I racked my imperial stout into secondary this morning. I am trying a new rig for keeping the fermentation at desired temperatures that my friend Brian recommended. My friend Steve made the awesome lid. All went well as the pictures show it even began to bubble again right away. The beer is at a specific gravity of 1.048 or so and it is already tasting pretty darn good. :-) I am looking forward to bottling this one and getting to share it. Thanks a ton Brian and Steve!
2 comments:
Tom,
Your blog is really pretty. I might be tempted to put one up if I can get it to look this nice.
Next time we have a good Saturday at James' we could brew a batch of black beer to smooth out your technique - and drink beer. Looks like you will get a good batch of stout, although not quite Imperial.
The only mods I might have made are:
Mash with about 1 liter of water per pound of grain, how's that for hybrid units? You're looking for the mash to be about the consistency of thick oatmeal, still liquid but easily stirred. 158F is perfect.
With this temperature - which utilizes my favorite enzymes - you could extend the mash time to as long as 90 minutes. During the last half hour raise the temp to 170F while stirring. Then rinse the grain with another gallon of 170F water. I would expect to see 1.070+ for 12 pounds of grain.
Boil wort plus liquid malt for about an hour, adding hops as needed. You want to boil as much wort as possible (i.e., as close to 5 gallons as you can). In the end you should have reduced the volume by 10%-20%. Add flavoring hops just as the boil completes. No aroma hops till the secondary.
An Imperial stout should go into primary at about 1.100 or more - depending on your taste. Some people use a double batch of yeast at high gravity.
Glad to see such vigorous fermentation. London ale yeast will really bring out the flavors as will temps around 65-70F.
Well, you've given me the bug again, so maybe I'll cook up a batch of black beer Sunday. hmnmm, wonder if I have any yeast?
Carl
Mmmmm...beeeeeeer...
- Steve
Post a Comment