It is the St Austell Brewery Celtic Beer Festival in a couple of weeks and I have been asked to donate a two beers. Roger (Ryman) gets to brew about 20 different exciting and different beers for the festival so I wanted to do something a bit special. At this almost-festive time of year, special translates as strong. Imperial Stouts are a style I have never had a go at before so this was the ideal opportunity. Imperial stout, also known as Russian Imperial Stout is a strong dark beer in the style that was brewed in 1796 by Thrale's brewery in London for export to the court of Catherine II of Russia as Thrale's Entire Porter. The beer is black and rich but the sweetness is cut through by the high alcohol concentration making it a wonderfully balanced drink. Modern US takes on the style have a very high hop content which adds another dimension to the flavour.
I wasn’t sure if my first attempt was going to be suitable for the court of Catherine II so another member of the former USSR seemed appropriate.
The beer has an ABV is 11% resulting from an original gravity of 1105. Two grades of crystal malt, black malt and chocolate malt provide the sweet roasted body. Glucose added steadily throughout fermentation gives the burn to break though this fullness. Hallertauer Northern Brewer, Perle, Brewer’s Gold, Northdown and Challenger hops provide 80EBUs of bitterness and resinous notes to the aroma.
I’m going to bottle a few cases as well. If you’re very lucky you may get to taste some.
I trust you like the pumpclip.
4 comments:
WHy is the glucose added throughout the fermentation? Does it avoid yeast stress?
Yes. Pitching yeast into very high sugar concentrations can burst open the cells due to differnces in osmotic pressure. Adding it throughout fermentation stops this and also helps to reduce the risk of glucose repression from a high glucose sugar spectrum.
Sounds intriguing, I hope I get to try it. Glasnost Rocks!
Glucose repression? Sounds inappropriate for a fine Communist beverage, comrade!
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