Peruvian Imperial Stout

[Spud395]

Hey Bellebouche, how did you estimate how much sugar the marmalade would add to the brew?
Or did you do the figures after?
I ask because I've been thinking about an imperial stout for a while and also a blackberry stout, when I saw the marmalade addition I thought, eureka.
I make a hell of a good blackberry jam 2 birds one stone and all that!

[bellebouche]

I added it as an ingredient to brewmate and gave it a scaled down fermentability score relative to pure sugar. I subtracted 60% to account for the moisture/fruit pulp/skin content.

A bit of guesswork I think but still... on just a few hundred grams it's neither here nor there... and relative to it's overall position in the scheme of the grain bill even less so. No shortage of stickyness though from the mash... it was the highest first runnings I've ever had!


Blackberry. Caution, you'll have a degree of acidity there and lots of pectins.. I'm not a 'country wines' kind of guy but I'm sure there's some enzyme those guys use when working with fruits like that in brewing.

Making this one has set me off... and I've been thinking about other flavour combinations in the context of beer brewing. I may try a little kitchen science experiment at home this weekend. if it works... I'll post back!

[Spud395]

A bit of guesswork I think but still... on just a few hundred grams it's neither here nor there... and relative to it's overall position in the scheme of the grain bill even less so.

That's what I was thinking

Blackberry. Caution, you'll have a degree of acidity there and lots of pectins.. I'm not a 'country wines' kind of guy but I'm sure there's some enzyme those guys use when working with fruits like that in brewing.

Good point, I had not thought of that a bit of research needed!

Making this one has set me off... and I've been thinking about other flavour combinations in the context of beer brewing. I may try a little kitchen science experiment at home this weekend. if it works... I'll post back!

Looking forward to it

[WishboneBrewery]

Blackberry. Caution, you'll have a degree of acidity there and lots of pectins.. I'm not a 'country wines' kind of guy but I'm sure there's some enzyme those guys use when working with fruits like that in brewing.

Good point, I had not thought of that a bit of research needed!

That will be 'Pectolase / Pectinase / Pectic enzyme' then

[bellebouche]

Right,

Three weeks in primary has seen this fall to 1022. So it's close but probably has a couple of points to go. Racked off an immense cake onto a tiny pinch of DAP for it to finish it's secondary over the next week or so. Racking it off was like draining the sump oil from my lawn tractor.

First taste impressions.

Coffee. Chocolate. Toffee.

.. and I'm not talking any of your genericly shitty Nescafe, DairyMilk and a Daim bar pap here.. NOSIRREE!!

Strong, aromatic, heady and intense. Some alcohol hotness, thick chewy mouthfeel, good bitterness. No hint of hops, nor my orange. A slight herbal astringency? That was so slight I suspect it'll be lost in when it's gassed up - and with that should come a host more of dimensions in the flavour.

I'm so utterly thrilled. Bring on the winter.. I'm ready to rock!

[WishboneBrewery]

Sounds interesting, is this to be bottled or Cornie'd "Gassed up" ??

[Tony01]

This has made me feel hungry and thirsty at the same time!

[Gricey]

Jealous, jealous, jealous!

[bellebouche]

Ahhh.. no. Bottle conditioned. I think it's the kind of thing that will withstand and benefit from some considerable ageing. I'll keep a few in a box in my workshop.

Also.. .no kegging gear or gas at Chez moi yet. A project for 2011 as the very worst element of brewing for me is the tedium of bottling - it's a dreadful task.

[monkeyboy]

wow, that's some recipe. every time i read one like this i realise how incredibly unadventurous i'm being!

[bellebouche]

wow, that's some recipe. every time i read one like this i realise how incredibly unadventurous i'm being!

There's a fair degree of conservatism in contemporary British brewing... and I think a lot of that carries through to the amateur brewing world.

Plenty of people on the leading edge from which to draw inspiration, a fair few of them American. Dogfishhead/Stone/New Belgium/Rogue/Sierra Nevada etc.
We do have a few European breweries who are making interesting beers... De Moelen/Struise/Nogne/Marble/Brewdog... all have beers that make me sit up and pay attention.

[bellebouche]

ZOMG. STB. WTF etc. etc.

It's time for a taste!

I'm so right brained, so normally visually oriented... but in this case... a picture is worth... diddly squat but here goes.

Peruvian Imperial Stout by adrianfoden, on Flickr

Down to business.

Lightly carbonated. Good rocky head that's an off-tan colour, rapidly subsides to a few mm of very very fine mousse. No head retention.
Thick, glossy mouthfeel. All sticky lips after you're done.

Flavour hit is tartly bitter... but not where you'd expect it from, some aromatic hints from the rosemary... an underlying astringency. No hint of hops (Remember... IBU 66. SIXTY SIX!). The overwhelming flavour component is... Pontefract cakes. Liquid licorice.

The Marmalade? Lost... try as I might it's just not present in the finished article. Next time, I'll be adding double the quantity and into primary after a few days of fermentation.

I was having a look at http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/top-50/31 of the top 50 beers in the world on that ranking are imperial stouts.

It's... not hard. I have to say.. I plucked my recipe out of thin air and it is... without doubt... a remarkable drink. If you're at all intrigued... I'd say.. have a go at an Imperial Stout

[Gricey]

Looks fantastic. I am tempted to crack open a bottle of mine next weekend, it will be 1 month old then. Then at 3 months, maybe a couple at xmas, then 6, 9, 12 I have about 24 bottles of it plus a giant 1.5l bottle, hope it survives!