Imperial Stout - With Oats.

[Spork]

Hi brewers.
Already drank 1/2 the oatmeal stout I made, and have another one fermenting.
Want to make a "big" stout for next winter, had a play with Brewmate using a beefed-up version of the recipe I have been making, with the addition of some high AA bittering hops (as well as the original recipe EKG)

Here is the recipe.

McDuff (Imperial Stout)

Original Gravity (OG): 1.080 (P): 19.3
Final Gravity (FG): 1.020 (P): 5.1
Alcohol (ABV): 7.86 %
Colour (SRM): 39.4 (EBC): 77.6
Bitterness (IBU): 58.6 (Average - No Chill Adjusted)

76.43% Maris Otter Malt
6.37% Flaked Oats
6.37% Victory
5.1% Chocolate
3.18% Crystal 80
2.55% Black Roasted Barley

2.4 g/L East Kent Golding (4.7% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil)
1 g/L Zeus (13.5% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil)

0.1 g/L Whirlfloc Tablet @ 10 Minutes (Boil)
0.1 g/L Yeast Nutrient @ 10 Minutes (Boil)
0.1 g/L Vanilla @ 0 Days (Primary)

Single step Infusion at 67C for 90 Minutes. Boil for 60 Minutes

Fermented at 18C with Safale S-04


Recipe Generated with BrewMate


This one will be bottled, so I guess ABV will end up 8%+

Does it look OK?
Is the Zeus a mistake?
I have some other hops on hand (US - amarillo, cascade) and maybe another 20g of EKG.
Thanks for your help.

 

[Muggus]

Hi brewers.
Already drank 1/2 the oatmeal stout I made, and have another one fermenting.
Want to make a "big" stout for next winter, had a play with Brewmate using a beefed-up version of the recipe I have been making, with the addition of some high AA bittering hops (as well as the original recipe EKG)

Here is the recipe.

McDuff (Imperial Stout)

Original Gravity (OG): 1.080 (P): 19.3
Final Gravity (FG): 1.020 (P): 5.1
Alcohol (ABV): 7.86 %
Colour (SRM): 39.4 (EBC): 77.6
Bitterness (IBU): 58.6 (Average - No Chill Adjusted)

76.43% Maris Otter Malt
6.37% Flaked Oats
6.37% Victory
5.1% Chocolate
3.18% Crystal 80
2.55% Black Roasted Barley

2.4 g/L East Kent Golding (4.7% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil)
1 g/L Zeus (13.5% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil)

0.1 g/L Whirlfloc Tablet @ 10 Minutes (Boil)
0.1 g/L Yeast Nutrient @ 10 Minutes (Boil)
0.1 g/L Vanilla @ 0 Days (Primary)

Single step Infusion at 67C for 90 Minutes. Boil for 60 Minutes

Fermented at 18C with Safale S-04


Recipe Generated with BrewMate


This one will be bottled, so I guess ABV will end up 8%+

Does it look OK?
Is the Zeus a mistake?
I have some other hops on hand (US - amarillo, cascade) and maybe another 20g of EKG.
Thanks for your help.

I've been told a number of things about Imperial Stouts across the years...but the ones i've stuck by and made good beers from are:
- If you haven't got 10%+ roasted grain, you're wasting your time (nothing wrong with 15% either)
- Crystal malts have no place in RIS
- Make your IBU match your OG

Other questions I ask here are
- What are your reasons for adding Victory malt? (AFAIK it's pretty rough)
- Why bitter with a low and high alpha hop? Why not JUST Zeus?
- Vanilla? Maybe a bit pointless....you call i guess though

 

[Spork]

I've been told a number of things about Imperial Stouts across the years...but the ones i've stuck by and made good beers from are:
- If you haven't got 10%+ roasted grain, you're wasting your time (nothing wrong with 15% either)
- Crystal malts have no place in RIS
- Make your IBU match your OG

Other questions I ask here are
- What are your reasons for adding Victory malt? (AFAIK it's pretty rough)
- Why bitter with a low and high alpha hop? Why not JUST Zeus?
- Vanilla? Maybe a bit pointless....you call i guess though

Thanks Muggus.
-OK, I need more roasted grains. Thankyou. -Is the chocolate grain a roasted grain?
-and scrap the crystal...
-can do.

-Victory? Because I have some. It is an ingredient in the oatmeal stout I make and enjoy drinking (from "brewing classic styles" book) so I included it.
-Low AA hop - again, the one in the "classic styles oatmeal stout". I could just use zeus, got almost a pound of it left...
-vanilla (bean). Aroma? Someone suggested it and it sounded like a good idea at the time...


Thanks for your advice, looks like I better rethink this one. Was keen to do a brew in next couple of days, with what I have on hand, while I wait for the bulk buy stuffs. Looks like you might have just saved me from wasting 8+kg of grains, some hops, and 1/2 a day.
Guess I'll just make my bog standard oatmeal stout (again - hell, you can't have "too much" of a good thing can you) instead. Or maybe a SMaSH with the MO and some amarillo. Or cascade, or an APA, or...

 

[Spork]

OK.
I made some changes to the recipe:


CasMOcade (American Pale Ale)

Original Gravity (OG): 1.048 (P): 11.9
Final Gravity (FG): 1.012 (P): 3.1
Alcohol (ABV): 4.72 %
Colour (SRM): 5.8 (EBC): 11.4
Bitterness (IBU): 43.8 (Average - No Chill Adjusted)

100% Maris Otter Malt

4.3 g/L Cascade (7.8% Alpha) @ 5 Minutes (Boil)

0.1 g/L Whirlfloc Tablet @ 10 Minutes (Boil)
0.3 g/L Yeast Nutrient @ 10 Minutes (Boil)

Single step Infusion at 66C for 60 Minutes. Boil for 60 Minutes

Fermented at 18C with

Notes: Today I did some urn measurements.
If level, 2 litres remain below the tap.
To bottom of sight tube is 5.25 litres.
Marked 10, 20 & 30 litre mark, and smaller ines inbetween every 2 litres.
Looks like it will hold over 40 litres. 44? Only measured to 32, can use 5 litre jug if need more.

10/12/2011 2:07:01 PM :
heating strike water from cold, Started 1330 hrs @ approx 18c Now 53c. Grain milled. Set up brewery.
Hops:
Software says AA of cascade = 7.8. Mine are 5.5, so added extra 1/3, making a total of 120g (90+30g) @ 5 mins.

10/12/2011 3:30:38 PM :
Mash finished @ 65.8c
SG 1.043, before squeezing (target 1.045) after a good squeeze 1.046.
Volume (approx) 27 litres (target was 26.2)
Will have to ajust BM efficiency up.

Recipe Generated with BrewMate


F'kit.
SMaSH.
*Touches wood) - having a really smooth sailing brew day so far.
Hit strike temp within 0.2c. and lost very little heat over an hour mash. Loving this warmer weather...
Gravity 0.002 higher than target, also pre boil volume exceeded expectations by about 800 mL. (Have finally marked my urn sight tube with 2 litre increments)
Heating up to boil as I type.

re: above recpie and hops:
BM says AA 7.8, but my hops were 5.5, so I will add 1/3 more, making a total of 120g @ 5 mins (no chill).
My last SMaSH has been bottled about a week and I tried one - nice. Hoping this one will be as good or better. Certainly a "better" brew day, so far. Having said that, Crown Cellars had a bunch of "new" (to me) beers for me to try. The SN torpedo just wend down a treat.

 

[Josh]

I think you copied the wrong recipe.

For balance, I made a pretty good RIS with 600g JW Crystal and 300g Dark Crystal in it.