KBS Imperial Stout

[Braindead]

Brewing a nice 10.5% breakfast stout.
Anyone got a good water profile for this kind of beer.
Theres. hell of a lot going into this and want the water profile really dialled in.
Thanks, using BeerSmith to work the additions out

 

[strange-steve]

One of my all time favourite beers, good luck with it :thumb:
Personally I'd go for something like:
Ca: 125-150
Na: 50
SO4: 80
Cl-: 160
Alk: 120 (mash water only)

What recipe you brewing btw?

 

[Braindead]

Founders KBS clone

5 US Gallons

13.25 lbs pale malt
1.5 lbs flaked oats
.75 lb roasted barley
.75 lb Belgian choc. malt
.50 lb Belgian debittered black malt
.5 lb 120L crystal malt

Hops

1.0 oz Nugget 13% aa (60 mins)
1.25 oz Willamette 5% aa (25 mins)
1.75 oz Willamette 5% aa (10 mins)

2.5 oz Belgian bittersweet chocolate (15 mins)
1.5 oz unsweetened cocoa nibs (15 mins)
2.0 oz ground Sumatran coffee (flameout)
2.0 oz cold-brewed Kona coffee (secondary)
0.25 oz Bourbon French Oak chunks soaked in bourbon

American or California Ale yeast ive gone for Yeast 1056

Boil Time 90 mins
IBU. 73
SRM 60
Specific gravity 1.092
Assumed Efficiency 75%

Prob skip the Kona coffee as its crazy expensive

 

[Braindead]

Been scouring around and theres some vast differences in profiles
Palmers for an Imperial Stout is
Ca: 70
Na: 80
SO4: 100
Cl-: 100
This calls for Calcium Carbonate which i`ve never used as an addition before.
Christ Im torn as I want this perfect.
Does the calcium carbonate have to be food grade or would this suffice https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Calcium-...hash=item4641bacd58:m:mrjdstXw7gmF1WT0V5wZkIA

 

[Braindead]

Fermentation has stalled out t 1.030.
Any suggestions how to kick start.Not paying for another expensive yeast.
Maybe disturbing the yeast on the bottom?

 

[Ajhutch]

What is it ‘supposed’ to finish at?

 

[Braindead]

I used Wyeast 1056
I was aiming for around 1.019
I batch sparked for the first time and my efficiency was quite bad so came up short on my OG

 

[Ajhutch]

Did you use a pitch rate calculator, make a starter etc? Did you hit your mash temperature (didn’t overshoot)? I’m a bit out of my depth with beers this size to be honest! Maybe try a US05 and see if it starts up and if not then it’s probably just done. With all that dark malt and other bits and bobs it’ll still taste amazing with that FG

 

[Braindead]

Yeah I made a starter. I was thinking of adding a little US 05, ill have to use some when I come to carb it too. It does taste good at the moment just want a lil extra alcohol bite.
Going to sit it on bourbon barrel chunks and a good slug of bourbon yet.
Roll on Christmas when its ready lol

 

[Ajhutch]

I use the Mr Malty app and find I can use a little less yeast than it says. For 5 US gallon of 1.090 it recommends a 3.2 litre starter with one pack of liquid yeast.

It does sound great. I did a slightly smaller imperial stout recently, I bottled 5 litres straight up, 5 litres with bourbon barrel chunks and 5 litres with bourbon barre chunks and cocoa nibs.

 

[Braindead]

Did the chunk flavour come through?
I need to add more nibs too, want it more chocolate tasting

 

[Ajhutch]

That’s a good question. I don’t have a huge amount of experience with wood in beer. That version does feel ever so slightly thinner in body than the original and I wonder if that is a bit of the effect of the tannins from the wood. The bourbon most definitely came through, the chunks didn’t smell very strongly bourbon-y but the beer does, possibly slightly too much for my tastes. I haven’t actually bottled the cocoa one yet, I added a second charge of nibs as I wasn’t happy with the level of chocolate.

 

[BeerCat]

My RIS finished at 1032 but had 20% roast malts.