Russian Imperial Stout (For Advanced Brewers) Recipe

Updated August 09, 2018

This is an all-grain recipe designed for advanced homebrewers. If your mash tun is not large enough to hold all 21 pounds of grain, you can substitute light dry malt extract for a portion of the 2-row malt. Use a ratio of 0.65 pounds of dry extract for each pound of malt removed. The malt extract should be added after the sparge as the wort is heating to a boil.

I recommend a minimum of 3 weeks in secondary fermentation before bottling or kegging to allow the flavors to meld and the harsher alcohol flavors to subside. If you're not in a hurry, 6 weeks of aging seems to be about perfect time.

Recipe Details

Russian Imperial Stout (For Advanced Brewers) Recipe

Active 5 to 7 hrs

Total 0 mins

Serves 40 pints

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Ingredients

17 pounds 2-row pale malt
1 pound chocolate malt
1 pound roasted barley
1 pound flaked oats
0.5 pound black patent malt
0.5 pound Crystal 120 malt
2 ounces Galena hops - 90 minutes
1 ounce Northern Brewer Hops - 30 minutes
1 ounce Northern Brewer Hops - 10 minutes
2 to 3 Liter starter Dry English Ale yeast, either White Labs WLP007 or Wyeast 1098

Directions

Mash-in the 21 pounds of grain to 154°F using 5.75 gallons of water at about 167°F (1.1 quarts of water per pound). Stir for 2 minutes to prevent balls of grain from clumping together, creating a consistent mash.
Cover the mash, only uncovering to briefly stir every 20 minutes. Heat 4.25 gallons of sparge water to about 185°F.
After mashing for 60 minutes, mash-out and sparge. You should have 7 to 7.5 gallons in the kettle. Add 2 ounces of Magnum hops and bring to boil.
After boiling for 60 minutes, add 1 ounce Northern Brewer hops.
After a total of 80 minutes, add 1 ounce Northern Brewer hops.
After 90 minutes remove from heat and chill using a wort chiller to 60°F. Transfer to a carboy and take a gravity reading.
Ferment at 60° to 65°F for 3 weeks. Transfer to a secondary carboy and age in a cool dark place for another 3 to 6 weeks.
Bottle or keg for a medium low level of carbonation.

Special equipment

8 gallon kettle (or bigger), homebrewing equipment setup with mashtun

This Recipe Appears In

Homebrewing: How To Brew A Russian Imperial Stout

Beer

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
7	Calories
0g	Fat
0g	Carbs
0g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 40
Amount per serving
Calories	7
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g	0%
Saturated Fat 0g	0%
Cholesterol 0mg	0%
Sodium 1mg	0%
Total Carbohydrate 0g	0%
Dietary Fiber 0g	0%
Total Sugars 0g
Protein 0g
Vitamin C 0mg	0%
Calcium 1mg	0%
Iron 0mg	0%
Potassium 3mg	0%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.