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Author Topic: Bottling a Russian Imperial Stout  (Read 3373 times)

Offline ncbluesman

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Bottling a Russian Imperial Stout
« on: October 14, 2016, 09:08:14 am »
I brewed 10 gallons of Russian Imperial Stout (Goose Island Bourbon County clone) on January 2 of this year. It is now sitting uncarbonated in 2 kegs conditioning at 40 degrees on bourbon soaked oak cubes. I plan to bottle all of it and would like some critique on my plan.

I plan to let the kegs come to room temperature. I will remove the oak cubes. I will a hydrate some Lalvin ec-1118 dry yeast - 1 packet for each keg. I will dissolve 4oz of corn sugar into a cup of hot water. I'll add both the priming sugar and the yeast to each keg and agitate it for a half hour to ensure it is evenly distributed then bottle into bombers using my blichmann beer gun.

Once bottled I will store them for a couple of weeks in a warm area.

Any and all ideas are welcome.


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Offline slabtownebc

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Re: Bottling a Russian Imperial Stout
« Reply #1 on: October 14, 2016, 09:48:20 am »
I am not familiar with the yeast you're using, but i think it is way to much.  The last beer I bottle conditioned  I used 1tsp of CBC-1 to make a 100ml slurry.  I then used 4 tsp of the slurry and the appropriate amount of priming sugar (120grams ish) to carbonate 5 gallons of a Dark Saison I aged on fruit with Brett for 6 months to 2.5 psi.  I am by no means an expert, would hate for you to end up with a bunch of bottle bombs, just check your calculations again.
On Tap: Marzen, Wee Heavey
Corked and Caged: Dark Saison with brett, oak, red wine and  currants (AHA recipe)           
Conditioning:  Empty
Secondary:     Fest Beer
On Deck:       Chimay Grand Reserve

Offline ncbluesman

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Re: Bottling a Russian Imperial Stout
« Reply #2 on: October 14, 2016, 10:23:06 am »
I am not familiar with the yeast you're using, but i think it is way to much.  The last beer I bottle conditioned  I used 1tsp of CBC-1 to make a 100ml slurry.  I then used 4 tsp of the slurry and the appropriate amount of priming sugar (120grams ish) to carbonate 5 gallons of a Dark Saison I aged on fruit with Brett for 6 months to 2.5 psi.  I am by no means an expert, would hate for you to end up with a bunch of bottle bombs, just check your calculations again.

Thanks for the note. The Lalvin ec-1118 is a champagne yeast. You raise a great question: I didn't think about the fact that I may be over-pitching my bottling yeast. I don't normally bottle and this beer is a beast: OG 1.127 FG 1.040. I didn't want to bottle it and end up with uncarbonated/undercarbonated bottles that I can't do much to fix.

I'll do further research on the topic.

Offline kramerog

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Re: Bottling a Russian Imperial Stout
« Reply #3 on: October 14, 2016, 12:19:11 pm »
I am not familiar with the yeast you're using, but i think it is way to much.  The last beer I bottle conditioned  I used 1tsp of CBC-1 to make a 100ml slurry.  I then used 4 tsp of the slurry and the appropriate amount of priming sugar (120grams ish) to carbonate 5 gallons of a Dark Saison I aged on fruit with Brett for 6 months to 2.5 psi.  I am by no means an expert, would hate for you to end up with a bunch of bottle bombs, just check your calculations again.

Are you sure excess yeast can cause bottle bombs?

Offline brewinhard

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Re: Bottling a Russian Imperial Stout
« Reply #4 on: October 16, 2016, 08:19:57 am »
Providing your FG is stable, adding extra yeast (yes, even champagne yeast) will not further reduce it. So bottle bombs should not be an issue in this scenario.  I think your plan is solid. Lalvin packets are only 5 grams and not the typical 11, so you could use the whole packet, but you may be better off rehydrating 1 full packet properly, then splitting the rehyrated yeast between both cornies along with your priming sugar for both kegs too.

A buddy of mine bottled up a strong saison aged in a barrel at his local brewery in this fashion with great results.

Offline curtdogg

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Re: Bottling a Russian Imperial Stout
« Reply #5 on: October 26, 2016, 03:07:08 pm »
I'm not familiar with this scenario, using yeast to bottle condition. Isn't there generally yeast left in solution and then adding priming sugar of some sort to rouse them so that they do the work?

I normally just use a calculator for dextrose mix it in with boiled cooled water and then bottle.
Of course my OG/FG has only been 1070 at he most.
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Offline brewinhard

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Re: Bottling a Russian Imperial Stout
« Reply #6 on: October 26, 2016, 04:24:45 pm »
I'm not familiar with this scenario, using yeast to bottle condition. Isn't there generally yeast left in solution and then adding priming sugar of some sort to rouse them so that they do the work?

I normally just use a calculator for dextrose mix it in with boiled cooled water and then bottle.
Of course my OG/FG has only been 1070 at he most.

Yes, this is typically the case, but in a high OG, high ABV% beer like a RIS, the yeast used to primary ferment could be pretty pooped out by now and have difficulty properly carbonating the beer in a timely fashion. Adding some fresh rehydrated yeast at bottling is a good insurance for time well spent on an expensive beer that you want to be sure carbonates.

Offline Stevie

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Bottling a Russian Imperial Stout
« Reply #7 on: October 26, 2016, 05:09:18 pm »
I think I am leaning towards agreeing with Tomme Arthur on why beers that have been conditioned for a long time don't prime. The calculators do not account for the loss of co2 in solution after the beer sits for months at ambient!

Those of you unfortunate enough to have easy access to early lost abbey bottles will remember that they had major carbonation issues. On an episode of Sour Hour he mentioned that they had much less residual co2 after aging than he thought he would. The yeast was fermenting the priming sugars, but the beers were still flat.

My next big beer is getting a solid bung as soon as it is transferred to a conditioning carboy. I might still add a smidge of dry yeast, but I think this will be a game changer for me.

If that does not work, I will condition in a keg with a very low amount co2 head pressure to keep it around 1 vol. knowing the starting amount of co2 will lead to more reliable bottle conditions.

Offline curtdogg

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Re: Bottling a Russian Imperial Stout
« Reply #8 on: October 26, 2016, 07:39:02 pm »
Thanks for helping me understand fellas.

ncbluesman, What kind of system are you using to brew?

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