Plan for efficiency loss
Big grain bills lower mash efficiency: count on 5–10 points less than usual or extend the boil.
Imperial Stout: how to brew it
Big, black and complex: dark chocolate, coffee, dark fruit and a warming alcohol, balanced by solid bitterness. Made to age.
Imperial Stout at a glance
- Original gravity
- 1.075 – 1.115
- Final gravity
- 1.018 – 1.030
- Bitterness (IBU)
- 50 – 90
- Colour (EBC)
- 59 – 79
- Alcohol
- 8.0 – 12.0%
- Carbonation (vol)
- 2.2 – 2.8
Ranges from the BJCP 2021 style guidelines, category 20C.
A typical recipe
For 20 L (5 gal) at about 1.095: 75 % pale malt, 8 % roasted barley, 7 % chocolate malt, 5 % dark crystal, 5 % flaked oats. Around 70 IBU from bittering hops. A large, healthy pitch of clean ale yeast, mash at 66–67 °C (151–153 °F), ferment at 18 °C (64 °F) and give it time.
Brewing tips
Oxygenate well
Oxygen at pitching is the difference between a clean finish and a stalled, sweet beer.
Patience
Two to three months of conditioning smooth out the roast and the alcohol.
Brew your own Imperial Stout
Start from the style in Mashwerk: it builds a recipe within the ranges for your kit, and checks every number as you tweak it.
Start brewing free