Insanely Big Imperial Stout!

[SteveH]

To do something like this in an all in one system would it be easier to reduce the batch size instead of double/reiterated mash?

 

[David Heath]

Hey Steve, looks interesting :)
Yes, as long as you do this as a reiterated mash (2 or more mashes) then no problem at all..... you could go stronger!
For this one 2 lots of 5kg will work just fine.
I have a video that talks all the way through this process, so to avoid an essay I will link that here!
Hope you do not mind!

Reiterated mashing technique:-

I would also suggest looking at this:-
You never know it could change the way you ferment forever!

If you have any questions then just give me a shout!

 

[Zephyr259]

Hey Steve, looks interesting :)
Yes, as long as you do this as a reiterated mash (2 or more mashes) then no problem at all..... you could go stronger!
For this one 2 lots of 5kg will work just fine.
I have a video that talks all the way through this process, so to avoid an essay I will link that here!
Hope you do not mind!

You never know it could change the way you ferment forever!

If you have any questions then just give me a shout!

Hi Dave, I always wondered how you got on with the second mash being so thin? Where did you seat the top plate as the mash must settle a lot as it's recirculating.

 

[Zephyr259]

Try entering your numbers into this mash/lauter simulator spreadsheet. Don't include the sugars. It'll tell you whether your target gravity is achievable or not. And if not, then you can increase the size/number of sparges you do and increase the boil length to hit your target. The metric units didn't seem to work for me but US gallons/lb worked fine. Doug is very responsive to questions about the calculations over on HBT if you start a thread.

Wow that's thorough, that is actually brilliant for being able to predict a parti-gyle, thanks for sharing.

 

[AlDaviz]

When doing a stout like this is it best to store (ageing maybe with oak and Whiskey Brewdog Paradox typa thing) and bottle later ??
and if its stored for several months, would you need to add more yeast before bottling ??

Has anyone tried the Brewdog paradox @£10 a bottle ??

 

[JonBrew]

When doing a stout like this is it best to store (ageing maybe with oak and Whiskey Brewdog Paradox typa thing) and bottle later ??
and if its stored for several months, would you need to add more yeast before bottling ??

Has anyone tried the Brewdog paradox @£10 a bottle ??

I recall hearing John Palmer on the Brew Strong podcast saying that if ageing beers, big or small, it's usually preferable to bulk age rather than age in the bottle. I'm not completely convinced by this - I can imagine pros & cons for both.

In terms of ageing with oak or in barrels, it's certainly not necessary but can add to the finished beer (this is stylistic really). I'm sure I also heard that oak can help to round out alcoholic flavours in big beers but i wonder if this is more relevant to barrel ageing and it's a function of oxidation of higher alcohols? I personally prefer straight IMP stouts myself but it seems these days it can be hard to find examples that aren't barrel aged.

I had a third of BD Paradox (Islay I believe) just recently and it was very nice but nothing to write home about in my opinion.

@strange-steve How do you intend to package this beer, i.e. force carbonated in a keg or bottle conditioned? Have you considered using champagne yeast to help with the fermentation?

 

[strange-steve]

To do something like this in an all in one system would it be easier to reduce the batch size instead of double/reiterated mash?

It would but I personally don't like going through the effort of brewing for the sake of a small batch.

@David Heath thanks for the response (and the reassurance), some good info in those videos

When doing a stout like this is it best to store (ageing maybe with oak and Whiskey Brewdog Paradox typa thing) and bottle later ??
and if its stored for several months, would you need to add more yeast before bottling ??

I've heard that bulk aging speeds up conditioning and I have done so with big beers, but never done a side by side comparison so I don't know if it's true. I probably will bung this into a secondary for a few weeks. Reseeding with fresh yeast shouldn't be necessary but I often do with big beers for a little insurance after I had a wee heavy which didn't carb.

@JonBrew this will be bottle conditioned over the course of a year or so. I did think about adding a champagne yeast, but voss kveik should be up to the job on its own.

 

[strange-steve]

OK I'm keen to get this one done now so it's been moved to the top of my brew list and ingredients have been ordered.

HBC were out of oat malt so I ordered malted flaked oats instead, no idea what the difference is to be honest but that's what I'll be using.

I've ordered an extra 500g of DME which will hopefully be enough to make up for any shortfall in the OG.

 

[-Bezza-]

I've ordered an extra 500g of DME which will hopefully be enough to make up for any shortfall in the OG

Pfft, I hope that's all going in regardless of OG!

 

[strange-steve]

Pfft, I hope that's all going in regardless of OG!

Well in for a penny...

 

[DavidDetroit]

You had me at "14.5%."
I've been able to do 12% ABV stouts without any real effort (2 dry packs) so with the advice which I'm sure is above which I didn't read, it'll be great.

 

[prog99]

Like @davidfromUS I've had no problems doing a 12% stout. That was with one packet of Us05 too.
As I don't quite have the capacity for the amount of grain required I boost with a packet of DME too.

Good luck, its probably my favourite style to brew.

 

[jceg316]

I've made 3 imperial stouts the past few months, I wish I knew about reiterated mashing!

 

[AlDaviz]

Well in for a penny...

Keep us updated !!
It’s something I’ve been looking to do myself, just too busy brewing neipa’s and Pilsner for the summer

 

[Zephyr259]

this will be bottle conditioned over the course of a year or so. I did think about adding a champagne yeast, but voss kveik should be up to the job on its own.

You may find that with kveik you won't have to wait a year for it to come good. Kveik conditions a lot faster so something this big could be ready in a couple of months maybe? I could certainly see you drinking it at Christmas. Looking forward to hearing how this brew day goes. Good luck.

 

[Sadfield]

You may find that with kveik you won't have to wait a year for it to come good. Kveik conditions a lot faster so something this big could be ready in a couple of months maybe? I could certainly see you drinking it at Christmas. Looking forward to hearing how this brew day goes. Good luck.

It shouldn't take any Impy, brewed with any yeast, a year to come good. I'm pretty sure I've had some stunning commercial stouts that were no more than a couple of months from brew date.

 

[strange-steve]

High abv beers like this I usually stash them away somewhere and try one every month or so till it's good, though my previous imperial stout did take a while.

 

[dad_of_jon]

It shouldn't take any Impy, brewed with any yeast, a year to come good. I'm pretty sure I've had some stunning commercial stouts that were no more than a couple of months from brew date.

I prefer mine at the 3 month mark, I'm not a fan when they go thru their licorice phase then you have a gap before they turn plummy. after 2 yrs I don't know 'cos they're gone by then , but i'll be putting my xmas IMPY early august and drinking from nov onwards...

 

[Sadfield]

That's the beauty of them, they change over time and there will always be a sweet spot that hits personal preference. However, I still think they should be pleasant drink within weeks of fermentation.

Here's an interesting, short thread from a pro-brewers forum. The two responses; Mike Murphy (Lervig) Ron Jefferies (Jolly Pumpkin) are both happy to sell theirs within months of brewing, with Mike Murphy saying they take a couple of weeks to smooth out.

https://discussions.probrewer.com/showthread.php?6103-Imperial-Stout

 

[strange-steve]

That's interesting, and actually Lervig Three Bean Stout is one of the nicest imperial stouts I've ever tasted dispite being a rather feeble 13% abv.