| Russian Imperial Stout |
Monday, December 08 2008 @ 09:42 PM EST
Today, I'm brewing a Russian Imperial Stout. I don't believe that I've ever had one, so it will be an interesting experience. Once again, I found this recipe online. Due to the hops called for in the recipe being unavailable, I had to substitute Millennium hops for Yakima Magnum hops. Also, the recipe called for 6.5 lbs. of LME. Since the homebrew shop I go to sells it by the full pound, I decided to use 7 lbs.
The ingredients list:
I started by putting the grains in a couple of grain bags and placing them in the brew pot with 2.5 gal. of water. I heated the water to about 160ºF and shut the flame off. I then let it steep for 20 minutes, then removed the bags. The temperature dropped to 154ºF. I decided that I might be able to save a little time by adding the LME and DME while the water was being heated. I'm not sure that was a good idea, because when it came to boil, it did so with a vengeance. It boiled over so much that I had to shut everything down and clean up. I'm not sure how much I lost, but it seemed like a lot. I guess I won't try adding the extract before it's boiling again.
Once the Haz-Mat cleanup opperation was completed, I continued on. I brought it to a boil - this time without incident - and added the hops. I then boiled for 60 minutes, cooled as usuall, poured into the carboy, pitched the yeast and brought down to the basement. The SG came in at 1.070, which is surprizing since I lost quite a bit in the boilover, but I won't complain. Like I normally do, I'll update this article when I rack to the secondary.
Update - 12.29.08: I waited an extra week to rack to the secondary. In part because I was exhausted from a weekend of snow, and a major part of laziness. The gravity came in at 1.022, about what I expected. I sampled a little, and it seemed a little sweet. Hopefully, some aging will help. I'll leave it in the secondary for two weeks, and then keg. This will probably be tapped next winter.
Update - 1.13.09: I kegged today, and the FG came in at 1.022 for an ABV of 6.3%.
The ingredients list:
| 7 lbs. |
Dark LME |
| 2 lbs. |
Dark DME |
| 1/2 lb. |
Roasted Barley |
| 1/2 lb. | Black Patent |
| 1 lb. |
Crystal 60 |
| 1 oz. |
Millennium Hops |
| 1 packet | Safale S-04 |
I started by putting the grains in a couple of grain bags and placing them in the brew pot with 2.5 gal. of water. I heated the water to about 160ºF and shut the flame off. I then let it steep for 20 minutes, then removed the bags. The temperature dropped to 154ºF. I decided that I might be able to save a little time by adding the LME and DME while the water was being heated. I'm not sure that was a good idea, because when it came to boil, it did so with a vengeance. It boiled over so much that I had to shut everything down and clean up. I'm not sure how much I lost, but it seemed like a lot. I guess I won't try adding the extract before it's boiling again.
Once the Haz-Mat cleanup opperation was completed, I continued on. I brought it to a boil - this time without incident - and added the hops. I then boiled for 60 minutes, cooled as usuall, poured into the carboy, pitched the yeast and brought down to the basement. The SG came in at 1.070, which is surprizing since I lost quite a bit in the boilover, but I won't complain. Like I normally do, I'll update this article when I rack to the secondary.
Update - 12.29.08: I waited an extra week to rack to the secondary. In part because I was exhausted from a weekend of snow, and a major part of laziness. The gravity came in at 1.022, about what I expected. I sampled a little, and it seemed a little sweet. Hopefully, some aging will help. I'll leave it in the secondary for two weeks, and then keg. This will probably be tapped next winter.
Update - 1.13.09: I kegged today, and the FG came in at 1.022 for an ABV of 6.3%.