Imperial Stout is the beer of Russian Czars, much loved and enjoyed by “Catherine II, Empress of all the Russias” back in the late 18th century.  British Brewers were exporting this beer from England to the Russian Imperial Court and around the Baltic states 200 years ago!  Big, Bold and Dark, Imperial Stout is a beer style that has captured craft and homebrewers attention over the past 20 years.  Not for the faint of heart, it is a style that needs to be sipped and savoured in the depth of a cold dark winter by a warm fire or alongside a rich decadent dessert deserving of todays modern Czars.  If it was good enough for Catherine II, aka “Czarina Catherine the Great“, and her court in the Baltic States then its good enough for us. So, what are you waiting for?

ваше здоровье! Cheers #brewhappy #drinkhappier #enjoyresponsibly

Vital Stats:

Batch & Boil

• Batch Size: 23 Litres [Please note you will need at least a 40 Litre Brewing System] Heavy Grain Load (min 30L capacity) and Sparge Water
• Boil Time: 60 mins

Properties

• OG 1.101
• FG 1.025
• IBU 75
• ABV 10 %
• Colour 124 EBC

Malt:

Amt             Name                                          Colour                   % Grist

7.50 Kg             Crisp Best Ale Malt                               (6.5 EBC)                       71%

1.00 Kg             Crisp Brown Malt                                 (135 EBC)                      9.5%

1.00 Kg             Crisp Medium Crystal 240 Malt           (270 EBC)                      9.5%

0.50 Kg             Crisp Low Colour Chocolate Malt        (550 EBC)                        5%

0.50 Kg             Crisp Black Malt                                 (1375 EBC)                        5%

10.50 Kg           TOTAL                                                                                        100%

Hops:

• Challenger UK Hops Pellets – Alpha: 8.0% – 60 minute start of boil addition
• Willamette US Hop Pellets – Alpha: 6.2% – 10 minutes from end of boil addition

Yeast

Liquid | Bluestone Yeast

• BSY-A010 San Diego Bluestone Yeast Liquid Pitch x1

Dry | Lallemand Brewing

• Lallemand Danstar Nottingham Ale Beer Yeast (Dry) 2 x 11.5 g Sachets

Method:

1. Adjust your brewing water with calcium chloride to reach 2:1 chloride to sulfate ratio.
2. Mill the grains and dough-in targeting a mash thickness that will enable your system to achieve the necessary pre-boil volume and gravity.  Around 3 Litres of water to 1 Kg of grain (a liquor-to-grist ratio of about 3:1 by weight or around 33 Litres).
3. Hold the mash at 68°C (154°F) until enzymatic conversion is complete (60 mins).
4. Infuse the mash with near boiling water while stirring or with a recirculating mash system raise the temperature to mash out at 76 °C (168 °F). Sparge slowly with 77 °C (170 °F) water, collecting wort until the pre-boil kettle volume is around 25 L (6.5 gal).
5. Add 100g of Challenger UK Hops at start of vigorous 60 minute boil. The total boil time will be 60 minutes.
6. Add 100g of Willamette US Hop Pellets 10 minutes from the end of boil. Optional extras: add Deltafloc tablet or 1 tsp of Irish Moss and Servomyces Yeast Nutrient with 10 mins of boil remaining.
7. Cool wort and transfer to the primary fermenter oxygenating wort and pitching Liquid Yeast or Lallemand Brewing Nottingham Ale yeast at 19° C.
8. Ferment at 19 °C until the yeast drops clear. Allow the lees to settle and the brew to mature without pressure for another two days after fermentation appears finished. Rack to a keg and force carbonate or rack to a bottling bucket, add priming sugar and bottle. Target a carbonation level of 2 to 2.5 volumes.
9. Store the beer in a cool, dark place and allow to age. The beer will improve over time and should mature six or more months before drinking.
10. Food compliments – rich dark chocolate puddings, heavy meat dishes e.g. Steak, Hungarian Goulash, Pies and Beef and Lamb Roast.

BeerCo Recipe Kit Contents:

• Malt – 10.5 Kg
• Hops – 200g
• Yeast – 1 x Liquid Gold Pitch or 2 x Dry Yeast Sachets

Optional Extras not included in the Kit:

• 1 x Deltafloc tablet or 1 tsp of Irish Moss 
• Servomyces Yeast Nutrient 1 x tablet
• Calcium Carbonate for water adjustments

Credits & Sauces of Brewspiration and further reading on the Style:

• Russian Imperial Stout : Tips from the Pros | BYO
• BYO Russian Imperial Stout | Style Profile
• Crisp Malt | Recipes
• BYO | Russian Imperial Stout Clones & Brewing Tips