. I let the big ones in primary for 4 weeks.
Got one on deck ,going into a 5 gal barrel and will use Notty.
As far as the Kvieks are concerned as long as I chill the wort to cold brake , pitch the same as any other ale yeast , and hold temps around 76* I don't get any of the (off) flavors ya'll talk about. Was kinda hoping for some orange to go with the chocolate and vanilla, but it is just a clean proper RIS.

 

[RyPA]

Do you double pitch the Voss or notty for an imperial stout?

I usually don't get full attenuation with Voss and haven't figured it out yet. I keep it at a consistent 95F for my NEIPA's.

I'm in the dry yeast camp

 

[hottpeper13]

My MO for big beers is to make a 5 gal batch of starter fluid,drink the starter and pitch the cake ,or pitch on top of the cake.
The thing is when making the small beer you concentrate on making healthy yeast and these beers are most of the time steller.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

Nottingham also has a room-temp range for fermenting so it's an option, 50°F – 72°F

Just keep in mind that a high gravity beer like you are planning has a good chance of pushing itself 10F above ambient temps. I saw that with a recent batch of Dubbel which got up to 78F in a 68F room.

While I have not tried to ferment Nottingham warm in recent memory, I tend to associated most English yeast fermented above 70F with the fruity and estery beers I used to make as a new brewer. If you can actually keep the temp of the beer at 72F or lower, you might be fine.

 

[RyPA]

Just keep in mind that a high gravity beer like you are planning has a good chance of pushing itself 10F above ambient temps. I saw that with a recent batch of Dubbel which got up to 78F in a 68F room.

While I have not tried to ferment Nottingham warm in recent memory, I tend to associated most English yeast fermented above 70F with the fruity and estery beers I used to make as a new brewer. If you can actually keep the temp of the beer at 72F or lower, you might be fine.

My only option for cold side is my garage which gets down to 45-50 this time of year. With that said, do orange notes really come through on a dark beer like an IS/RIS? I'd think the roasted malts would overpower it.

 

[GoodTruble]

45-50 will work for Nottingham.

 

[hottpeper13]

If you invest in a reptile heat mat and a controller you can ferment anything you want. Insulated and set to 55* it should stay 60* or less. It can get estery above 64* in the first 3 days.
I didn't get any orange with the Voss one , but that might be because I used a standard ale yeast pitch and fermented at 76* to start and finished at 86*

 

[G_robertus]

I've used Voss kveik in an imperial stout once. It's not bad, but also not what I'm used to. This stout had a lot going on in general, so I'm not sure if the character such as tartness have been masked. There was no orange character at any stage, which is consistent with what others have written on the subject.

I have yet to use Nottingham in a RIS, but I've used it in a big barleywine once. The temperature ran up for a bit (>27-28 C for at least 12 hours), but as far as I can tell it did not have any detrimental effects on yeast character.

 

[RyPA]

If you invest in a reptile heat mat and a controller you can ferment anything you want. Insulated and set to 55* it should stay 60* or less. It can get estery above 64* in the first 3 days.
I didn't get any orange with the Voss one , but that might be because I used a standard ale yeast pitch and fermented at 76* to start and finished at 86*

True. I could use my garage for cold side and apply heat as needed - I did get an lnkbird 308 w/ wifi for Christmas.

For my kveik brews I put my torpedo keg (fermenter) in a bucket of water with a water heater to keep it at 95F. I can set this to 65 or so in my garage with Nottingham.