Imperial Espresso Stout - please critique

Hi guys, I'll try my first attempt of an Imperial Stout and I also add some Brazilian coffee at the secondary. What I would like to have in the end is an Espresso Imperial Stout where the coffee would be really present both at taste and aroma.
Please let me know what you think and if you have any suggestion…


Batch Size = 5.3 gal
Predicted OG = 1.093
FG = 1.025
ABV = 9.1%
SRM = 65

Grain bill:
Pale malt (weyermann) 13.7 lbs
Caramunich I (weyermann) 1,65 lbs
Roasted barley 1,65 lbs
Carafa Special I (weyermann) 1.00 lbs
Melanoidin (weyermann) 1 lbs

Mash grains at 156 for 40 min.
Mash out at 168 for 10 min.

Hop Schedule
1 oz. Columbus @ 90min
1 oz. Cascade @ 30 min
0.5 oz Cascade @ 10 min

Fermentation and Coffee
US-05
0.5 lbs of Cold brewed coffee (a Brazilian Espresso Blend) at secondary for 1-2 weeks

My questions are:
Will cascade taste ok in an Imperial Stout? As you can see I don't want to have a really high IBU at the end because I would like the bitterness to come from the coffee instead of the hops. Should I add more coffee to obtain that result or 0.5 lbs will do the job?

Is the grain bill ok for an Imperial Stout? Again I want the coffee to be the star of the beer , based on that, is 1,65 lbs of toasted barley too much?

Any other comment will be appreciated! Thanks!!

Why a 156f mash?
Why a pound of meloidin malt?

I fear you will get a much higher FG then you are targeting.
A standard 75% attenuation will give you a 1.023 FG.

If anything with a big malt bill, mash low, not high.

And why such a short mash?  I would go at least an hour and lower the temp to 151 or so.

Also, I would do a cold steep of the coffee, then either add to secondary, or add to taste at bottling/kegging. 

I don't think Cascade would taste good in an Imperial Stout, especially if you want the coffee to be the star.  (I don't think Cascade tastes good in any beer, but that's because I don't like sucking on a grapefruit rind when I drink beer.)

Beer_Tigger said:

I don't think Cascade would taste good in an Imperial Stout, especially if you want the coffee to be the star.  (I don't think Cascade tastes good in any beer, but that's because I don't like sucking on a grapefruit rind when I drink beer.)

Click to expand...

Hi, which one do you think would go well? Something mild...

Since a stout is English, why not an English hop?  EKG?  Fuggles?  Read their discriptions and pick one that would go well with your Brazilian coffee?

BTW, how much is a Brazilian?  Is it more than a million?