Update to mega RIS - variant time, need help!

General Homebrew Discussion
1

Hi all, I posted about my imperial stout earlier this year in this thread:

https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=26303.msg354214#msg354214

I kegged 3.5 gallons of it last night and it’s amazing! Thick mouthfeel, not too boozy even though it’s 10.5%, lots of flavors hitting you at once. I found a winner!

So after I kegged 3.5 gallons, I racked the remaining 4 gallons into 1 gallon carboys. My plan is to add adjuncts to each and bottle them, kind of how like Dark Lord does with the regular RIS and all the variants they do.

Here is what I’m planning right now, and I’d love to get any feedback or ideas on variants if you can think of any.

  1. Bourbon barrel vanilla bean - I have 2 long spirals of medium toast french oak spirals, and access to high quality vanilla beans.

  2. Rum coconut - was thinking toasting a bunch of coconut in the oven and add them and rum to one of the carboys. My worry is how would I get the coconut flavor without transfering while bottling?

  3. Oak aged cognac - Just a fun idea. Use part of the oak spiral and add that and a little cognac to one of the carboys.

  4. Chocolate/raspberry - I have 4oz of Brewers Best (no idea the quality) cocoa nibs, was thinking adding those and some fresh raspberries to the 4th carboy? Again would be worried of getting any in the final bottles.

Anyway, I’d love some advice or “No don’t do that!” on any of these options, and also some best practices when it comes to vanilla beans/oak spirals/bourbon/etc as it will be my first time using all of these ingredients. If you folks have any ideas for a different variant, really only #1 is one I’m dead set on doing. Thank you everyone and cheers!

2

I think you have a solid plan. My only suggestion really is to bag your adjuncts I say a knee high stocking so that you can pull them out when you achieve your desired tastes. My guess woulld be that each version will soak for different times.

Also note that your raspberries will ferment. It won’t add much as far as ABV goes, because their water content will offset that. Just make sure you use an airlock on that one.

I like your plan. I may have to try something like this along the way.

3

With the fruit you definitely have to be careful about fruit pieces getting into the bottles. Either package them in some kind of sock or porous bag in the carboy or put your siphon behind some kind of filter (same things) at bottling.

4

I’d start with small additions of oak and bourbon.  Same with vanilla.  It’s easy to overdo flavor additions, and I would think even easier with one gallon batches.

Too much oak = very tannic beer.  It may be the only time I’ve actually had astringency.

5

I’ll echo the thought of going easy on the oak.  It is easy to end up with a lumberyard if you aren’t careful.