First imperial stout advice

[LlewellynBrewHaus]

So I got the haven't brewed in 3 weeks itch and have set my sights on a Russian imperial
http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/r ... lord-clone
I've never done a RIS and this one is a BIG boy
I'm still going to scale the recipe and need to beg borrow and steal some equipment to mash the monster
1. For those that have brewed this style would a partial mash and adding light dme to reach gravity points age the same as doing 2 separate mashes ?
2. Planning 4 smack packs in a 3 L starter of wy 1968 and 1056 together
3. Any and all advice/feedback to educate the noob
Prost!

 

[Head First]

With big beer's fermentation is the key IMO. Will those yeast's live to finish in that much alcohol? DME to reduce mash volume shouldn't be a problem with that grain bill. Brew On

 

[bilhelm96]

I don't think you will get to an ABV of 15% with the yeasts you are using. They top out around 9-11%. You might want to reduce the grain bill to shoot for the 11-12% range or consider using a wine yeast to help get the extra fermentation.

 

[PZ]

I can hear the boos already, but would you consider cutting your teeth on something in the 10% range? The advantages are: a) it will be ready to drink much faster, though still would need weeks of aging and b) you have a prayer of having a liver by the end of the batch

The Wyeast 1028 and 1728 (or White Labs equivalents) would be able to handle a more modest brew and give good results (although 1056 would work also). And instead of making a starter, why not just make a 5% beer and rinse the yeast?

Good luck. I admire your courage. When I want a beer like an RIS I generally find something good on draft nearby -- very nearby.