Oatmeal Stout (AG) recipe Critique

Hey everyone. I'm going for an Oatmeal stout with a lot of body and maltiness. I'd also like to have hints of chocolate and coffee, without messing with actual chocolate or coffee. Below is my first shot at the recipe, please let me know what you think.

Type: All-Grain
Date: 4/3/2008
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Size: 5.72 gal
Boil Time: 60 min

Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU
8 lbs Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain
1 lbs Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM) Grain
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain
8.0 oz Chocolate Malt (450.0 SRM) Grain
8.0 oz Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM) Grain
2.00 oz Fuggles [4.50 %] (60 min) Hops 30.8 IBU

Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.058 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.015 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.60 %
Bitterness: 30.8 IBU
Est Color: 33.2 SRM

I haven't chosen a yeast yet. Any suggestions? I prefer to use dry yeast, but suggestions for liquid yeast will be considered.

Thanks!

Mash it at 155.
Don't go over 60 minutes on your mash or it will over attenuate. (I'd go 45)
Grain bill looks good.

Recipe looks good.

I'd go with Safale - 04, and English Ale yeast. Will not dry out as much and will leave you a fuller mouthfeel.

For some nice coffee flavor you may want to try Coffee Malt. I got it from Austin Homebrew last time i did a stout as a substitution for chocolate malt as they were out of stock. I only used 1lb and it has a very slight hint of coffee. I think next time i'd use 2 lbs, but i really did like the result it gave.

Just a thought.

You might consider using 60L crystal, or something around there, to get something more like caramel, rather than raisins and dark fruit. That's really up to you, though, as I don't think dark crystal is a mistake or clashing here.

I certainly would consider cutting the IBUs down to around 20 or so. You will still have planty of bitterness from the chocolate malt and roasted barley, and the lower IBUs let that dark malt character come through a little more smoothly.

If you want, you can even bump up the oats to 1.5# for more body. I did that recently, and I had no problems with the mash. Speaking of mashing, you could mash somewhere around 157 if you wanted to.

All this reminds me that I need to put my Raffle Oatmeal Stout in the database. It's a bit of an odds-and-ends recipe, but it came out pretty good.


TL

TexLaw said:

You might consider using 60L crystal, or something around there, to get something more like caramel, rather than raisins and dark fruit. That's really up to you, though, as I don't think dark crystal is a mistake or clashing here.

I certainly would consider cutting the IBUs down to around 20 or so. You will still have planty of bitterness from the chocolate malt and roasted barley, and the lower IBUs let that dark malt character come through a little more smoothly.

If you want, you can even bump up the oats to 1.5# for more body. I did that recently, and I had no problems with the mash. Speaking of mashing, you could mash somewhere around 157 if you wanted to.

All this reminds me that I need to put my Raffle Oatmeal Stout in the database. It's a bit of an odds-and-ends recipe, but it came out pretty good.


TL

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I went back and forth with the 60L and 120L, after reading your comment, I think I will go with the 60.

Also, the reason I had so much hops was reading some others advice about a 1:1 IBU/gravity ratio. Now, I didn't come anywhere near that because that seems WAY too hoppy for me, but I was afraid of not having enough to balance. I will drop it though, definitely.

That 1:1::IBU:OG ratio is good for an IPA or IIPA, but I never would do that for an oatmeal stout (or any stout, for that matter). Stouts are about the grains, not hops, and those dark grains don't need hops to balance them. They already are bitter enough on their own You already figured that out, though.


TL

TexLaw said:

That 1:1::IBU:OG ratio is good for an IPA or IIPA, but I never would do that for an oatmeal stout (or any stout, for that matter). Stouts are about the grains, not hops, and those dark grains don't need hops to balance them. They already are bitter enough on their own You already figured that out, though.


TL

Click to expand...

Right. The site that I saw that on was beersmith.
http://www.beersmith.com/blog/2008/03/14/brewing-an-irish-stout-beer-recipe/

I know an irish stout is different from an oatmeal stout. But as you said, 1:1 I think is too hoppy for ANY stout.

Finally got a chance to try this brew, I did go with the crystal 60 over the 120, but I did stay with the 2 oz of fuggles. Also, I didnt weigh the oats, but I put half of one of those big things of quaker oats in there, and they are 2 lbs, 10 oz, so I probably had closer to a pound and a half.

It was absolutely delicious!! My new favorite stout!! (Ok, maybe I'm biased). Its probably not quite as good as sam smith's, but its still very young, and I am 100% confident it will be far better within a couple of weeks.

I highly recommend.