Recipe check on an Imperial Stout.

Strikes me as a lot of bourbon. 5 gallon batch I assume? May want to add the bourbon/oak mix a little at a time. Easier to add more than to take some out.

 

My only suggestion would be to try and find a British crystal instead of using c80, but it's sort of nit picking. Are you going for a flavor contribution from the brown sugar? You could consider treacle. I've never used it, and if it is very similar to brown sugar, I apologize. The cigar smoke and chocolate milk stout is blurring my good sense.

 

Seems like a bit of a waste to use golden promise in a stout. If I had some 2 row available I would stick with that.

 

Interesting. Wouldn't stouts benefit from malty, buiscuity, rich base malt? I think all other things remaining equal, you'd miss something using 2-row.

 

Have you had a stout with brown sugar? Back in the day it seemed every stout recipe had molasses and my recipes got a lot better when I started cutting the sugars. It will make for a dryer impy stout than most commercial examples.

 

What color Munich? That seems like a really low amount of roasted barley (1%), for lack of a better description I would say this is more like a robust porter vs. imperial stout to me.

Not sure I would use GP, but my wife thinks I am cheap so...

 

I don't think I remember seeing brown sugar in an RIS before. For my tastes, I think this beer will come out dry. I think that would push me over the top when you say that you're going to add a pint of bourbon and oak to this. Maybe the chocolate and nibs will balance this out. I'd keep the sugar out of the equation for as long as possible. I'm looking forward to hearing how this one comes out.

 

I'm gonna say that its more of an imperial porter than stout, but that's nitpicking. For a stout I would go for a larger amount of roast barley or black patent, with chocolate malt in a supporting role. In other words, not enough roast.

 

If you don't want acrid, then obviously keep the black patent out like you have.

However, I think you are low on the roasted barley. Heck, even toss in some carafa III or something, that will give you a drying sensation and make it black as oil, as well. Add more roasted barley, and I'd even up the crystal a tad by another quarter pound.

I'd nix the brown sugar. I used some in a RIS about 2 years ago, and hated it. I've since removed it, and my last RIS was a beast without it, and taste phenomenal.

I like the dual use of the chocolate malts, I do that as well, and think it really layers in some good flavors.

If you are worried about getting it down low enough, change up your yeast. I've never used 1450, but in a beer with all that malt bill going on, you can toss in some US05 even, get a large pitch doing so. Unless you are trying to get something from the yeast to add to the beer.

Other than that, I'd say you are okay. I haven't liked adding liquor to the kegs to get the bourbon notes, but the nibs sound like a tasty idea for sure.

 

For me The Roast Barley makes the Imp Stout. I would also mash at 153 degrees as there are enough unfermentables for a heavy mouth feel.

 

I would try just plain old cubes. Get a medium char oak, boil it for a couple minutes, drain it. Toss it in your bourbon. Enough to cover. Let it sit around. When you need it, add the oak, don't add the bourbon. Taste the bourbon and see what you think of it. If you like the oaky profile it has left behind, put some in there. I'd taste it until happy with the oak levels, and then dose it with some bourbon. Maybe even a bit of vanilla bean as well, if you didn't get what you wanted from the oak.

As for finishing where you want, I had a 1.125 RIS go to around 1.028-1.030 with just US05 fermented at 62*.

I don't think the sugar is needed. I think you might however, want to shoot for 155 or so on the mash to aide in that. I mashed at 151-152, because I wanted it to ferment down. A beer with all that malt will have plenty of sweetness and body left regardless, IMO. The oats will actually confuse the mouthfeel and make it feel smoother and thinner anyways. I find the silky body, while full, leaves it feeling drier in the finish.

 

I was in the "more roasted barley" camp as well. I think that malt bill is fine now for what you want.

I would consider increasing the initial bittering charge. I usually go for 100 IBU on something like this an have never thought it was too much.

Good luck!

 

Looks like it sits pretty happily on the lower end of the RIS scale. I think if you use a starter and mash a little lower, you'll get down to low-mid 1.020's for the FG to be honest.

 

Looks good to me. I like the less than extreme bitterness and higher roast level too.