russian imperial stout mods

[sbond10]

I posted this over on the coopers board but i thought id get your responses too
i have alot of idea test the waters batting around my head some may come to fruition some may not. I just like to bat ideas around and see which tangent they take. But anyway ive been looking at the coopers russian imperial stout and thinking lets take it up a notch or ten.
The orginal recipe is
1.7kg stout kit
1.7kg dark ale kit
1.7kg lager kit
1kg of dextrose
So my mods would be simple but ill explain the reasoning behind them as i go. First id dump the 1.7kg lager kit for 1.7kg of liquid malt extract as its cheaper and i feel any lager type tastes would be destroyed by the stout and dark ale. next i feel i wanna up the dextose to 1.5kg just simply to make it even more of a knock you sideways beer maybe taking abv to 12% . Next id use 2 sachets 7g each of champagne yeast i saw a shop bought russian stout one with it in to give it a dryer taste so id like that. Then id just a nice 12g gram real ale yeast sachet summat like like gervins. so that would take my yeast bill to around 22g as i notice cooper say with it being so high in abv the yeast can struggle so i thought more yeast to help the cause or should i consider 2 sachets of real ale yeast.
So your thoughts anyone giving the amount of yeast should i brew it in the bath or local swimming baths....
sbond10
Piss Artist

Posts: 204
Joined: Wed May 09, 2012 6:42 pm

[TC2642]

May be worth repitching onto a lower ABV beer, you should still have enough yeast to eat through most of the sugar and if it isn't dry enough for you you could add champagne yeast after. Would be an awful lot of foam produced though.

[sbond10]

The point of Russian stout is to make it very high abv

[TC2642]

The point of Russian stout is to make it very high abv

Yes, I have made a fair few in my time but using champagne yeast may make the body too thin.

[sbond10]

But won't the ale yeast help balance it out

[TC2642]

It may just overpower it, blending yeasts is fine but you don't know which yeast characteristic will dominate. It's up to you of course but for such an expensive beer it would be a bit of a lottery. By just using one you have the option of adding a secondary yeast if you see fit. All the RIS's I have done have not needed champagne yeast to taste excellent.

I would also add that you may want to exchange the dextrose for brown sugar to get that more 'stouty' taste but that's down to personal preference.

You'd need to give something with that high an ABV probably around a year (or as long as you can avoid touching it) to taste best.

[sbond10]

So maybe as you suggest an ale yeast then If it starts slowing champagne yeast it ?
Also coopers recipe only calls for a kilo of dextrose so maybe that and 500 g of brown sugar

[TC2642]

So maybe as you suggest an ale yeast then If it starts slowing champagne yeast it ?
Also coopers recipe only calls for a kilo of dextrose so maybe that and 500 g of brown sugar

Yeah, sounds good, I always find that Muscavado or Demerera sugar adds a nice rummy dimension, I would recommend repitching from a previous yeast cake though, dried yeast, even if it's rehydrated would find it hard to work through a beer with a OG of 1090 or higher.

[sbond10]

Okies I'll take it all on board write it down then if it comes to fruition I won't have to ask again. Maybe even sum rum essence?

[TC2642]

Okies I'll take it all on board write it down then if it comes to fruition I won't have to ask again. Maybe even sum rum essence?

You could but I always start with a base and work from there, you have a good beer recipe, I'd say work with that first and then experiment.

[stoofer74]

hi tc2642 sorry to sort of hijack this thread but i'm seriously thinking of doing this badboy too.you talk about repitching yeast from a previous cake how exactly would you do that?

[TC2642]

hi tc2642 sorry to sort of hijack this thread but i'm seriously thinking of doing this badboy too.you talk about repitching yeast from a previous cake how exactly would you do that?

You'd make a lower gravity beer of say 4% and once you've transferred off that beer you'd pitch the RIS wort straight on top of the yeast cake, simple as that. There are more complicated ways like washing the yeast but I really don't think it's necessary.

[stoofer74]

so to put it in laymans terms do you mean that you use the sediment at the bottom of the brew you have just finished and sprinkle it on the top of the russian imperial stout.does this mean that you dont have to use the yeast that comes with the kits?

[TC2642]

so to put it in laymans terms do you mean that you use the sediment at the bottom of the brew you have just finished and sprinkle it on the top of the russian imperial stout.does this mean that you dont have to use the yeast that comes with the kits?

No need to sprinkle, dump the wort straight on top of the sediment, beware though, this causes a very vigorous fermentation, you may want to put half the yeast sediment in another FV and split it between the two.