Bricksh*tter - Oatmeal Russian Imperial Stout

[Gricey]

My MT is 40 litres with a 2.4L deadspace.

You're suggesting I drain 2.7L where? Batches I've done in the past have gone along the lines of

Add mash liquor, rest
(optional) Top up, stir, 10 min rest
Collect 1st batch
Top up 2nd vol, stir, 10 min rest
Collect 2nd batch

Growing to more batches if I can't fit all the liquor in the MT. That -2.7L infers I should throw 2.7L in the bin, collect 12.8L, top up, collect 12.8L! It can't be right, surely

[WishboneBrewery]

It infers to me that your Mash tun already has a lot of liquor in it and you should drain 2.7L to the copper, top up then Drain the rest off which will total more than the 12.8L *Remember you have 30L of Mash liquor!*
You might find that your spargings in the copper are rather low on sugars (I did), and a second or third sparge might be necessary to get to your desired pre-boil gravity.
If that is the case you'll have fecking shed loads more pre-boil volume than you need and have to boil down until you reach your 'pre-boil volume & gravity', this is the route I took and I eventually hit my target OG in the fermenter.
I ended up putting 2 pans of wort on the kitchen hob and boiling them down while the copper was also boiling down too!!!

[Gricey]

aha - gotcha. Good job I'll be attempting this beauty while the missus is out, eh?

[WishboneBrewery]

Hope its a good one Mmmmm

[dynamic dave]

How long will you leave it to mature before drinking it.

[Gricey]

As long as I can get away with. Be nice to try a couple at xmas but I bet it will be better later than that...

Only way I'll let myself to do that is brew, brew, brew...

Revised recipe assuming 62% efficiency...

10241g Maris Otter (75%)
1229g Crystal 60L (9%)
819g Malted Oats (6%)
786g Roasted Barley (5.76%)
410g Torrified Wheat (3%)
169g Chocolate Malt (1.24%)

That's subbing in what choc malt I have left for barley.

If we want to dislodge any of that crystal, I have:

530g Lager
258g Torrefied Wheat
276g Black Malt
334g Munich Malt

I chose 9% crystal based on the designing great beers book saying that 9% was a regular figure for second round entries for that style in the competition they use. Similar for my barley but I can see why that can easily be switched.

Hmm, changing my efficiency has pushed my grain bill up and consequently I don't think I'll fit my mash volume in the mash tun - 35L with 13kg of grain in a 40L mashtun and 30L HLT! Whoops!

[coatesg]

Rehydration - rehydrate in pre-boiled, and cooled water at about 25C. Don't rehydrate in wort (or you may as well be sprinkling on top).

If you're brewing Friday, I would use the US05 - you'll struggle to get a big starter built up before pitching if it's not been sent out yet - and I think Birdman is right that it will make virtually no difference (even if they aren't actually the same strain!).

Have a good one!

[Gricey]

Rightio. The yeast comes tomorrow, the plan was make starter as soon as I get from work (weds) so its on stir plate from weds 7pm ish through to 9am fri, I could then crash cool in cold fridge at 9am friday to get it all to settle before pitching when the brew was done which I imagine would be 5pmish.

If US05 will be fine then to hell with it, if its the same strain I can always send in some WLP001 after it if I get a stalled ferment........*cough*

Guy at work in the Sheff Uni beersoc said, 1.130, have fun fermenting that

Currently cleaning up as I had an accident with my hefe.

[coatesg]

Rightio. The yeast comes tomorrow, the plan was make starter as soon as I get from work (weds) so its on stir plate from weds 7pm ish through to 9am fri, I could then crash cool in cold fridge at 9am friday to get it all to settle before pitching when the brew was done which I imagine would be 5pmish.

Not enough time to crash it I don't think - I tend to find I need a couple of days at least. And WLP001 isn't the most flocculant yeast either.

Guy at work in the Sheff Uni beersoc said, 1.130, have fun fermenting that

I think he's right! (I actually don't know what the tolerance of US05 is, but 12.7% is pushing it for most ale yeasts - and hence you need to pitch a huge amount of healthy yeast into well aerated wort to have a chance of fermenting out as much as possible).

[Gricey]

I've crashed for a lot less, but you've got many more brews under your belt than me so I'll listen

If US05 is the same as WLP001, the WhiteLabs site has it as "Alcohol Tolerance: High" which according to their bumf has it as 10%-15% before it gets sick.

I'll go the US05 route in any case. If I get stuck at a level that is too sweet, I'll get creative!

[WishboneBrewery]

I left my efficiency set at 75% with mine, just an extra 10 litre sparge and the afore mentioned boiling down to the pre-boil volume.

[Gricey]

That works. I'll go down that route.

[coatesg]

I've crashed for a lot less, but you've got many more brews under your belt than me so I'll listen

If it was WLP002, 005 or something that drops like a stone, I would definitely agree, but I never found this strain drops very well - a fair amount does, but it leaves a lot in suspension - if you get it to crash in that time and it works for you then follow your own experience (each setup is different).

[Gricey]

Hmm, my malted oats aren't crushed - is that a big deal? If it is, should I nip to the supermarket and grab some bog standard porridge?

[Gricey]

Also, brought the recipe down to 18L so that the required grains will fit in my mash tun. They don't call 'em big beers for nothing!

Heres the "final" recipe.

Bricksh*tter Oatmeal RIS (B.O.R.I.S)

Batch Size 18L

Grist Bill
8561g Maris Otter Pale Malt (79%)
542g 60L Crystal Malt (5%)
624g Roasted Barley (5.76%)
650g Malted Oats (6%)
325g Torrefied Wheat (3%)
134g Dark Chocolate Malt (1.24%)

Hops
Challenger 6.5% Leaf, 122g @ 60m (70.42IBU)
Challenger 7.0% Leaf, 90g @ 60m (55.95IBU)
Worcester Goldings 6% Pellet, 30g @ 15m (5.5IBU)

Mash
90m @ 65ºC

Boil
60m

Yeast
3 x Sachet US05. Rehydrate in boiled cooled water. Ferment @ 20ºC

Bottling
2 vols CO2 (batch prime 86.9g sugar)
Mature for 3-6 months

Stats
Total IBU 131.9
BU:GU Ratio 1.01
Target OG 1.130
Target FG 1.033
ABV 12.77%
Colour 53.3SRM