"Session" Russian Imperial Stout - Extract

I'm uncertain of the concept, Session Imperial? I gather you are aiming for a lower gravity sweet beer, packing all the specialty malt flavor of an imperial stout but lacking the alcohol? You don't have anything to convert the flaked barley, so I would eliminate it. If scaled to 5 gallons, you would have 25 ounces of caramel malt and 30 oz of roasted malt. To put this in perspective, I just made a stout, also in the 1.045 area, that scaled to 8 oz of caramel malt and 16 oz of roasted malt per 5 gallons. I enjoy the drinkability of this stout. If tripled the crystal malt and doubled the roasted malt, I probably would not find it sessionable. But for a 1 gallon batch, it might be worth trying to see if you like it. Not a big investment. You shouldn't need the full pack of yeast. You could probably get by with a1/4 pack.

 

Sounds like this recipe from Beer & Brewing is your target, and you’re scaling it down to 1-gallon from 5-gallons.
I think the Imperial part is a misnomer and it’s really a Stout but I can see how the confusion occurred, because the article says, “Suppose you want a beer that mimicks the flavor and mouthfeel of a certain West Coast–originating Russian imperial stout, but want half the ABV. Assuming you have a good clone recipe to work from (we do), how do you get to a session version?”.
Their "session" version includes about 24 oz each crystal malts and roasted malts, presumably for 5-gallons.

If removing the flaked barley, would maltodextrin be appropriate to maintain/enhance the mouthfeel?

 

for myself. no removing the flaked barley love it a stout

 

In this case, I would advise adding a small amount of 2-row and mini-mashing, to convert. I do like the head on the recent beers I've made with flaked barley, including the stout I made last month.

 

Mini mashing works. Used to do it wheni was extract brewing

 

Yeah this isn't anything to do with Russians or Imperial. This is really a milkshake style stout without the lactose but with a lot of caramel. Ditch the flaked barley, and consider adding not maltodextrin but instead maybe 1.25 oz lactose. Then you could call it a milkshake and anyone who tastes it will understand better what they are drinking.

 

Calling it a milkshake something is a good idea if you add lactose. It'll give a clue to folks you offer it to in case they're lactose intolerant.

 

This is true. I'll will say though... if I were lactose intolerant, I'd be asking about lactose before drinking any beer. It's showing up a lot nowadays.