Russian Imperial Stout Help

To each their own but IMO a great RIS should have at the very least 10% roasted barley and/or black patient. I don't think anyone could argue that 10% is over the top and that easily puts me over 2 lbs for a typical 5 gallon batch of RIS.

 

There's nothing wrong with Carapils, just no real need for it in a beer like this. Carapils / dextrine malts are primarily used to add mouthfeel and body to a beer - not really an issue in big beers like a RIS. Also carapils really should be mashed to be effective (http://www.howtobrew.com/section2/chapter12-1.html).
As for the C120, I'd rather break it up with other malts to get multilayered depth of flavor. C120 certainly has its uses but in general I find that it is terribly overused in homebrewing.

 

I think you're on the right track. You may want to think about your yeast choice too. Remember that RIS has it's origins in Europe, so I'd lean towards a english or even irish yeast. I like White Labs 004 or 007 for my RIS. Lastly, I sometimes will do a dry hopping, not so much for flavors or aroma, but more for a nice residual resiny stickyness that I find I like in a RIS. Northern Brewer works well for this.

Remember that this beer is going to need to condition for close to a year to hit it's prime, so be patient with it.

 

You definitely want to control the fermentation temps on a beer like this. I use a large cooler (I think ~50 qts) filled about 1/3 of the way and then I swap out frozen water bottles in the morning and when I get home from work. There is some temperature fluctuation, but I can keep it between 65-70 without any problems. Also, an active fermentation raises the temp above the room temp. If your room is 70, your fermentation temp could easily be 75-80 which would make a fusel mess of your beer.

 

I made a "midnight stout" a while back.

Recipe was:

10lb maris otter
2lb chocolate malt
1.75 lb roast barley
1lb wheat malt
.5 lb brown malt

Then I used EKG hops to go to 40 IBUs.

I love the beer. Increibly rich. If i could do it again I would add more base malt or sugar to up abv to match richness and might consider slightly uping IBU. I am not a hop head, i much prefer enjoying rich malty beer. But eith this much flavour I should have upped the amount of bitterness.

Overall it was a great beer.

 

I think the best yeast for a stout is wyeast 1084 "Irish Ale". The recipe look great, I might cut down on the amount of crystal. Not that there is a problem with it, but just I would cut it down a bit.

 

If you ferment this beer at an ambient temp of 70F you'll end up with a fusel bomb and possibly beer on your ceiling.

 

I like to add complexity with my crystal malts. Instead of 20 oz of one type, I would do 10 oz of two types. I like to use 60 (toffee) and 120 (raisins) to get a bit more from my malts. Or 7 oz of60 90 and 120. Just a thought.

 

I gotta ask why you would give advice about cutting the amount of something and then say there's nothing wrong with it.

 

Just saying what I would do if it was mine. To each their own. He may like lots of Crystal. I do not. The recipe as he has it is great and could potentially make fine beer. If I was making I would reduce it out of preference. He has over a pound of C90, plus cara munich and special B. All in more than 2 pounds of crystal grain. Where are the crystal police????

 

F da (crystal) police!

Castle rock. How about you?

 

Just during active fermentation for the mess on the ceiling. In the bottle for the fusels.

No need to ever do a tertiary fermentation.

 

Palmer apparently got this one wrong. http://www.brewingwithbriess.com/Homebrewing/FAQs.htm#c
I'm pretty sure this mistake is corrected in Brewing Classic Styles. I also believe I have heard a rep from Briess discuss this on podcasts.

Mr. Wizard discusses the production of carapils and similar malts: http://byo.com/german-amber-lager/item/1586-what-is-carapils?-and-what-are-those-other-cara-malts?

 

I am all about temperature control during fermentation, and I would re-emphasize this, and endorse the technique of using frozen bottles of water (they melt slower than ice cubes). This will be a big deal in this beer, but only for a little while.

The other thing is add more fuggles. The earthiness and complexity of fuggles will go well here, don't skimp. They won't overpower, it's not a real strong hop. You can buy one of my patented hops shovels at AL.ADVOCATES.MOAR.HOPS.COM. They're ergonomically designed so as not to throw out your back when lifting heavy loads of hops over and over.

Otherwise, I like the recipe as you revised it. Just add MOAR fuggles, leave the rest the same.

 

I like the process you are going through in designing this beer and like that you are actively seeking to make it as good as possible with the input from us.

That said, I really do want to stress fermentation temperature, especially in a beer that is so big. It will likely ferment 8-10 degrees above ambiant temps and if you let it get into the 80 degree range you will likely end up with roasty rocket fuel from all of the fusels. Before brewing such an expensive and time intensive beer (aging), I strongly urge you to find a way to keep your fermentation temps as constant as possible in the range you need them in.

 

Ummm... what? There is negligible amount of alcohol produced during bottle conditioning, fusel alcohols are a non-issue during bottle conditioning at 70F. The concern for fusel alcohol production is during the primary ferment, and early on.