Saint Nicholas Russian Imperial Stout (Batch #1)

Crystal 40 (5.5%) - Malt aroma, full flavor
Crystal 120 (2.7%) - Slight Caramel, Raisin, prune
Chocolate (2.7%) - Slight roast/chocolate
CarafaIII (2.7%) - Aroma, color, body & mild flav.
CaraWheat (6.8%) - Head retention
Flaked Barley (8.2%) - Head Retention, body
Roasted Barley (2.7%) - dry, bitterness, stout character
Brown Malt (2.7%) - roasted, bitterness, stout character
Aromatic Malt (2.7%) - Malty emphasis

Starter: 575 billion cells
Three Stage Yeast Starter
1st Stage - 1L of Wort/1PKG Yeast 11-03-15
2nd Stage - 1.5L of Wort 11-04-15
3rd Stage - 1.5L of Wort 11-05-15

Partial Mash
Heat 10.125 quarts of water for 6.75 pound of grain to about 162 °F (12 °F above the intended rest temperature of 150 °F). Put the crushed grain in a muslin bag and immerse it in the hot water in the brewpot. Monitor the temperature to keep it within a couple degrees of the target of 150 °F. If it is off, adjust up or down by adding small amounts of boiling water or cold water. You can also heat your brewpot. To do so, add heat for 15–45 seconds then stir the mash and check its temperature in two or three places.

Let the partial mash rest for 45–60 minutes, then lift the grain bag out and rinse with hot (170 °F/77 °C) water. Use approximately as much water for rinsing the grains as you did for mashing them.

Boil the wort for 5 mins. for the hot break and then add your bittering hops for 75 mins. We bitter at 38 IBUs with Magnum, 10 IBUs with Styrian Golding (St. Celeia) and 15 IBUs with Perle. This is the bittering addition. We add a flavor addition for 15 mins with Centennial for 2 IBUS. Our final addition of Palisade, Styrian Golding (St. Celeia) and Willamette account for about 3 more IBUs at whirlpool. Cool wort and pitch a good amount of White labs WLP 001 or Wyeast 1056 and ferment til it is done. Put into conditioning for about 5 or 6 months and you'll have an amazing imperial stout.

Dec 10, 2015
Split batch into two kegs (2.75 Gal each)

1) Added 1.5 oz Cranberry extract / 1.25 oz Chocolate extract

2) Added 2 oz Cherry extract / 1 oz Vanilla extract

Will add 1 cup of cold brewed coffee to each for bitterness and balance.

Perfect for Christmas!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/OklahomaCraftBeerLovers/permalink/932385630188360/?notif_t=group_post_mention

Fr. Bryan Ketterer review on Facebook: 1/1/2016
Home brew review for Kenneth Henderson's RIS. This is the cherry cafe vanilla version from his split batch. Second part to follow later.
The nose is a delightful cross between a gussied up Starbucks mocha and a chocolate covered cherry in cream candy. Coffee, chocolate, sweetness, cherry.
The taste follows the nose almost exactly. Coffee, chocolate, and caramel right up front and mid palate, transitioning to a light cherry finish. Maraschino cherries I believe?? The vanilla keeps me thinking of the filling in those chocolate covered cherry candies. Mouthfeel is silky smooth with very fine carbonation bubbles. If you told me this were brewed with lactose, I could believe it, though I don't think it was.
Overall, very impressed. Incredibly easy drinking imperial stout with a great balance of coffee, caramel and chocolate sweetness, and cherry. Each sip yields a slightly different flavor experience. I love the label and keep up the great work!

Kenneth Henderson stout part 2: Cranberry Cafe Mocha.
Cranberry dominates the nose along with some chocolate and just a hint of coffee.
On the tongue, cranberry takes the lead role right up front, and lingers to the very end. Some chocolate on the middle as it warms and maybe just a trace of coffee. Very nice mouthfeel once again. Incredibly smooth and soft, pretty light on the tongue for such a big and fairly thick stout.
In short, I think the cranberries take over the flavor profile too much. Chocolate is great and coffee a little weak, though it may just be outshone by the berries. Back off the cranberry by about half and the brew will be excellent. Still a delicious beer, especially if you love cranberries.