brēowanthorpe

The Homestead of Beer

Imperial Stout

By thomas #30 Minute Boil, #Barley, #Beer, #BIAB, #Bourbon, #Homebrew, #Hops, #Imperial Stout, #No-Sparge, #Oatmeal, #One Gallon, #Pilot, #Stout, #Water, #Westfort, #Yeast

Codename : Westfort Fluffy Cow Imperial Stouthorpe Pilot

Having had good success with other Imperial Stouts, I decided to elevate my game, and try a bourbon stout, using oak chips and bourbon. In this case, I acquired a bottle of Buffalo Trace, to kick things up. Ergo the clever name 🙂

As there is an increased cost of resources to make this batch, I decided to scale it down by one half, and call it a pilot batch. Just in case it doesn’t work, the cost of the experiment is not outrageous.

Recipe inspiration : David Heath’s Bourbon Stout

Ingredients

  • 1 lb 5 oz Golden Promise pale malt (2.4L)
  • 3 oz Oatmeal
  • 1 oz Chocolate malt (300L)
  • 1 oz Caramel malt  (120L)
  • 1 oz Roasted barley (400L)
  • 0.5 oz Carafa Special III (525L)
  • 0.5 oz Torrified wheat (1.5L)
  • 0.30 oz Cascade hops at 30 minutes
  • 0.5 oz Maltodextrin at 20 minutes
  • 1/4 tsp yeast nutrient at 15 minutes
  • 1/4 tsp Irish Moss (optional) at 15 minutes
  • 0.10 oz Chinook hops at 15 minutes
  • 3 ml Mangrove Jack New World Strong Ale dry yeast
  • 5 g oak chips
  • 50 ml bourbon

Vital Stats

  • BJCP Style : Imperial Stout
  • Anticipated ABV : 8.1% (possibly 12% after fortified)
  • Anticipated IBU : 41
  • Anticipated SRM : 37
  • Pre-boil SG : 1.056
  • Original SG : 1.084
  • Target SG : 1.022
  • Brewhouse (in)efficiency : 65%

Brew Day

  • Prepare 4.3L strike water, 152F. 
  • Add the milled grains to the bag. 
  • Place the bag in the hot water, set the timer for 75 minutes, and maintain the temperature at 152F.
  • Stir occasionally.
  • Calibrate the refractometer, aka the sonic screwdriver.
  • Lift the bag out of the water, and allow it to drip into the pot. Every bit of sugar that can be extracted will benefit the end ABV.
  • Bring up to a boil, 212F, set the timer for 30 minutes. Add hops, Maltodextrin, yeast nutrient, and Irish moss, as prescribed above.
  • Sanitise everything required for fermentation.
  • Cool to room temp, an ice-bath or a snowbank work effectively.
  • Prepare the yeast mixture.
  • Pitch the yeast to the carboy.
  • Transfer the wort to the carboy, splash the wort around to aerate the contents.
  • Store in a cool dark place for primary fermentation for 14 days.
  • On day 7, add 5 grams of oak chips to a mason jar, cover with 50 ml of bourbon. Agitate daily to allow the bourbon to infuse with the oak chips

Bottling Day

  • Detailed instructions.
  • Prepare 0.4 oz corn sugar.
  • Filter bourbon mixture through a coffee filter to ensure oak splinters do not enter the bottling pot.
  • Bottle condition at least 6 weeks.

Brew Notes

  • I have loaned out my grain mill, and have resorted to using a food processor to grind the grain, this has hampered my BHE, adjusted the recipe to 66%
  • The late mash gravity was short, 1 oz of white sugar was added. I might have short-changed the base malt measurement.
  • The late boil gravity was also short, an additional 20 minutes were added to the boil.
  • The gravities were made.
  • With the addition of the bourbon, the anticipated ABV will be about 12%
A donated growler for fermenting, 14 days for this batch.

Brew day : 26-April-2023