Imperial Stout Help

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by bufordblue, Aug 31, 2017.

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  1. bufordblue

    bufordblue Initiate (0) Aug 31, 2017 Georgia

    I have an imperial stout I've brewed two years in a row now. It has pretty good flavor, but i'm having trouble w/ my gravities. I missed my OG this year, think this was a combination of grain crush and sparge technique. My FG however i've had trouble hitting both years. I have a fellow brewer who is a pretty reliable input, typically has good efficiency and dependability, and he wasn't able to get the FG to what BrewSmith calculated either. We both finished at exactly 1.028. I'm posting the recipe below, please offer any critiques/criticisms Also, would love input on how to possibly get this a little higher OG and keep the FG to 1.03 or less, maybe up the %ABV to the 9-10 range. I'm looking for a creamy, chocolate/coffee style flavor, kind of like a mocha w/ more on the coffee side than the chocolate side.

    Holiday Heart- all grain, 5 gallon batch
    10 lb maris otter
    2 lb chocolate malt
    1.5 lb flaked oats
    1 lb black barley
    1 lb crystal 60L
    1 lb lactose
    1 lb rice hulls

    Mash in a 10 gallon cooler w/ false bottome at 153F, sparged w/ 168F water to a total volume of about 6.5gallons of pre-boil liquid, sparged with roughly 4 gallons of water. (i know, i need to record these things better).

    1.5 oz 15% alpha nugget at 60
    1.5oz cascade 6.6% alpha at 20 mins
    1.5 oz cascade 6.6% at 5 mins
    0.5 oz nugget 15% at 5 mins (couldn't bring myself to throw away the extra half oz)
    yeast nutrient at flame out
    1 whirfloc tab at 10 mins

    WLP001, california ale, in a 2 step started, 1st 2L starter, 2nd 1.5L starter, decanted

    Data from BeerSmith projection:
    OG 1.086
    FG 1.016
    est ABV 9.2%

    I'm not checking gravities at every point like after runoff, before boil, after boil, etc. I know I probably should be. Also not checking mash pH yet, anybody have strong evidence for this?

    Actual bottling volume was closer to 5.5 gallons
    Measured gravities:
    OG 1.072
    FG 1.028
    meas ABV 5.8%

    Fermented at 67F in a pretty well controlled environment.

    The flavor is great, and I know there are people who would say don't change a thing if the taste is great, but I still am curious as to what the errors/mistakes are.
     
    #1 bufordblue, Aug 31, 2017
  2. GormBrewhouse

    GormBrewhouse Pooh-Bah (2,111) Jun 24, 2015 Vermont
    Pooh-Bah

    I would use 1 lb coffee malt, boost the marris otter to 15 lb and use 2 packets of Nottingham yeast. I am not familiar with the cal yeast and upping the base malt should get you into the abv range yer looking for.

    Sometimes, regardless of computer programs, ya just need to add some more grain
     
    #2 GormBrewhouse, Aug 31, 2017
  3. GormBrewhouse

    GormBrewhouse Pooh-Bah (2,111) Jun 24, 2015 Vermont
    Pooh-Bah

    And the coffee malt, got mine from morebeer, give more of the coffee mocha taste vs along coffee or beans, for my taste.

    Also after a week in the primary increase your temp to 70 and hold for another 5 to 7 days, then rack to secondary for another couple of weeks. You'll b surprised on the sediment left in the secondary.

    Good luck.
     
    #3 GormBrewhouse, Aug 31, 2017
  4. Eggman20

    Eggman20 Crusader (433) Feb 14, 2017 Minnesota

    Gorm has it right if you want to get your ABV up.

    I would highly recommend checking mash PH. Tough to get good consistent mashes without having the PH in the correct range.
     
    #4 Eggman20, Aug 31, 2017
    GormBrewhouse likes this.
  5. wspscott

    wspscott Pooh-Bah (1,958) May 25, 2006 Kentucky
    Pooh-Bah

    What size were you trying to make? If you had boiled longer, say to end up with 5 gallons, you would have ended up with a higher OG.

    With that grain bill, I would not have expected a FG = 1.016. Maybe try another calculator like BrewCipher and see what it says.
     
    #5 wspscott, Aug 31, 2017
    Supergenious likes this.
  6. Supergenious

    Supergenious Maven (1,273) May 9, 2011 Michigan

    What everyone else said- add more base malt. I like to shoot for an OG of at least 1.100 for an RIS. Do you really need the rice hulls? Seems like a waste of mash tun space to me, but maybe it's needed for your setup. And all the late hops seem like a waste. An imperial stout is best aged and by doing that you lose a lot of the late hop flavor. But that's just my opinion, it's your beer.
     
    #6 Supergenious, Aug 31, 2017
    GormBrewhouse likes this.
  7. EvenMoreJesus

    EvenMoreJesus Initiate (0) Jun 8, 2017 Pennsylvania

    Or more base malt and some sugar.

    This was my thought as well, but if he likes it like it is but just isn't happy with his OG, best not to change other variables.
     
    #7 EvenMoreJesus, Aug 31, 2017
  8. bufordblue

    bufordblue Initiate (0) Aug 31, 2017 Georgia

    Thanks for all the help! I think since this one came out lower, I'm gonna not age as long and just enjoy this one now after it carbs. I'll likely brew here in the next month or so, and make the changes you guys have suggested.
     
    #8 bufordblue, Sep 1, 2017
    frozyn and GormBrewhouse like this.
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