- 35 pounds Muntons Maris Otter Pale Ale malt
- 2 1/2 pounds Briess Roasted Barley
- 1 pound Briess Carapils
- 1 pound Briess Chocolate malt
- 1 pound Briess Black malt
- 8 ounces Briess Caramel 120
- 4 ounces Briess Caramel 60
- 4 ounces Briess Caramel 90
hop (Imperial Stout)
- 2 ounces Columbus whole hops (60 minutes)
- 1 ounce Columbus whole hops (30 minutes)
hop (Mild Ale):
- 1 ounce East Kent Goldings whole hops (60 minutes)
- 1 ounce East Kent Goldings whole hops (flame out)
yeast: Wyeast London ESB (from English IPA via English Bitter Ale)
comments:
Not messing around. Huge roasty, rich stout with formidable strength. The 2012 incarnation of Imperial Stout will be stronger and thicker than the prior version (2010?).
The second runnings of the mash produce a Mild ale. Unsure how mild-like it will be. More roast character made it through than I expected. Might resemble a dry stout.
batch size: 5 gallons (Imperial Stout); 10 gallons (Mild Ale)
ambient outdoor temperature: triple digits ... 100 degrees Fahrenheit plus
ambient basement temperature: 68 degrees Fahrenheit
gravity pre boil (Imperial Stout): 20 degrees Brix
gravity post boil (Imperial Stout): 23 degrees Brix
gravity pre boil (Mild Ale): 9 degrees Brix
gravity post boil (Mild Ale): 10 1/2 degrees Brix
mash details:
- start at 11:13 AM at 156 degrees Fahrenheit
- 11:46 AM at 154 degrees Fahrenheit
- 12:24 AM at 150 degrees Fahrenheit
notes:
- It was difficult to cool the wort to fermentation temperature on this 100+ degree Summer afternoon. 75 was the closest I could get. The wort cooled to about 70 degrees on the basement floor before fermentation started getting strong about 18 hours after pitching. A slow start due to the yeast sitting for too long before being reused. Next time I plan to make a starter from the yeast cake so that plenty of active yeast is ready to go. I think these batches will be fine but I was initially concerned.
- The London ESB yeast is extremely flocculent. I roused the yeast in all 3 carboys about 12 hours into fermentation. That seemed to help get fermentation going too. - Foam was billowing out of the kettle as I walked back into the garage after being away too long. This shot shows the dark beer boiling and the aftermath of a boil over on the garage floor.
- Racking the Imperial Stout to the fermenter. It was a hot day. A pint of the American Small Ale to the left.
- The spent grains cooling down. Destined for compost. 40+ pounds of grain!
- Racking the Mild Ale to the fermenters.
