Saturday’s second brew was one that I have been meaning to brew for quite some time now. The goal: to modify my standard imperial stout recipe slightly to make it darker and just a bit more complex. The changes: use a bit more black patent, a tiny bit more chocolate malt, and a bit of rye. I also changed my hop schedule a bit.

The wort from this beer is as dark as any I have ever made, with just enough hops on the nose and a very heavy, rich malty flavor. Notes of coffee, chocolate and rye are all apparent, and seem to be well-balanced. I’m quite happy with how this turned out.

Fermentation will be performed by two yeasts: one of my tried and true english ale yeasts, followed by the addition on day three of a scottish ale yeast that has been conditioned to handle a bit higher alcohol conditions. Expected fermentation time: Primary: 10 days at 68 degrees F. Secondary: 15 days at 68 degrees F. This beer will be kegged for force carbonation after secondary fermentation. During kegging, a vanilla bean that has been soaking in rye whiskey for two weeks will be added to each 5 gallon keg. This will be the first beer served on my new stout tap and beer gas setup. I can’t wait!

Expected alcohol content: ~10% abv, depending on how well the scottish ale yeast can handle their liquor

It should also be noted that this beer is technically an imperial porter, due to the amount of bitterness coming from black malts, rather than hops. Stouts and porters have a long, intertwined history and the terms are often used interchangeably (as I have done with this one). I guess I’m not a purist when it comes to beer styles and nomenclature.

Update 29OCT07:

This beer has been very popular on tap at the house. It’s so exciting to have a nitrogen/beer gas setup at home. This is the creamiest, tastiest stout I have ever made. It is decent in the bottle, but it is MUCH better on draught. My good friend John got married recently and I set up a couple of taps for his family in the house they rented. This beer was on tap over there and was quite a hit. They managed to polish off close to 4 gallons of it during the weekend, as well as a good amount of the pluot pale ale. Cheers, John!