Crisp Imperial Stout

Intense dark fruit and roast
ABV 11%
IBU 30
OG 1097 SG

The biggest of the stouts, this Crisp Imperial Stout Recipe packs intense flavours of dark fruit and roasted character from the Brown and Black Malts and a layer of caramel from the Crystal Malt. British Minstrel at flame out lends spiced berries in flavour, and strong hop bitterness comes from the First Gold and Admiral.

Find our homebrew Imperial Stout Recipe here.

BASICS

BATCH SIZE (LITRES):	1630
BATCH SIZE (UK BARRELS):	10
ORIGINAL GRAVITY:	1097 SG
FINAL GRAVITY:	1012 SG
IBUs:	30
COLOUR (EBC/SRM):	99 / 50
BREWHOUSE EFFICIENCY:	75%

METHODS / TIMINGS

TEMPERATURES
MASH TEMP:	63°C / 145°F
COLLECTION TEMP:	18°C / 64°F
FERMENTATION TEMP:	25°C / 77°F
MASH LIQUOR VOL (LITRES):	1927
LIQUOR / MASH RATIO:	2.7 : 1
TIMINGS
MASH:	60 mins
BOIL:	60 mins

INGREDIENTS

MALTS	(kg)	%
BEST ALE	597	85
CRYSTAL 240	23	3
BLACK	62	8
BROWN	31	4

YEAST
FERMENTIS SAFALE S-33

HOPS	(g)	Contribution%	Alpha Acid%	Addition
ADMIRAL	843	50	14.5	Start of boil
FIRST GOLD	699	20	7	Middle
MINSTREL	1223	30	6	Flame out

HOPS

(g)

843

Contribution%

Alpha Acid%

14.5

Addition

Start of boil

(g)

699

Contribution%

Alpha Acid%

Addition

Middle

(g)

1223

Contribution%

Alpha Acid%

Addition

Flame out

Mike'S TOP TIP

A big beer like this needs lots of yeast pitched into it, go for at least 1.5 times your normal rate and oxygenate the wort if you can, yeast food will also help the beer reach final gravity.

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Brewing Malts used in this Recipe

Best Ale Malt

Our Best Ale Malt is the workhorse of many a brewery and is at home in a variety of beer styles. The 2-row winter barley varieties that go into our Best Ale have been planted in the light, sandy soils of North Norfolk. We source the lowest nitrogen barley from our farmers.

During malting, high cast moistures and a balance of optimal germination time and temperature results in an even, well modified malt with a rich colour and balanced sweet, malt flavour which is ideally suited to ale brewing.

Discover more about our Best Ale Malt here.

Medium Crystal 240

With Medium Crystal those intense caramel flavours of thick treacle toffee are developed. To achieve these kinds of flavours the temperature is raised a further step from Light Crystal and the sugars darken further still giving the beer a deep copper hue.

Remember that Crystal Malts have no enzymes or FAN preserved so be careful with the addition rate in your mash. You want to add enough to get the depth of flavour desired, but not so much that you will have issues in fermentation due to a lack of nutrients.

Discover more about Medium Crystal 240 here.

Black Malt

The darkest of our roasted malts. When you need an intensely dark colour for stouts and porters this is an excellent malt to use. Despite its reputation as a highly astringent malt, nothing could be further from the truth. This malt brings with it a roasted character with some bitterness and astringency, but also flavours of currants and berries.

This malt can also be used for the colour adjustment of pale beers either in the mash or by sprinkling on top of the mash at the sparge stage, to impart a ruby hue.

Discover more about Black Malt here.

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