Great video David. Thank you for all the quality content. I will put this one on my list to brew. I have a Russian imperial stout I’ve been brewing for years. This recipe will be a fun change to try out.
RIS is definitely my favorite style. Just had Lakewood Brewing's Lion's Share last night. Aged in grand arome rum casks. 15.2% ABV. Such a treat. My next brew will be a RIS. So this is timely.
Awesome video David this is one of my favorite styles! I referenced your previous video when I created my own recipe for a recent brew. I really appreciate/enjoy the content🍻
Another great video, and another recipe that made it on my list. Since I am the only one who actually drinks my homebrewed beer, it’s still a long way to go, but every long way starts with the first ...beer!
Your first video that I watch. Enlightening. You are a whole brewing teacher. Completely different approach in relation to some other youtubers. Greetings from Córdoba, Argentina.
Many thanks Matias. Yes, my approach is different and it has evolved over quite some years. I have mostly educational content but also some reviews where I feel something is standing out but I am very selective.
This is a beer for me, you spoke about it earlier on, unfortunately I haven't had the Time or an empty keg, but I look forward to brew it. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and recipe, thanks again👍
Awesome video! Also, isn’t Black Patent malt one of the original key ingredients in historic stouts and porters? Maybe I’m thinking about English styles?
Nice one David! I like this beerstyle so I want to give this one a try for sure! Nice that you mentioned the mash tips for the Grainfather, I think I will need this to get my OG. One question, if I can't get a malt from the recipelist I can change it to another as long as I keep the EBC value as close as possible? Oh and yes, I think the recipe on Brewfater is stil private. Will check it later. Thanks for your hard work. Cheers
Hi :) It is best to adjust ph before you even add the grain. Brewing software like Brewfather will look at your recipe and tell you what to add. You just need to feed in your current and target water profiles.
I am interested in brewing a similar style beer, but I'd like to add a chocolate or cherry bourbon soaked, wood to the profile. Do you have any suggestions for how and when to add this to fermenting process? Also, anything you would change in the recipe to accommodate this addition?
Hi David, I recently seen some people advising to place the dark grains at the very end of the mash to avoid harsh flavours. Others suggesting cold brewing these for the same reason. . I would be interested in knowing you take on this. Thanks in advance.
This is something I have spoken about in various videos. It is nothing new and has been used way into the past. Many will not notice much difference (myself included) but some will. A well balanced recipe with quality malt is more key but I would people to try this so that they can experience the difference for their own taste.
Hi David. Following your recent advice I guess this one could be boiled for only 30 mins and adding the dark grains late right? Also, I can ferment under pressure but I currently can’t go as high as 35 C. How would you make the most of Voss kveik in these circunstances?
Great video, David! I'm planning my next imperial stout brew and I'm considering basing my recipe on one of your American stout brews. My all-time favorite stout yeast is WLP007. How do you think this Kveik yeast compares to this yeast in high gravity ales (OG > 1.100)? What about blow-off/big Krausen issues? And how long do you store/condition your Kveik-stouts? Should I just let it sit at 10 deg C for a couple of months just like my regular stouts?
Thanks Snorre. Kveik just loves high gravity, its a huge part of its history. Usually a regular airlock will be enough with kveik. Its not super explosive like some English yeast. Conditioning time with kveik is pretty crazy. I often find 4-6 weeks is plenty even with 15% beers. Its like magic really. I used to store such beers for at least 6 months before.
@@DavidHeathHomebrew Wow, that is indeed crazy. Do you think the Kveik will produce any new esters or other flavours in the finished beer compared to WLP007? I like my stouts fairly clean yeast wise.
Usually I find it to be pretty clean. Some detect an orange ester but I never have. If you are concerned about this then ferment at 20-24C or simply use pressure at any temp if you have the kit for it.
@@DavidHeathHomebrew Thank you for all your replies. One last question (hopefully): Your recipe calls for 2 pkg, whereas brewfather calls for 4 pkg. Any particular reasoning behind this choice? Pros/cons?
Sorry for some reason I missed this. Software like Brewfather will advise on this fully but you will need certain chemicals for adjustment of your water.
Hi David, Have followed your channel for many years and learnt a lot from you. I discovered that most imperial stouts that we buy have PH 4,4-4,6 and they have a bit of sour at the end. So i really wanted to test this, read a lot and found Hendo at Rockstar brewer. He recomment to use the last 10 min of the boil to adjust PH. Tried Gypsum to raise PH ta about 6 and fermentation took it down to 5,4. I havent tried it yet but i will as soon as its ready. Do you use Gypsum or Baking soda to raise PH or something else? This method seems to work well for lager except that you use Lactol to drop PH so it ends up at about 4,1 in the final beer. This topic has not been covered so much and i would love to se a video about it.
Ph is certainly something that can have a large effect on taste. I have used a range of chemical to adjust ph and find that this is something to test as part of small pilot batches so that when you are brewing a larger batch you simply know where the numbers will be and can prepare for adjustments ahead. Usual this will be premash.
Hi David, I'm trying to tweak this recipe in Brewfather to match my system...........I entered Dublin as my target water profile (which in BF is very close to what you show above). However, when I use the "auto" calculate button the "total" ions are out of whack.........Ca should be 120 but the auto calculator gives me additions that only get Ca to 26. The same with HCO3 - should be 319 but with suggested additions it will only be 16......other ions are much closer to target water profile.............what don't I understand about using this calculator?? Also, if I add the desired ph to the target water profile, it doesn't adjust to that ph (e.g. target ph entered is 5.6 but calculated is 5.3)
Have you set up for a variety of additions that can adjust your water? If so then take a further look at the relevant water section in the Brewfather documentation.
Hi David, I recently did an Imperial Stout for Christmas and is currently conditioning in a carboy. Since I will be bottling this after approx. 6 months maturation time my question is do I need to add extra yeast when it is time to bottle? If so, how do I go about doing this? Add a few granules of dry yeast to each bottle?
Hi Matthew, yes you will need to add extra yeast. The advise on this is to use the same amount as you would for the same volume for fermentation. This is not much but more than a few granules of yeast. I covered this with a guide 3 years ago now:- ua-cam.com/video/i1ptICwg8vo/v-deo.html
Would it be possible to include some flaked barley, when brewing with malt extract, there is a particular stout from wilko’s that I like. I’d like to experiment with it. Would this be possible.(due to space I can only make beer with extracts, otherwise I would have branched out to an all grain system).
@@DavidHeathHomebrew, as Denmark is shutting down again I’m going for this one as my next project but with Fermentis S-O4. Was thinking about fermenting at 19 degrees and once FG is reached raise to 22 one degree a day. Not knowing this yeast too well does that sound ok to you?
Yes, these are trying times! I am sure that will work out well, this recipe was written with Verdant in mind though so I've not tried it with anything else before. Please let me know your thoughts once you are sampling it :)
@@DavidHeathHomebrew ah, Ok, luckily I got two packs og Verdant in the fridge but I thought the alcohol would be too strong. I presume you’d go without pressure to benefit from the esters from Verdant?
Thanks David! Trying maybe to use light oak with wiskey to bring out some vanilla and then also cacao nibs to bring out some chocolate aroma and taste. This will be my first born child celebration aging beer. Tasting how it ages for years to come 😊
Interesting that you mention using two packets of Kveik for this recipe. Is there any reason for this? I expected that one would have been more than enough based on what little I know.
This Lallemand dry version of kveik has its own formulation. So its pitching rate is the same as other dry yeast strains to avoid confusion. Because this recipe has a high gravity you will need two sachets. This is unlike recultured kveik or commercial liquid kveik in terms of pitching rate.
@@DavidHeathHomebrew Really appreciate you taking the time to reply to my messages. Is there a way I can tell truly whether i should pitch normally or as if its Kveik? Incidentally, I used Lallemand Voss Kveik for the ESB I brewed and only added a teaspoon which did the job within 48 hours!
No problem Lee. Yes. When pitching from a Lallemand sachet then follow their pitch rate. If you reculture it or use farm kveik or liquid kveik then the usual kveik under pitch applies.
@@DavidHeathHomebrew, I was also curious to ser if one pkg of Lallemand Verdant IPA would do the trick but it certainly did and after one month of conditioning it’s really good. However, I try to take your advice and wait. But, to do it justice what level of carbonation would you serve it at?
I’m not a grammar/pronunciation cop, I don’t care what you do or say really, but I will let you (anyone reading this, not David in particular) know how these names are pronounced in case you’re interested. They are not intuitive. They are names of places and peoples so mispronunciation can be considered a bit disrespectful. Willamette has the stress on the middle syllable. The first and third syllable are short. So “will-aaa-mit”. Named after Oregon’s Willamette Valley near Portland where hops are grown and bred, and some incredible pinot noir and pinot gris is produced. Of course the valley is probably named after an explorer or pioneer. Not sure. Chinook is a large native American nation and region on the Pacific NW coast. It’s pronounced shin-ook’, rhymes with book. Stress is on the second syllable.
Thanks for the information :) Ive never heard anyone pronounce them any differently to how I do but I guess thats because I am within Europe. There are quite a few words said differently by different English speaking nations like “tomato” , “trub” and of course “wort”. Some words are also spelt differently “colour” , “color”. I think as long as we understand each other most of the time then its all good :)
@@DavidHeathHomebrew yup. I think it’s a bit more important to at least provide the correct pronunciation when it’s a name of a place or people, rather than just a run of the mill noun like wort or tomato. If you don’t want to use it, it won’t bother me a bit.
@@100amps I think its more a case of dialect though. Take the place “London”, this is pronounced probably more than 10 different ways in the UK alone. They are different but all correct to dialect. I imagine it is the same in the US also?
Aren’t the same words said differently in the US? I mean ive heard Americans say “Chinook” the way I say it for example. Where as you are saying it a different way.
Great video David. Thank you for all the quality content. I will put this one on my list to brew. I have a Russian imperial stout I’ve been brewing for years. This recipe will be a fun change to try out.
Great to hear Mark, much appreciated :)
Another fantastic guide, so much information and so very useful. Thank you!
Many thanks Alan, great that you find this useful :)
RIS is definitely my favorite style. Just had Lakewood Brewing's Lion's Share last night. Aged in grand arome rum casks. 15.2% ABV. Such a treat.
My next brew will be a RIS. So this is timely.
Great :) I love it too. I have some cask content planned for 2021 :)
@@DavidHeathHomebrew Awesome! Can't wait for it!
:)
Awesome video David this is one of my favorite styles! I referenced your previous video when I created my own recipe for a recent brew. I really appreciate/enjoy the content🍻
Many thanks Bradley. It certainly works well :)
Another great video, and another recipe that made it on my list. Since I am the only one who actually drinks my homebrewed beer, it’s still a long way to go, but every long way starts with the first ...beer!
Great, I hope that you enjoy it :)
Absolutely fantastic video. Super informative. Thank you so much for taking the time to make it and post it.
Thank you, I am glad you enjoyed it. I have plenty more content like this on my channel and add a new one each week :)
Your first video that I watch. Enlightening. You are a whole brewing teacher.
Completely different approach in relation to some other youtubers.
Greetings from Córdoba, Argentina.
Many thanks Matias. Yes, my approach is different and it has evolved over quite some years. I have mostly educational content but also some reviews where I feel something is standing out but I am very selective.
Another quality video, thank you for sharing David.
Many thanks Paul :)
This is a beer for me, you spoke about it earlier on, unfortunately I haven't had the Time or an empty keg, but I look forward to brew it. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and recipe, thanks again👍
Much appreciated Allan. I drink stouts of various types year round :)
i love your style of videos very informative cant get enough!
Thank you, much appreciated. I create what I would like to watch :)
Thanks David, another informative video!
Thank you :) Glad you found it informative :)
I have read that omega hornindal its a perfect yeast for heavy beers, with a little frutty notes. Great video thank you
Thank you :) Yes, hornindal will certainly work.
Great video. Thanks
Cheers 🍻🍻🍻
I'd like to know where we can vote for the next guide? I'd like to see a Rauchbier / smoke beer!
On the Facebook group :)
Great vid!! Full of info!
Great, thank you :)
Awesome video! Also, isn’t Black Patent malt one of the original key ingredients in historic stouts and porters? Maybe I’m thinking about English styles?
Yes, it certainly is :) It is a key element of malt history.
looks like a crunchy bar resting on top of crude oil... in a good way 🙂
Haha, yup!
Nice one David! I like this beerstyle so I want to give this one a try for sure! Nice that you mentioned the mash tips for the Grainfather, I think I will need this to get my OG. One question, if I can't get a malt from the recipelist I can change it to another as long as I keep the EBC value as close as possible? Oh and yes, I think the recipe on Brewfater is stil private. Will check it later. Thanks for your hard work. Cheers
Many thanks Chris, the link is now fixed :) Yes, when subbing grain just get as close as you can colour and effect wise.
Hi. David. I love your work. Thanks for helping me to brew. My question is. Do you have a recipe for a white stout
Cheers. Not yet but it is bound to come in the future. No plans yet though.
Would you ever age this beer with whiskey-soaked charred blocks of American white oak
Sure, this works great. Check out my bourbon stout recipe for more information :- ua-cam.com/video/XqqDumGY90c/v-deo.html
Bra video som vanlig og skål med kaffe
Tusen takk :)
Would it be possible to use some Cocktail Cherry in secondary to have some cherry fruitiness taste in it ?
Ive never tried cocktail cherries but I think the regular cherry would be better.
Cheers for that David. You mention a pH of 5.6. Do you mean to adjust it after fermentation? Or pre or post-mash?
Hi :) It is best to adjust ph before you even add the grain. Brewing software like Brewfather will look at your recipe and tell you what to add. You just need to feed in your current and target water profiles.
I am interested in brewing a similar style beer, but I'd like to add a chocolate or cherry bourbon soaked, wood to the profile. Do you have any suggestions for how and when to add this to fermenting process? Also, anything you would change in the recipe to accommodate this addition?
Sounds great. Check this one out , it is a different recipe but covers all steps and methods for bourbon oak. ua-cam.com/video/XqqDumGY90c/v-deo.html
@@DavidHeathHomebrew thanks
🍻🍻🍻
Hi David,
I recently seen some people advising to place the dark grains at the very end of the mash to avoid harsh flavours. Others suggesting cold brewing these for the same reason. .
I would be interested in knowing you take on this.
Thanks in advance.
This is something I have spoken about in various videos. It is nothing new and has been used way into the past. Many will not notice much difference (myself included) but some will. A well balanced recipe with quality malt is more key but I would people to try this so that they can experience the difference for their own taste.
@@DavidHeathHomebrew if we give this a go I will let you know how it goes. Thanks!
Hi David. Following your recent advice I guess this one could be boiled for only 30 mins and adding the dark grains late right? Also, I can ferment under pressure but I currently can’t go as high as 35 C. How would you make the most of Voss kveik in these circunstances?
Hi Thomas, yes for sure. Simply go as high as you can temps wise.
Great video, David!
I'm planning my next imperial stout brew and I'm considering basing my recipe on one of your American stout brews. My all-time favorite stout yeast is WLP007. How do you think this Kveik yeast compares to this yeast in high gravity ales (OG > 1.100)? What about blow-off/big Krausen issues? And how long do you store/condition your Kveik-stouts? Should I just let it sit at 10 deg C for a couple of months just like my regular stouts?
Thanks Snorre. Kveik just loves high gravity, its a huge part of its history. Usually a regular airlock will be enough with kveik. Its not super explosive like some English yeast. Conditioning time with kveik is pretty crazy. I often find 4-6 weeks is plenty even with 15% beers. Its like magic really. I used to store such beers for at least 6 months before.
@@DavidHeathHomebrew Wow, that is indeed crazy.
Do you think the Kveik will produce any new esters or other flavours in the finished beer compared to WLP007? I like my stouts fairly clean yeast wise.
Usually I find it to be pretty clean. Some detect an orange ester but I never have. If you are concerned about this then ferment at 20-24C or simply use pressure at any temp if you have the kit for it.
@@DavidHeathHomebrew Thank you for all your replies. One last question (hopefully):
Your recipe calls for 2 pkg, whereas brewfather calls for 4 pkg. Any particular reasoning behind this choice? Pros/cons?
I had some issues with some of my tests fermentation wise so I made this increase to ensure all would be fine. Technically 2 should be enough though.
You mentioned that the end beer shoud have a PH about 5.6, how do you do to get there?
Great video as always!
Sorry for some reason I missed this. Software like Brewfather will advise on this fully but you will need certain chemicals for adjustment of your water.
Hi David,
Have followed your channel for many years and learnt a lot from you. I discovered that most imperial stouts that we buy have PH 4,4-4,6 and they have a bit of sour at the end. So i really wanted to test this, read a lot and found Hendo at Rockstar brewer. He recomment to use the last 10 min of the boil to adjust PH. Tried Gypsum to raise PH ta about 6 and fermentation took it down to 5,4. I havent tried it yet but i will as soon as its ready. Do you use Gypsum or Baking soda to raise PH or something else?
This method seems to work well for lager except that you use Lactol to drop PH so it ends up at about 4,1 in the final beer. This topic has not been covered so much and i would love to se a video about it.
Ph is certainly something that can have a large effect on taste. I have used a range of chemical to adjust ph and find that this is something to test as part of small pilot batches so that when you are brewing a larger batch you simply know where the numbers will be and can prepare for adjustments ahead. Usual this will be premash.
Hi David, I'm trying to tweak this recipe in Brewfather to match my system...........I entered Dublin as my target water profile (which in BF is very close to what you show above). However, when I use the "auto" calculate button the "total" ions are out of whack.........Ca should be 120 but the auto calculator gives me additions that only get Ca to 26. The same with HCO3 - should be 319 but with suggested additions it will only be 16......other ions are much closer to target water profile.............what don't I understand about using this calculator??
Also, if I add the desired ph to the target water profile, it doesn't adjust to that ph (e.g. target ph entered is 5.6 but calculated is 5.3)
Have you set up for a variety of additions that can adjust your water? If so then take a further look at the relevant water section in the Brewfather documentation.
@@DavidHeathHomebrew Ohhh noooo, I blew it.......I never saw the screen to add other chemicals. Thank you
No problem, you are not the first one 🍻🍻🍻
Did he mention anything about why people pitch more yeast in the Imperial Stouts?
No but I can tell you that it is important so that the fermentation will be successful.
Thanks David ,planning a similar Stout soon and wanted to add a coconut hint ,any thoughts on the best way ?
Thanks Scott :) I am not keen on coconut but I understand that infusing it in vodka works very well :)
That was my first thought too. Some roasted coconut would be killer :)
Hi David, I recently did an Imperial Stout for Christmas and is currently conditioning in a carboy. Since I will be bottling this after approx. 6 months maturation time my question is do I need to add extra yeast when it is time to bottle? If so, how do I go about doing this? Add a few granules of dry yeast to each bottle?
Hi Matthew, yes you will need to add extra yeast. The advise on this is to use the same amount as you would for the same volume for fermentation. This is not much but more than a few granules of yeast. I covered this with a guide 3 years ago now:- ua-cam.com/video/i1ptICwg8vo/v-deo.html
@@DavidHeathHomebrew Thanks David!
Anytime :)
Would you ever carbonate this beer on Nitro/Beer Gas for a velvet head similar to Guinness?
Sure, that would work well 🍻🍻🍻
Would smoked malt be suitable for the Imperial Stout?
Not for a traditional but for a hybrid then sure 🍻🍻🍻
Would it be possible to include some flaked barley, when brewing with malt extract, there is a particular stout from wilko’s that I like. I’d like to experiment with it. Would this be possible.(due to space I can only make beer with extracts, otherwise I would have branched out to an all grain system).
Hi James, yes no problem there :) Its an important part of a stout recipe for sure.
What would be the best way to include the flaked barley?
You can use an existing all grain recipe and use a recipe calculator to convert it to extract for you. Thats the easiest and best way :)
Good job David , question about voss kveik, can i use with oatmeal Stout too ?
I find voss to be very multi style. It fits most ales in fact and at lower temps can be pseudo lager. Check out my videos about Voss for full details.
@@DavidHeathHomebrew, as Denmark is shutting down again I’m going for this one as my next project but with Fermentis S-O4. Was thinking about fermenting at 19 degrees and once FG is reached raise to
22 one degree a day. Not knowing this yeast too well does that sound ok to you?
Yes, these are trying times! I am sure that will work out well, this recipe was written with Verdant in mind though so I've not tried it with anything else before. Please let me know your thoughts once you are sampling it :)
@@DavidHeathHomebrew ah, Ok, luckily I got two packs og Verdant in the fridge but I thought the alcohol would be too strong. I presume you’d go without pressure to benefit from the esters from Verdant?
Yes, if you do use pressure then add this after day 5 to be on the safe side :)
Debating adding some whiskey-soaked cocoa beans into this brew, do you think it would turn out well?
I believe it would, though ive not tried it. Whisky wood chips do work great in this one.
Do you think light/medium/dark roasted, whiskey soaked oak chips works the best?
This is very much down to personal taste :)
Thanks David! Trying maybe to use light oak with wiskey to bring out some vanilla and then also cacao nibs to bring out some chocolate aroma and taste. This will be my first born child celebration aging beer. Tasting how it ages for years to come 😊
Great, sounds like a nice project for sure :)
Is Galaxy ever used in stouts?
Yes. It has some qualities that work.
Interesting that you mention using two packets of Kveik for this recipe. Is there any reason for this? I expected that one would have been more than enough based on what little I know.
This Lallemand dry version of kveik has its own formulation. So its pitching rate is the same as other dry yeast strains to avoid confusion. Because this recipe has a high gravity you will need two sachets. This is unlike recultured kveik or commercial liquid kveik in terms of pitching rate.
@@DavidHeathHomebrew Really appreciate you taking the time to reply to my messages. Is there a way I can tell truly whether i should pitch normally or as if its Kveik? Incidentally, I used Lallemand Voss Kveik for the ESB I brewed and only added a teaspoon which did the job within 48 hours!
No problem Lee. Yes. When pitching from a Lallemand sachet then follow their pitch rate. If you reculture it or use farm kveik or liquid kveik then the usual kveik under pitch applies.
@@DavidHeathHomebrew,
I was also curious to ser if one pkg of Lallemand Verdant IPA would do the trick but it certainly did and after one month of conditioning it’s really good. However, I try to take your advice and wait.
But, to do it justice what level of carbonation would you serve it at?
I think carbonation is a personal taste thing really.
Brewfather link isnt working
Thanks, I have just updated it. This should work now :)
I am from india i like ur videos, i was completion hotel management i want job in ur country thank you
Great, thank you. Best of luck :)
I LOVE YOU
Thanks Nick :)
I followed with the full guide to this style last Sunday :)
Mi piace
Thank you :)
I’m not a grammar/pronunciation cop, I don’t care what you do or say really, but I will let you (anyone reading this, not David in particular) know how these names are pronounced in case you’re interested. They are not intuitive. They are names of places and peoples so mispronunciation can be considered a bit disrespectful.
Willamette has the stress on the middle syllable. The first and third syllable are short. So “will-aaa-mit”. Named after Oregon’s Willamette Valley near Portland where hops are grown and bred, and some incredible pinot noir and pinot gris is produced. Of course the valley is probably named after an explorer or pioneer. Not sure.
Chinook is a large native American nation and region on the Pacific NW coast. It’s pronounced shin-ook’, rhymes with book. Stress is on the second syllable.
Thanks for the information :) Ive never heard anyone pronounce them any differently to how I do but I guess thats because I am within Europe. There are quite a few words said differently by different English speaking nations like “tomato” , “trub” and of course “wort”. Some words are also spelt differently “colour” , “color”. I think as long as we understand each other most of the time then its all good :)
@@DavidHeathHomebrew yup. I think it’s a bit more important to at least provide the correct pronunciation when it’s a name of a place or people, rather than just a run of the mill noun like wort or tomato. If you don’t want to use it, it won’t bother me a bit.
@@100amps I think its more a case of dialect though. Take the place “London”, this is pronounced probably more than 10 different ways in the UK alone. They are different but all correct to dialect. I imagine it is the same in the US also?
@@DavidHeathHomebrew ok. If you say so.
Aren’t the same words said differently in the US? I mean ive heard Americans say “Chinook” the way I say it for example. Where as you are saying it a different way.
Thanks David for another informative video.
Thanks Tim :)