I’ve had my Russian Imperial Stout in bottles now and it’s ready for drinkin’. I’m a big stout fan but this one was lacking in what I’ve found in store bought versions. My RIS had no body, was a tad bit bitter, not an inkling of sweet and it finished pretty bitter. The head was gorgeous and the color was spot on but it was definitely a weak first attempt. I’m going to give a couple of bottles to some guinea pi…er I mean friends of mine who are dark beer drinkers and try to get a critical analysis. I would love some critiquing on here as well if you would. I can provide any pertinent info you may need to diagnose. Thanks!
First thing we’d need to see would be your recipe
Here are the ingredients:
6.6 lbs. dark LME
2 lbs. dark DME
8 oz. Maltodextrin
8 oz. Caramel 60L
8 oz. Roasted Barley
8 oz. Black Patent
1 oz. Bittering (Cascade)
.5 oz Aroma
Danstar Nottingham Dry Yeast Packet
The recipe looks allright but perhaps your dry yeast selection could be different. Maybe Windsor instead of a high attenuator like Nottingham. You’d have a bit more sweetness and body.
Being my first brew and all I was very careful about directions/temps/sanitation. I did miss my OG though. Should’ve been a minimum of 1.078. Mine was 1.076. Used bottled water instead of tap which I later read that my hard faucet water sans the chlorine would be good for a stout. Would a different yeast solve all of those problems or should I look into other areas as well?
It’s a start with the yeast. Though the water might have more of an affect on an all-grain version it also plays a little with the hops too. My guess is that you’ll see a noticeable difference with another type of yeast.
Someone else will probably chime in with some good advice and a different perspective. 
Excuse me massah, but doesn’t more attenuation lead to dryness?
Yes, the OP used Nottingham and complained of lack of body and sweetness (too dry). Euge is suggesting Windsor which attenuates less and would therefore leave more body and sweetness to the beer.
Ya beat me to it.
I wouldn’t worry about the OG being off by 0.002. It will have some effect, but I don’t think it would be drastic. I agree a different yeast would help.
How about adding some Cara-Pils to the steeping grains to beef up the body and mouthfeel?
Thanks for the suggestions! I’ll try Windsor and add carapils. Two more questions though; how much of the carapils should I add and is it safe to assume that Windsor is a good yeast for stouts in general?
How long has it been since you bottled it? It does sound like you need to make some changes with yeast and process but stronger beers need time to mature in the bottle before they start tasting ‘normal’… just my opinon.
Can’t comment on the carapils. The yeast however… There’s all sorts of choices in yeast- especially if you consider liquid yeast. You must examine the characteristics of each- some will perform better than others in varying conditions. For example if you advance to grain brewing then there will be more options in controlling the wort profile and fermentability.
For your current situation brewing with extract, Windsor is a good choice. You certainly could use a liquid yeast like WLP004 (Irish ale yeast). So I’d say yes to your question, though you have plenty of other options.
As EHall suggests conditioning time really makes a difference with those dark beers. I had a stout that was very sub-optimal at one month but letting the keg sit for six months changed it dramatically. It turned into something awesome! To think I almost tossed it…
Cool…I’m thinking straight, just not reading right.
It’s been in the bottles about 3 weeks.