Fermenting an Imperial stout

[jdc567]

Have an extract Imperial stout in the primary for the last week. Malt bill: 6 #'s of Northwestern Gold malt extract, 2 #'s DME, and 3/4 c. roasted barley steeped at 150 for 30 min in 1 gal h2o and sparged with 1 gal 150 degree h2o. There is also 1/2 c. of blackstrap molassas. The yeast was Nottingham (2 packs) and the airlock is down to bubbling every 40-45 seconds. My hydrometer broke before I was able to get an SG. Thought about racking to secondary soon. With quite a few fermentables present, will my secondary time need to be quite a while (over a month or two) or should I give it 2-3 weeks and bottle and not touch it for 6 months. Any suggestions?

[YamahaXS]

Originally posted by jdc567
Thought about racking to secondary soon. With quite a few fermentables present, will my secondary time need to be quite a while (over a month or two) or should I give it 2-3 weeks and bottle and not touch it for 6 months. Any suggestions?

This isn't a huge Imp Stout (i assume you did a 5 gal batch), but big enough to warrant some of your concerns.

The amount of time in secondary will vary and should be long enough so that you are sure all the fermentables are converted. Rack it on over to secondary now, and let it sit for at least 3 weeks and up to 2 months.

Bottle when you are sure fermentation is complete. You can know this by getting stable gravity readings... probably going to be in the 1.015 plus/minus .003 range. Alternatively, you can just give it about 6 weeks in secondary, maybe rousing the yeast after week 3, and be pretty certain your fermentation is done.

I would think this beer needs at least 4 weeks in the bottle. I would start consuming 1-2 beers / week starting at 4 weeks until it rounds out. Once it matures, you'll know it, and then you can drink with great satisfaction.

[jdc567]

ooops! The roasted barley was 3/4 #, not cups, not that it matters much. Thanks for the help though.