Creme Brulee Imperial Creme Stout

[beermikester]

I am attempting to clone the Creme Brulee Imperial Creme Stout from Southern Tier. I had the good fortune to try some while up at Great Taste of the Midwest, but have been unable to find any locally. If you've ever tried that beer, I'd appreciate any comments on the recipe below. The beer is very sweet (almost chewy), lots of caramet, and creamy with a nice vanilla flavor. It is one that would definitely be considered a dessert beer.


2-Row Malt: 16 lb
Crystal 120: 3 lb
Cara Pils: .5 lb
Lactose: 1 lb

Columbus 13.9%, 60 min: 0.6 oz
N. Brewer 8.5%, 5 min: 1.0 oz

Wyeast 1028 London Ale yeast

Mash at 156 deg. Ferment at 68 deg.

2 oz Vanilla Extract added to secondary


OG: 1.097
FG: 1.020
ABV: 10.25%

[Mike C-Z]

corrected

[Mike C-Z]

Here's the clone recipe from Brew Your Own:

17.5# 2-row
1.5# flaked barley
1.5# Belgian Black malt
10 oz. lactose
12 oz. caramelized white cane sugar* (last 2 minutes)

18.1 AAU Columbus pellets - 60 minutes
9.2 AAU Chinook pellets - 30 minutes
3 vanilla beans split and deseeded at end of boil
1 tsp ground cardamom powder at end of boil

1/2 tsp of yeast nutrient last 15 minutes of boil
1/2 tsp Irish moss last 30 minutes of boil

use White Labs Dry English Ale or Wyeast London Ale yeast

*To caramelize - place sugar in in a sauce pan over medium heat. Stir constantly until it turns to a thick liquid and becomes a medium amber color. Add to boiling wort immediately before it hardens.

[beermikester]

Hmmm. I hadn't seen that one in BYO. But the Southern Tier website has the following listed for ingredients:

2-row pale malt / dark caramel malt / vanilla bean / lactose sugar / kettle hops: columbus / aroma hops: horizon

I added cara pils to mine just to give it a little more body, used vanilla extract instead of vanilla bean just because I happened to have it around, and substituted Northern Brewer for Horizon as STL Wine and Beer didn't carry Horizon. Interesting that most sites list Magnum as a substitute for Horizon, but I can't imagine using Magnum as an aroma hop. So I figured I'd probably be okay with Northern Brewer. I wouldn't think a beer like this would have much hop aroma, though.

I did notice that their website lists the ABV at 9.6%, so mine is a bit high, so I will back off on the 2-row a bit. Also, I do like the idea of adding black malt for more color and a touch of roastiness. I don't think I will go with 1.5 lb, though. So right now, my modified recipe is:

2-Row Malt: 14.5 lb
Crystal 120: 3 lb
Cara Pils: 0.5 lb
Roasted Barley: 0.25 lb
Lactose: 1 lb

Columbus 13.9%, 60 min: 0.6 oz
N. Brewer 8.5%, 5 min: 1.0 oz

Wyeast 1028 London Ale yeast

Mash at 156 deg. Ferment at 68 deg.

2 oz Vanilla Extract added to secondary


OG: 1.092
FG: 1.020
ABV: 9.6%

[astx813]

I have had that beer, it was impressive on the palette. So rich I could only have a few ounces (split a bomber with 5 friends), but it was quite the beer. I would love to know how this comes out.

[siwelwerd]

Crystal 120: 3 lb

That's quite a lot. I'd suggest toning that down a touch. But more importantly, and this applies to a lot of beers, I would suggest splitting that up into a few different grades of crystal (say, a half pound of 80, a pound of 120, and a half pound of 150). This will give you a little more depth of flavor than using just the one crystal malt.

Regarding the hopping: Horizon is most often used as a clean bittering hop. It's a bit hard to find, Magnum is my go to replacement for a neutral bittering (I have also used Warrior). So that's why you see Magnum listed as a Horizon substitute.

[beermikester]

Yeah, that is a lot of crystal malt. The beer does have a lot of caramel flavor, along with milk creaminess and vanilla. I did like the idea of caramelizing sugar, as the BYO recipe had that Mike C-Z posted. But I'd doubt they caramelize a bunch of sugar for beer sold on a commercial scale, and I wanted to try to get close to the original flavor. Depending on how this batch turns out, I may revisit the caramelized sugar idea.

I do like the idea of mixing up the crystal malts. As you suggested, a mix of 80, 120, and 150 would give it a little more complexity and depth. Unfortunately, I had already started brewing when I saw your post.

I will say, though, that the wort smelled amazing. I hit an OG of 1.100, and managed to keep my mash temperature very close to the desired temp of 156 despite the cold weather yesterday. It started bubbling within about 2 hours, and was vigorously fermenting away this morning. I'm really looking forward to seeing how this turns out.

[bmock]

I, being lactose tolerant, will try this for you.