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Imperial Stout Critique

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by JayS2629, Sep 15, 2012.

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  1. JayS2629

    JayS2629 Initiate (0) Oct 23, 2010 Alabama

    Review this recipe and let me know if you would tweak anything.

    13 lbs Golden Promise (2.0 SRM) Grain 65.00 %
    1 lbs 8.0 oz Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM) Grain 7.50 %
    1 lbs 8.0 oz Wheat, Flaked (1.6 SRM) Grain 7.50 %
    1 lbs Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 5.00 %
    1 lbs Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM) Grain 5.00 %
    8.0 oz Carafa III (525.0 SRM) Grain 2.50 %
    8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 2.50 %
    1.00 oz Nugget [13.00 %] (60 min) Hops 30.3 IBU
    1.25 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] (25 min) Hops 10.1 IBU
    1.75 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] (5 min) Hops 4.1 IBU
    1 lbs Milk Sugar (Lactose) (0.0 SRM) Sugar 5.00 %
    1 Pkgs
    English Ale (White Labs #WLP002

    Mash at 154 for 60. Boil 60 ferment at 70.

    Cocoa going in at end of boil. Vanilla bean in secondary. Putting on bourbon soaked oak chips and cacoa nibs. Adding coffee to half.

    Also, should I call this Johnny Cash Stout or Leonard Cohen stout?
     
    #1 JayS2629, Sep 15, 2012
  2. cmac1705

    cmac1705 Crusader (493) Apr 30, 2010 Florida

    If you're doing a 5 gal batch, I don't know if this will get you to your target ABV. Might want to check on that.

    Second thought: that's a lot of flaked material. Not necessarily a problem, just be aware and use rice hulls.

    I could do without the lactose here, but that's personal preference.

    I like the yeast, but I'd mash lower. Shoot for 148.
     
    #2 cmac1705, Sep 15, 2012
  3. mjryan

    mjryan Pooh-Bah (1,559) Dec 22, 2007 Minnesota
    Pooh-Bah

    What is your target OG?
     
    #3 mjryan, Sep 15, 2012
  4. Homebrew42

    Homebrew42 Initiate (0) Dec 20, 2006 New York

    What do you want this beer for taste like? Why flaked oats and flaked wheat? Why lactose? Carafa III or carafa III special?

    Chocolate, vanilla, oak, bourbon, and coffee? What, no cinnamon and coconut?
     
    #4 Homebrew42, Sep 15, 2012
    Naugled likes this.
  5. barfdiggs

    barfdiggs Initiate (0) Mar 22, 2011 California

    Drop the flaked wheat and replace with base malt. Flaked wheat can give somewhat of a tart flavor and since you already have a decent amount of flaked oats (7.5%), a high gravity beer and lactose it seems unnecessary from a body standpoint.
     
    #5 barfdiggs, Sep 15, 2012
  6. barfdiggs

    barfdiggs Initiate (0) Mar 22, 2011 California

    Jesus... I missed that part of the recipe.
     
    #6 barfdiggs, Sep 15, 2012
  7. JayS2629

    JayS2629 Initiate (0) Oct 23, 2010 Alabama

    o.k. I didn't expect this much this quick, but I think I should explain things better. I like KBS which uses cocoa, coffee, and bourbon barell aging. I also like how vanilla brings out chocolate flavor. As for the wheat and oatmeal....I basically took the wood aged category winner of the American Homebrewer's Association contest and took his recipe. The only tweak was adding lactose and changing the yeast.

    Perhaps i should leave out the lactose. The plan is to take this recipe and multiple by three. I have two other friends and we plan to make 15 gallons. 10 gallons in one mash tun and boil kettle, the other five in another tun and kettle. One wants a milk stout. The other friend ...actually and humorously since Homebrew42 said something, wants to do a Black Forrest stout with cherry, vanilla, chocolate, and coconut. Mine will be as mentioned with cocoa, vanilla, bourbon soaked oak. Half of my batch will have coffee.

    Crazy as it all may sound...the feedback on the grain bill is what i was looking for...and just to note again it is identical to the winning recipe for wood aged beer in the AHA contest.
     
    #7 JayS2629, Sep 15, 2012
  8. JayS2629

    JayS2629 Initiate (0) Oct 23, 2010 Alabama

    To answer the question on OG. I am shooting for an OG of 1.109 and an FG of 1.030 + or _ a little. ABV should be around 9.5% or more.
     
    #8 JayS2629, Sep 15, 2012
  9. JayS2629

    JayS2629 Initiate (0) Oct 23, 2010 Alabama

    I think the lactose is more for residual sweetness than body. Wheat is for head retention. Oats for body.
     
    #9 JayS2629, Sep 15, 2012
  10. JayS2629

    JayS2629 Initiate (0) Oct 23, 2010 Alabama

    1.109
     
    #10 JayS2629, Sep 15, 2012
  11. JayS2629

    JayS2629 Initiate (0) Oct 23, 2010 Alabama

    What would mashing lower do for me?
     
    #11 JayS2629, Sep 15, 2012
  12. Homebrew42

    Homebrew42 Initiate (0) Dec 20, 2006 New York

    Lactose adds body (as all unfermentable sugars do), only very little sweetness (it's 1/6th as sweet as table sugar) and it lends a "milky" flavor. Wheat and oats both aid in both body and head retention, though the effect of each is a bit different.
     
    #12 Homebrew42, Sep 15, 2012
  13. JayS2629

    JayS2629 Initiate (0) Oct 23, 2010 Alabama

    Homebrew42, I took the winning recipe from AHA contest of wood aged beers. Only difference is that I addes lactose and using chips instead of a barrell. If I subtracted the lactose, what would you think of the recipe. he had the cocoa, vanilla, and oak chips too.
     
    #13 JayS2629, Sep 15, 2012
  14. Homebrew42

    Homebrew42 Initiate (0) Dec 20, 2006 New York

    Sounds like you know what you want and you have an award winning recipe, so who am I to argue?
     
    #14 Homebrew42, Sep 15, 2012
  15. Biffster

    Biffster Initiate (0) Mar 29, 2004 Michigan

    Mashing lower will give you a more fermentable wort, and a potentially lower FG
     
    #15 Biffster, Sep 15, 2012
  16. JayS2629

    JayS2629 Initiate (0) Oct 23, 2010 Alabama

    Well, who are you to argue? Personally, I've gotten a lot of good advice from you in the past....so that is who you are. If you were to brew an imperial stout on bourbon oak chips...what would you personally do different?
     
    #16 JayS2629, Sep 15, 2012
  17. JayS2629

    JayS2629 Initiate (0) Oct 23, 2010 Alabama

    \What temp do you suggest?
     
    #17 JayS2629, Sep 15, 2012
  18. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,055) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    Personally, I think 154F is about right.

    What is your typical mash efficiency? Eyeballing the grain bill, it looks like you'd need something north of 85% to get an OG of 1.109. Keep in mind that if you are getting 85% with mid gravity beers, you will get something lower with a bigger beer, unless you collect more runnings than you need and add extra boil time to reduce them.
     
    #18 VikeMan, Sep 15, 2012
  19. Biffster

    Biffster Initiate (0) Mar 29, 2004 Michigan

    For me, I tend to mash lower, maybe in the 145-148 range. Lots of homebrewers use the 155 to 158 range, which is in the middle of the amylase range and insures good conversion. That will produce a great beer and if that works for you I encourage it. It does, however, promote alpha amylase activity, adding a higher ratio of non fermentable sugar. Most of us as home brewers under pitch no matter how big of a starter we make. I want my wort as fermentable as possible to compensate, especially for big beers. Your yeast will have a hard enough time in that environment. Plus, as said above, you will get lower efficiency with a bigger beer. You can collect more and boil to concentrate, but that also increases caramelization, which might be desirable flavor wise, but increases the non fermentable sugar ratio in the wort.

    With a beer this big, you wont get a thin bodied beer under pretty much any circumstance.
     
    #19 Biffster, Sep 15, 2012
  20. Biffster

    Biffster Initiate (0) Mar 29, 2004 Michigan

    Qualifier - I would want to mash in the 150s if you could truly bring enough healthy yeast to bear - like maybe if you were pitching on a yeast cake from a previous batch.
     
    #20 Biffster, Sep 15, 2012
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