Red Star Imperial Stout

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My homebrew club occasionally does style competitions, where we each make our own interpretation of a particular target style. I have found it to be a really fun way to stretch my brewing legs and play with styles or techniques that I don’t normally do. Our February competition focuses on imperial stouts–definitely a new style for me.

I usually like the commercial imperial stouts that I sample, but when I homebrew I prefer recipes that are lower in alcohol. Five gallons of kegged imperial stout would just sit around forever. So, I elected to make a 2.5 gallon batch and bottle it. The recipe for this batch is based loosely on the Katherine the Strong Imperial Stout recipe from Gordon Strong’s Modern Homebrew Recipes book. I modified it a fair bit, to account for ingredients on-hand. Because of the small batch size, I decided to do Brew-In-A-Bag for the mash. With the high target gravity, this resulted in a fairly low efficiency (~67%). So, I added half a pound of DME to bring things up to par.

In a new technique for me, I decided to try overbuilding my yeast starter. This recipe calls for WLP001, which I use fairly frequently in-house. In fact, some of my upcoming batches will us it too, so I figured that I would harvest enough to save on buying more yeast later. Using the BrewUnited yeast starter calculator for guidance, I made a 2L starter with 202 grams of light DME and ~1/8 tsp. of yeast nutrient. After two days on the stir plate, I poured 1L (~170 billion cells) into a mason jar (December 3, 2015) for later use.

Red Star Imperial Stout

  • 8 lbs. Maris Otter malt (Thomas Fawcett)
  • 0.5 lb. golden light DME (Briess)
  • 0.5 lb. flaked barley
  • 0.5 lb. pale chocolate malt
  • 0.25 lb. British crystal 70/80 malt (Bairds)
  • 0.25 lb. roasted barley
  • 0.25 lb. Victory (biscuit) malt
  • 1 oz. Bravo hops pellets (13.2% alpha acid), 60 minute boil
  • 0.5 tbsp. pH 5.2 stabilizer (in mash)
  • 0.5 tsp. Irish moss (10 minute boil)
  • 0.25 tsp. yeast nutrient (5 minute boil)
  • 1 pkg. California Ale yeast (White Labs, WLP001), prepared in 1L starter
Procedure
  • I added the grains to 4.85 gallons of water and kept the mash at 154° to 156° for 60 minutes. I raised the temperature to 165° for a 10 minute mash-out.
  • I removed the grains and drained them. I had approximately 3.75 gallons of wort with a gravity of 1.066, for an extract efficiency of 67%. So, I added 0.5 lb. DME (as mentioned above).
  • Once the wort was at a boil, I added the hops and boiled for 60 minutes. I added the Irish moss and yeast nutrients at the appropriate times.
  • After the boil, I chilled the wort, transferred to the fermenter, and shook to aerate it.
  • The starting gravity was approximately 1.093, with 2.5 gallons into the fermenter. I pitched the yeast and set the fermentation chamber for a temperature of 68°. It was fermenting vigorously when I checked on it 12 hours later.

Beer Tasting: Pumpkin Ale 2015

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My latest pumpkin ale is nearing the end of its run this year, so I wanted to do a tasting before the keg was kicked. I’ve served this beer to a number of friends, to rave reviews (well, except for one person who doesn’t like any pumpkin beer, period, but I accept that the style isn’t for everyone!). It has done a good job of satisfying my pumpkin beer cravings for another year.

  • The Basics
    • Original gravity = 1.064; final gravity = 1.017; abv = 6.2%; estimated IBU = 13
  • Appearance
    • The beige head is of a medium consistency on the bubbles, moderate in size, and quite persistent. The beer itself is clear and medium amber in color, with no evident haze.
  • Aroma
    • This beer smells just like pumpkin pie with whipped cream on top! I pick up vanilla and nutmeg fairly prominently, with a faint vegetal/pumpkin background. Somewhat surprisingly, I don’t get any cinnamon immediately on the aroma, but I think that’s my nose. A freshly poured glass sampled later had a very prominent cinnamon aroma. I detect no distinct malt or hops aroma.
  • Flavor
    • The flavor is moderately malty, with a light caramel character. Bitterness is moderate too, and evenly balanced against the malts. I don’t really pick up much spicing, if any, in the flavor itself, except perhaps a hint of cinnamon at the finish.
  • Mouthfeel
    • The body is moderate, with good carbonation as I would like in a beer like this. It has a slightly sweet finish, which pleasantly lingers.
  • Would I brew this again?
    • Yes! Overall, this beer drinks quite smoothly and has the spices very well balanced (to my palate), so it’s more than the typical pumpkin ale which is just a lager with some cinnamon and nutmeg. This is a very solid recipe, and the beer was well-received by most people who have sampled it. My only minor change might be to dial back the cinnamon a touch next time, but that’s an easy fix.
  • Overall
    • 8.5/10

Raspberry Syrup

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Smushing the raspberries for syrup

Now that my Berliner Weisse is carbonating, I wanted to have some syrup on-hand for the first taste. Raspberry syrup seemed like a good first one, so I grabbed a pack of Trader Joe’s frozen raspberries. The recipe I’m using is from a recent issue of BYO, very slightly modified.

Raspberry Syrup

  • 12 oz. package frozen raspberries (3 cups)
  • 2 cups white sugar
  • 2 cups water
Procedure
  • I combined all of the ingredients in a small saucepan, and stirred occasionally while I brought the mixture to a boil.
  • Once the mixture boiled, I let it sit for about 45 minutes.
  • I pureed the mixture with a immersion blender, and then strained it through a fine-mesh colander to remove the seeds.
  • Finally, I transferred everything to a bottle. It made a little less than 1 liter of syrup.
The syrup is just about the right consistency to mix easily with my Berliner Weisse. The results are quite tasty!

80 Shilling Ale Kegged

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Today I kegged my 80 shilling ale – it has been in the primary fermenter for just over two weeks. Final gravity is 1.016, down from 1.053, with a resulting abv of 4.9%. The beer is a beautiful amber color and has an accompanying malty and caramel flavor that is pretty nice. Time will tell how it tastes with a little aging and carbonation.