Russian Imperial Stout

[DrDually]

After many successful brews, I feel it is now time to brew a really BIG beer for Chistmas 2011...so here it is
If you have any experience in BIG beers, please take a look and give me your feedback. I will also be happy to share the final recipe with anyone interested
BTW, I expect this to end up around 10%+

Thanks DrDually

BeerSmith Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Russian Imperial Stout 4
Brewer: DrDually
Asst Brewer:
Style: Imperial Stout
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0)


Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 7.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.108 SG
Estimated Color: 40.0 SRM
Estimated IBU: 54.7 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
15 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) UK (3.0 SRM) Grain 64.17 %
5 lbs Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 21.39 %
1 lbs Wheat, Flaked (1.6 SRM) Grain 4.28 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 2.14 %
8.0 oz Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 2.14 %
8.0 oz Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM) Grain 2.14 %
8.0 oz Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM) Grain 2.14 %
6.0 oz Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM) Grain 1.60 %
3.00 oz Bullion [8.00 %] (60 min) Hops 54.7 IBU
2.00 oz Fuggles [4.50 %] (0 min) Hops -
1.00 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs Irish Ale (White Labs #WLP004) [Starter 80Yeast-Ale
1 Pkgs Champagne Yeast (White Labs #WLP715) [Add Yeast-Champag


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Full Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 23.38 lb
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Full Body, Batch Sparge
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
45 min Mash In Add 29.22 qt of water at 170.5 F 158.0 F

[lexuschris]

A very nice idea for next year! Great to be thinking ahead!

Here are a few thoughts, suggestions and/or comments...

+ How big is your mash-tun? That is a lot of grain & strike water..

+ Many folks see lower than usual efficiencies when doing BIG beers. 72% may (or may not) be optimistic.. just depends on your past experience. If you really want to hit your OG numbers, I'd go at least 5 points lower than your usual efficiency.

+ I like the way your grain bill looks, but have never done a RIS. Perhaps some others will chime in on that...

+ 158-F mash temp may make it difficult to reach a good FG .. i.e. leave the beer too sweet. You have a high OG, plus some munich & C120 for extra malty & darkfruit flavors, flaked wheat for extra body & head, flaked oats for silky mouthfeel ... I think you got the heavy mouthfeel covered well. You may want to mash lower and allow fuller attenuation, and hopefully bring your FG into the mid-low 1.020's.

+ Not sure about mash time... but with such a thick mash, an extra 15-30 mins would ensure you get all the starches converted.

+ BIG starter, and oxygenate wort well prior to pitch!

+ Not sure if you'll need the champagne yeast. WLP004 should take you where you want to go.

Looking forward to hearing about your brewday! Good luck!
--LexusChris

[brahn]

I like Fred Bonjour's little article on brewing big beers: http://beerdujour.com/Howtobrewabigbeer.htm

Chris makes some really good points. I've brewed several ~1.100 beers and his comments about seeing an efficiency drop and being hard to hit your FG are spot on. If you want to get the same efficiency you normally get you'll have to rinse with more water and have a longer boil to concentrate the wort back down the volume you want. It's easier to just add more grain if you can do it. I'd go more than 5% ... if you get 72% at 1.055 I'd probably expect 55-60% at 1.108. This really depends on your system though, you really won't know until you try.

Getting proper attenuation in a big beer like this takes some work. I would suggest some sugar to help with attenuation. As an added bouns you don't need to worry about efficiency drops affecting your sugar addition. The *secret* ingredient in my RIS is Belgian Dark Candi Syrup, but Muscovado, Turbinado or another sugar that adds some character would be good. I'd say about 10% of the grist. You've got a little over 23lbs of grain, I'd probably use 2lbs of sugar. I agree with Chris about mashing at a lower temp too.

I wouldn't use champagne yeast at all, but I'd also be worried that WLP004 won't finish dry enough. I believe it's a lower attenuating strain. I would go with Cal Ale yeast or one of the better attenuating English strains. If you're using liquid yeast, you'll want to make at least a 4L starter using a stir plate to get the amount of yeast you need for this beer. If you don't have the equipment for that, I've made great RIS with US-05 and Nottingham, and you'll want two packs (rehydrated, of course!) of either of those.

As far as the grain bill, I wonder what the purpose of the wheat and oats is?

Remember, you're planning to age this for a year+ so the roast, IBU and hops will fade quite a bit by the time you're drinking it. So I'd shoot for around 10% roasted grains (roast barley, chocolate, black malt, etc). I'd probably also increase the IBU a little to keep things in balance. If you want it on the sweeter side, then you're probably fine where you are.

[bwarbiany]

Agreed with most of Chris' points, and with Brent on the swap to US-05. Instead of trying to go the starter route buy 2 (or 3) packs of US-05 -- for the same cost as a vial of WLP004, and you won't have to worry about a starter.

Oxygenation is also a major issue on big beers. Supposedly dry yeast doesn't need to be oxygenated, but this is definitely something I'd make sure you're considering. When I did my barleywine for the club brew I didn't deliberately add oxygen (I don't have the equipment), but I made sure to spray my wort into the fermenter from the top to get some aeration, and pitched 4 or 5 packs dry US-05 for a 10-gal batch, and it attenuated fine for me.

[brahn]

Oxygenation is also a major issue on big beers. Supposedly dry yeast doesn't need to be oxygenated, but this is definitely something I'd make sure you're considering. When I did my barleywine for the club brew I didn't deliberately add oxygen (I don't have the equipment), but I made sure to spray my wort into the fermenter from the top to get some aeration, and pitched 4 or 5 packs dry US-05 for a 10-gal batch, and it attenuated fine for me.

+1

[jward]

Oxygenation is also a major issue on big beers. Supposedly dry yeast doesn't need to be oxygenated, but this is definitely something I'd make sure you're considering. When I did my barleywine for the club brew I didn't deliberately add oxygen (I don't have the equipment), but I made sure to spray my wort into the fermenter from the top to get some aeration, and pitched 4 or 5 packs dry US-05 for a 10-gal batch, and it attenuated fine for me.

The way I heard the 'dry yeast doesn't need more oxygen' also included the proviso on a 1.060 SG or less wort. Oxygenate if you can.

and you'll want two packs (rehydrated, of course!)

Boy howdy! As the yeast hydrates it doesn't have good control of what it lets inside. High sugar environments are a rough place to rehydrate.

[bwarbiany]

Boy howdy! As the yeast hydrates it doesn't have good control of what it lets inside. High sugar environments are a rough place to rehydrate.

Yep. Easiest method is take a fresh bottle of water, pour half out, pour in the yeast, let sit 15 minutes.

I've seen people boil then cool tap water, which works, but it's a PITA. My usual motto is if a process is cumbersome enough that you'll skip it more often than not, you need to find something easier.

[DrDually]

Thanks to everyone for your input. I am revising recipe tonight and will post tomorrow

[hjw]

Dont forget some flavor hops. 30 min.

[DrDually]

Thanks for everyones input. Here is the latest version...I expect to start brewing in December and will post updates
Good news is I will also be taking reservations to sample and enjoy sometime next year

BeerSmith Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Russian Imperial Stout 4
Brewer: DrDually
Asst Brewer:
Style: Imperial Stout
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 7.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.115 SG
Estimated Color: 65.6 SRM
Estimated IBU: 60.9 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 67.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
14 lbs Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 56.57 %
5 lbs Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 20.20 %
12.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 3.03 %
12.0 oz Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 3.03 %
12.0 oz Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM) Grain 3.03 %
12.0 oz Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 3.03 %
8.0 oz Roasted Barley (500.0 SRM) Grain 2.02 %
4.0 oz Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM) Grain 1.01 %
3.00 oz Bullion [8.00 %] (60 min) Hops 52.3 IBU
1.00 oz Bullion [8.00 %] (15 min) Hops 8.6 IBU
2.00 oz Fuggles [4.50 %] (0 min) Hops -
1.00 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
2 lbs Candi Sugar, Dark (275.0 SRM) Sugar 8.08 %
1 Pkgs Dry English Ale (White Labs #WLP007) [StarYeast-Ale
3 Pkgs SafAle US-05 (DCL Yeast #S-05) Yeast-Ale


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Full Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 22.75 lb
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Full Body, Batch Sparge
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
90 min Mash In Add 34.13 qt of water at 158.3 F 149.0 F

[backyard brewer]

The biggest beer I've brewed was 1.120 and it was a mother to get to ferment. Bringing the mash temp down to 149 will help a lot, you really want the wort as fermentable as possible since there is little risk of it over attenuating. All the other suggestions are great, the only other one I have is to boil gently. You're using some caramel malt so you'll get some caramel flavor and a gentle boil will reduce kettle caramelization a little bit; increasing the fermentability of your wort.

The last bit of advice for a big beer is about aging. Don't be discouraged by what you taste in the first 6 months of a beer this big. I almost dumped my batch, in fact, I did pour about 3 gallons of the 8 down the driveway because I didn't want to store a partial keg. For the first 4 months or so it tasted like raw wort with a cup of bad bad vodka thrown together. It wasn't until 9 months is started to cool down and was drinkable at a year. That was 3 gallons of beer that later turned out to be a BOS beer... Brew and learn.

[DrDually]

Thnaks Derrin, I overlooked the gentle boiling part. As for aging, plan is to ferment, rack into secondary then into corney keg for aging. Hopefully it will be ready for our November meeting next year

[brahn]

Looks good to me, I look forward to trying it next year!

[brahn]

Have you brewed this yet? How'd it go?

[DrDually]

Have not brewed it yet...it is scheduled for early January
However, I did brew a very nice Phat Tyre yesterday