iheartcraftbeer

Recipes 

Hey gang,

I want to brew the Founders Breakfast Stout clone this weekend. Here is the link to the extract + specialty grain recipe: http://www.byo.com/stories/issue/article/issues/258-januaryfebruary-2009/1911-founders-brewings-breakfast-stout-clone

The recipe calls for steeping the grains, including the oats. The general concensus is, that is a bad idea. So my question is, what should I do with them? Can I mash JUST the oats and steep everything else? How would I go about that? I have read you must use some pale malt when mashing.

I would like to stay as close to the clone recipe as possible, but I also want to make sure the oats shine through because I think they are a crucial element to this beer.

Suggestions?

Cheers,
JB

In secondary: O-Rye-O State Pale Ale
Drinking: Hunny Bunny Wheat

PT Ray

Recipes 

You'll need about a pound of 6-row to mash 22 oz of oats, about 1-1/2 lbs if using 2-row. If you don't include one of the two you'll have no conversion using just the malts in the recipe.

iheartcraftbeer

Recipes 

Thanks PT. So should I mash the oats and 6-row with, say, about 3.5 L of water, and steep everything else according to the recipe? Should I reduce the amount of steep and sparge water to account for the removal of the oats?

And then just mix the two worts together in the kettle?

PT Ray

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If you use instant oats just mix it with all the grains and add 1.25 quarts of 172 degree water for every 1 lb of grain and that should put the mash in at about 150-155 degrees. Maintain temp for at least an hour and then rinse/sparge with 1.75 quarts of water at 168 degrees for every pound of grain. Then follow the rest of the BYO directions after that.

iheartcraftbeer

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Well see, that's the thing. I was really hoping to stick to the extract + specialty grain instructions as much as possible, while still getting as much out of the oats as possible. In other words, I don't want to do the "full" mini-mash if I can avoid it. Is there a way for me to do a mini-mash for the oats ONLY, and just steep the rest of the grains? Or would that just make it more difficult than doing the full mini-mash?

PT Ray

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Oatmeal tends to get gummy and the additional grains will minimize having to deal with a blob of goop is why I suggested it. But you can certainly just mash the oats and base malt by itself and then combine the two worts.

Honestly, if you would really like to do it as instructed don't sweat the "oats must be mashed" debate and just make it. Maybe try a mini-mash on a simple recipe, it's not all that difficult.

iheartcraftbeer

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Thanks again PT. I did my first minimash a few weeks ago and you're right, it wasn't that difficult. I may try to mash just the oats and base malt together. So my question now is, how should I account for the base malt addition? Do I need to remove some of the DME or LME from the recipe? If so, how much?

PT Ray

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I don't see a pound or so of base malt making a big contribution to the original gravity. If it was several pounds than yes. It does seem odd the recipe calls for 1.7 lbs of DME. 3 lbs is a common size bag so why not just say half a bag?

iheartcraftbeer

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Yeah I thought that was a bit peculiar as well.

OK thanks for all the suggestions. I'll report back with my findings.

jaynik

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Why not try the recipe as-is? Do you have reason to believe it has not been tested and proven?