Imperial Stout

1/20/04 - This year's Imperial Stout was perfectly presented recently down at Redbone's Stout and Porter Festival. We poured a firkin which had been maturing for over a month and had included an extra plug of dry hopping. Beautiful beer. Great nose, big silky body, long legs, wow. I know what you're thinking: dude, you gotta get out more. And, of course, you'd be right. The alcohol content on this beer was reduced slightly from last year and we were a bit nervous about that, thinking it might not balance quite as well. It certainly dosen't have the warming character of some Imperial Stouts but at 8% ABV it's really not out of range for the style. Another change we made was to reduce the roasted malts. We backed off both the Chocolate Malt and Roasted Barley from 5% to 4%. We felt that last year's vervion was a tad too acrid and at 75 IBU's we didn't want the added bite of too much roasted grain. I really don't think this beer needs much ageing, but it'll be interesting to taste in six months or a year. I've got my cellar stocked, but of course it's a lot cheaper for me. It's good to be the brewer.

Malt:
Pilsner Malt
Munich Malt
Crystal 120°L
Carastan 17°L
Chocolate Malt
Roasted Barley

SG 21.5°P
TG 5.9°P

Hops:
IBU - 75
Magnum - Bittering
Cascade - Flavoring
Fuggle & Cascade - Aroma
Columbus - Dry Hopping