Comments on Beer from the Motherland: Imperial Stout on my mind

Ah the temporal nature of the beer wonder! The man...

2008-06-23T15:34:00.000-07:00

Ah the temporal nature of the beer wonder! The many time-separated tastings of the Merchant I partook in.. the changing nature of the beasty.. and now only one bottle left.

unfortunately i needed an early night last night -...

2008-06-19T15:45:00.000-07:00

unfortunately i needed an early night last night - work very busy and there was football to watch this morning! i didn't actually see your comment until now (fri morn) though i did think about coming down anyway....but then i thought that on the 3rd thursday of the month you go to regionals? obviously not.....

thanks for the advice re imperial stout. i think i probably am leaning towards what you say - bottle more or less straight away once primary has completely settled. the other alternative - because it is only an 11L batch - was to get one of those small glass demijohns they sell at the homebrewshop and put it in there for six months to a year with a cork and an airlock. but that would require me to actually go out there to the Hutt and not sure when that'll happen.

I'm a big believer in letting them sit for a good ...

2008-06-18T22:40:00.000-07:00

I'm a big believer in letting them sit for a good six months before bottling, however I do that in corny kegs. The batch that I brewed in November still hasn't been bottled (due to procrastination more than anything). I think without having the capability to have it sit in stainless I would wait till you were confident that primary had ceased and bottle with a slight priming.

Come down tonight Ed if you are free, I have Hall St Porter and Berhampore Best on and Greig is down from Hamtown.

KieranI must have a chat to you about process here...

2008-06-18T21:34:00.000-07:00

Kieran
I must have a chat to you about process here. I've got an imperial stout sitting in my lounge bubbling away which I brewed up 8 days ago and for which I used saf05, billed as able to ferment to a pretty high alc content and known for its ability to just keep on eating, if given the chance. the beer started at 1108, and fermentation has gone nicely by the smell of it, with the temperature beginning quite like (pitched at 16C and having risen to 20c which strikes me as ok). anyhow, i'm sorta beginning to now wonder whether i ought to just leave it in the fermenter until it really looks like it has finished and then bottle, perhaps without priming sugars, and leave for however long (minimum 1 year i guess, though will taste the odd bottle of course). another method might be to put it in a 11litre carboy with a cork and airlock and leave that for a year and then bottle WITH some priming sugars. any thoughts?
Ed