Three Floyds Brewing Company: Dark Lord clone

Three Floyds Brewing Company: Dark Lord clone

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.169   FG = 1.054
IBU = 100+ SRM = 73 ABV = 15%

Dark Lord is a truly unique Russian imperial stout brewed with coffee, Mexican vanilla, and Indian sugar. It features notes of mocha and charred fruit, and has a “motor oil-like consistency.” Note the extended total boil time . . . this is not your typical evening brew session.

Ingredients
27.8 lbs. (12.6 kg) Great Western Northwestern Pale Ale malt (4 °L)
1.7 lbs. (0.77 kg) Simpsons Golden Naked Oats® malt
10.2 oz. (289 g) Simpsons medium crystal malt (55 °L)
13.3 oz. (377 g) Crisp extra dark crystal malt (120 °L)
1.3 lbs. (0.59 kg) pale chocolate malt (200 °L)
1.1 lbs. (0.5 kg) Simpsons chocolate malt (430 °L)
13.6 oz. (385 g) Simpsons black malt (550 °L)
9.4 oz. (266 g) flaked oats
2.7 lbs. (1.2 kg) Jaggery/Panela/Gur sugar (10 °L) (10 min.)
18 mL CO2 hop extract (Start of boil) (62% alpha acids)
1 tablet Whirlfloc® tablet (10 min)
0.5 tsp. Yeastex nutrient (10 min)
2 Mexican vanilla beans
2.5–5 oz. (71-142 g) coffee beans
2 packs Wyeast 1968 (London ESB Ale) or White Labs WLP002 (English Ale) yeast
2 packs Wyeast 1056 (American Ale) or White Labs WLP001 (California Ale) yeast
Lallemand CBC-1 or other high alcohol tolerant yeast strain (if priming)
2⁄3 cup (133 g) dextrose (if priming)

Step by Step
Before brew day, pitch two packs each of Wyeast 1968 and 1056 (White Labs WLP002 and WLP001, respectively) into a 0.8 gallon (3 L) yeast starter on a stir plate (Equates to pitching rate of 1 million cells per mL wort per degree Plato). When yeast flocculates, place the starter in the fridge and store until brew day. The brew day will require two mashes, referred to here as Mash #1 and Mash #2.

On brew day, mill 16.7 lbs. (7.6 kg) of pale ale malt and dough-in with 22.25 quarts hot water (21.1 L), targeting a mash at 159 °F (70.6 °C) (Mash #1). Hold until enzymatic conversion is complete. If your system allows, raise the mash temperature to 168 °F (76 °C) and recirculate the wort until clear. Sparge with 170 °F (77 °C) water to collect 6.5 gallons (25 L) of wort. If your boil off volume is greater than 10% per hour, adjust the amount of wort you collect accordingly. Take a specific gravity reading and, if needed, add light dried malt extract to reach a specific gravity of 1.065. Heat to a boil and add the hop extract. Boil for 4 hours.

Time Mash #2 so that the wort from Mash #1 has boiled for at least 4 hours before you begin to collect the first runnings from Mash #2 into the boil kettle. For Mash #2 mill 11.1 lbs. (5 kg) of pale ale malt along with the remaining grain and dough-in with 22.25 quarts of hot water (21.1 L), targeting a mash at 159 °F (70.6 °C). Hold until enzymatic conversion is complete. If your system allows, raise the mash temperature to 168 °F (76 °C) and recirculate the wort until clear. Collect 3.5 gallons (13.2 L) of first runnings wort in the boil kettle to reach a total volume of 6.5 gallons (25 L). If necessary, sparge with 170 °F (77 °C) water to bring the volume up to 6.5 gallons (25 L) of wort. The specific gravity of the wort in the kettle at this point should be about 1.124. Boil for 90 minutes adding Whirlfloc, yeast nutrient, and sugar at 10 minutes. Before cooling, take a specific gravity reading and, if needed, add light dried malt extract to reach a specific gravity of 1.169 and a final volume of 5.5 gallons (20.7 L).

Chill the wort to 62 °F (16.7 °C). Oxygenate with pure oxygen for 90 seconds before pitching the yeast starter (decanting the spent wort first). Ferment at 62–64 °F (16.7–17.8 °C). After 12–24 hours of fermentation, oxygenate with pure oxygen for 60 seconds. Hold the fermentation temperature at 62–64 °F (16.7-17.8 °C) for 7 to 10 days before raising the temperature up to 70 °F (21.1 °C) for 7 days to perform a diacetyl rest and ensure a complete fermentation (final specific gravity of ~1.055). Rack to secondary fermenter and leave for 1 to 3 weeks. (Due to extreme viscosity, racking this beer can take an incredibly long time).

Before or after racking the beer to the secondary, prepare a vanilla bean tincture: Cut open two Mexican vanilla beans, making sure to scrape out the seeds, and cut the pods into pieces. Place the vanilla seeds and pods into just enough neutral spirit (like vodka) to cover, and age for 5 days before adding it directly to the secondary fermenter. Age the beer with vanilla bean tincture for a minimum of 3 days.

If barrel aging, rack the beer into barrel after secondary fermentation and age to taste. My “brandy barrel aged with vanilla beans” version of this beer was aged in a brandy barrel with an additional vanilla bean tincture for six months before kegging (read on).

If bottling add 2.5–5 oz. (71-142 g) of whole Intelligentsia Black Cat (pre-2014 Dark Lord) or Dark Matter Unicorn Blood (2014–2015 Dark Lord) coffee beans (in a muslin bag) to the beer in secondary fermenter and age for 24 to 48 hours, preferably at 38 °F (3 °C). Rack the beer to a bottling bucket and add a fresh packet of yeast to assure proper carbonation. Lallemand CBC-1 and Safale US-05 are two good options that can handle the high ABV. Carbonate aiming for a carbonation level of 2–2.2 volumes of CO2. Once carbonated, condition the beer at cellar temperature for several months.

If kegging, add 2.5–5 oz. (71-142 g) of whole Intelligentsia Black Cat (pre-2014 Dark Lord) or Dark Matter Unicorn Blood (2014–2015 Dark Lord) coffee beans (in a muslin bag) to empty keg and rack the beer into a keg, aging on coffee beans for 24 to 48 hours, preferably at 38 °F (3 °C). Remove the beans and aim for a carbonation level of 2–2.2 volumes of CO2. Once carbonated, condition at cellar temperature for several months.

Partial mash option:
Substitute the pale ale malt in the all-grain recipe with 14.6 lbs. (6.6 kg) Briess extra light dried malt extract and 9.4 oz. (266 g) Weyermann Carafoam® malt. Prepare yeast starts as described in the all-grain recipe. On brew day, crush the steeping grains and place them in two steeping bags. Steep the bags at 155 °F (68 °C) in 20 quarts (18.9 L) of water for 20 minutes. Rinse the grains with 4 quarts (3.8 L) of 170 °F (77 °C) hot water. Add dried malt extract (DME) and water to achieve a pre-boil volume of 6.5 gallons (25 L). Boil for 60 minutes, adding the hop extract, sugar and yeast nutrients at the specified times. Follow the remaining portion of the all-grain recipe.