How to make a stout more creamy??

So I love stouts. I love a nice creamy thick stout that I can chew. My problem is that my stouts have been watery and thin. My 1st trial I only used extract, it was my 2nd brew. 2nd try I steeped some roasted barley and chocolate malt. Both times I end up toping the fermenter with spring water. Both stouts were thin. So my 3rd try I added some Quaker oatmeal to my steep. I think I added 1/4 a cup to my specialty grain steep. This time I did a full volume boil. I have been doing 2gal batches and 1.5 gal boils. This time I used my 5 gal pot and did a full volume boil 3 gal and at the end of the boil I added .5 a pound of lactose.

My 3rd stout has been in the bottle a week now so a test bottle is in order soon.

My recipe has been like this.

3.3# dark dme
.25# roasted barely
.25# chocolate malt
.25# carapils
.25# crystal 120
1oz fuggles 60 min


I want to make a 5 gal stout because I drink them so fast. But I fear with out a full volume boil the stout will end up being water.

Ideas? input?

Thanks!

The cara is a good start for the mouthfeel. Yeast selection plays a critical role here too. The more attenuative the drier/thinner the end product. Lactose will add to the body but will also sweeten the beer.

Nitrogen dispense can also "cream" up the beer but it gets spendy.

Also Maltodextrin will add mouth feel.

I guess what you want is more "mouthfeel", which basically means adding more non-fermenting (or only partially fermentable) adjuncts.

adding maltodextrin to the boil or even MORE carapils to the mash will increase mouthfeel without changing the flavor of the beer.

Try adding barley flakes, they will add creaminess and head retention.

Anyone mention oats yet? I'm a fan of oats in stouts.

weirdboy said:

Anyone mention oats yet? I'm a fan of oats in stouts.

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Agreed :rockin:

+1 to flaked barley. It's what Guinness uses to get mouthfeel and creaminess, recipe-wise.

Of course, serving it on nitrogen contributes to that also.

weirdboy said:

Anyone mention oats yet? I'm a fan of oats in stouts.

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jmkratt said:

Agreed :rockin:

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I considered that but he is doing extract not PM.

Peregris said:

+1 to flaked barley. It's what Guinness uses to get mouthfeel and creaminess, recipe-wise.

Of course, serving it on nitrogen contributes to that also.

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In extract?

The problem with oats and flaked barley with an extract brew is that that there are no enzymes to convert the starches to sugars unless you can get some Diastatic Malt Extract. Failing to convert the starches will give you a starch haze (which you are not likely to see in a stout). I have used Diastatic Malt extract to successfully brew stouts with flaked barley (a partial mash would also work).
I have never tried using the adjuncts with non diastatic extract, so I can't say how it would work.

-a.

Right, forgot it's an extract batch...

Well if you are willing to go PM or AG, I recommend oats. Doesn't take a lot of base malt to convert the oats for a PM recipe...a pound would probably do the job just fine.

This post might be helpful:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f37/carapils-vs-maltodextrin-extract-brews-4581/

I'd go with maltodextrin if it was me, it's gonna be kinda tough to get exactly what you're looking for until you move to a mini mash and you can do flaked oats / barley.

Yeast might help some too, WLP002 perhaps?

do a ceral mash on the flaked barley then add it to the steep or better yet a mini mash with your roasted barley and some two row, it would be cloudy if it was not Black as night

Adding oats would make it an oatmeal stout. If you want a stout similar to a guiness then you definately want flaked barley. Unmalted barley and roasted barley are the signiture ingredients in a stout such as guiness. To do so you definately need to mash with a good ezymatic base malt or similar ingredient. You should also do a rest at 122 F for 20 minutes or so before moving up to conversion temperatures.

Keep in mind that you may be able to adjust the mouthfeel for a thicker beer but you wont get the creamyness that you see in guiness without a stout tap and nitro system.
I know from personal experience because I as well love stouts and always keep a stout and an ale on tap in the room. They are delicous without the stout tap but it was the creamy head that really sets them appart from other beers for me and by the way your describing it I am assuming that this is what you want as well.

Thanks a lot all! Still one question not doing full volume boils and adding water toping off the carboy will not thin out the stout?

its about sugar to water ratio leftover after fermentation. The higher the final gravity the thicker the mouthfeel. Adding water in general will lower the final gravity but whether you add the water before or after the boil shouldnt make a difference because it doesnt change the final gravity assuming you were going to add the water anyway.

Thanks that helps a lot.

instant oats!!

how much MaltoDextrin should be used in a batch of beer 5gal? 8oz?

Not sure. Experiment? I would say 10% grain bill or less maybe? Rebelbrewer.com (where I get my grain from) usually has the % to use for different effects in the description of their grain. You could try that.