Brewer's Best Russian Imperial Stout

The Russian Imperial Stout was excellent. It's the first beer I made that I felt more than confident handing out to people to get their opinion on. A 20-year brewing veteran gave it a positive review. It's dark, strong, and delicious. And I think I owe it all to a mistake.

I was originally planning on fermenting the beer for only a week. However, I got sick and was unable to bottle it. So, it sat in a secondary fermentation bucket for an additional week. This, along with the fact that my fermentation lock clogged and caused the lid of bucket to blow off, made me worry that my beer might be ruined. I was completely wrong. By the time bottling finally happened, the stuff was smelling up my apartment- and not in a bad way. It was fantastic. If I could change anything, I might look for a slightly more bitter type of hops. Or simply more of them.

This full-bodied dark brew has an intense roast flavor with a huge malt influence. The slight hop bitterness is offset by a touch of sweetness from the grains.

Alcohol by Volume: 7.5%
Final Specific Gravity: 1.030
Fermentation Temperature: 70°F
Primary Fermentation Time: 7 days
Secondary Fermentation: 7 days

6.6 lbs. Plain Dark Malt Extract
2 lbs. Plain Dark Dry Malt Extract
8 oz. Crushed Roasted Barley
8 oz. Crushed Black Patent
1 lb. Crushed Crystal Malt
1 oz. Yakima Magnum Hops (Bittering)
1 package of Nottingham Dry Brewing Yeast

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