Oatmeal Stout Yooper's Oatmeal Stout

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Just ordered this recipe off of Brewmasters Warehouse. Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout was the beer that got me into beer, and it still remains one of my favorite styles, but for whatever reason, have never made a real one. I'm not modifying a thing, except that I am doing it BIAB, can't wait! I'll update with pics.
 
Yooper, you da woman!!! :ban:

I tapped this last weekend and I'm afraid it might not live much longer. 6 weeks old and amazing. I find myself going for this after dinner far more than anything else... I'm eerily drawn to it. I even went back to my brew log to confirm there is no coffee in here. You wouldn't know it.

The keyword here is balance. It's only a 1.017 4.5% beer, but it's got it all.... without anything overpowering something else. Some roast, some bitterness, chocolate, some coffee, a little malt, and about 1 sip in every 5 pints -- chocolate covered raspberry. :confused: Who knows, I love it!

Keezer-top glamour shot time...

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This is a great beer, but the second time I made it I put a V-bean in it, I personally would not do that again, I'll just brew it as posted.
 
Yep... need to throw in my props! I did 10gal's of this to give away from Christmas and EVERYONE commented on how awesome this recipe was. I actually only got 2 bottles of it myself for "Quality Control" and I GUARANTEE I'll be making it again. Got my order from Brewmaster's Warehouse and it was easily done. Can't wait for the weather to break to do this again.
 
Kinda pissed at my LHBS. I sent an email in advance with the grain bill for a partial mash version of this recipe to make sure they had everything and specifically called out the pale chocolate as I know that's an important part of the recipe.

I show up and "we don't stock pale chocolate," also subbed roasted barley for black barley (I went along with it anyway since I really wanted to get this batch started). Just annoying to plan in advance and then get another story when you show up in person and you're semi-committed.

They also don't regularly stock 1335, which I half expected so that's fine, so I went with S04 instead. That part didn't bother me as much as the grain bill.

I know all this is not that big a deal but I wish I could have gotten closer to the original recipe which is clearly something that has been refined and had some thought put into it.

Anyway, /rant and thanks Yoop for the recipe, I'll let you know how my bastardized version comes out.
 
I don't blame you there.

I'd be pissed if my LHBS just subbed out grains without asking. That's a pretty ****ty thing to do, but is also something that I've heard of happening before.

In the future, make it clear to them that you do NOT want substitutions, or else you'd like to be asked first. Also specify milled vs unmilled. My LHBS mills the grain if you don't specify -- something I don't like at all.
 
I'm going to be doing an oatmeal stout for my next brew. I was set on the Samuel Smith all grain recipe but this one is getting great reviews. Has anyone made both or would suggest one over the other?
 
Some friends of mine opened Skull Camp Brewery here in NC and let me be a guest brewer every now and then....if feels pretty cool to be able to send friends up there to try my beer! I'm fortunate enough that one of the owners is the one that got me started homebrewing and is confident in the quality of beer I make.
 
Would using 60L instead of 80L make a huge difference? I've got 60 on hand...

No, not really. The 80L is a little more "toffee" while 60L is a little more caramel, but I think it would work just fine. The crystal malt is there to provide a depth to the flavor, as well as some sweetness to counter the roasted flavor. 60L would be a good sub for the 80L.
 
Awesome. Thank you for the great reply. I plan on brewing this on Saturday and would like to make a starter but I've never done a starter before. Is it really necessary if you're using dry yeast?
 
Awesome. Thank you for the great reply. I plan on brewing this on Saturday and would like to make a starter but I've never done a starter before. Is it really necessary if you're using dry yeast?

I pitched my dry yeast right into the fermentor. This beer is a low enough gravity that you shouldn't need a starter.
 
I pitched my dry yeast right into the fermentor. This beer is a low enough gravity that you shouldn't need a starter.

That's what I was thinking but Yooper said "Yes!" to the yeast starter so I wasn't sure how much of a difference it would make.
 
Yooper: Are there any strains of yeast you have or would consider substituting for the wyeast 1335?
 
Ok after a couple days at 30#s, I tried one last night, really good beer. It has a full wet mouth to it, dark chocolate aroma, oatmeal (just the right amount),some bitterness and very smooth. It is a beer that I could drink all the time and really did want to put it down last night. Glad I set this back. :)

Ok when I set this back I had an infection, here is the story.

Long story short, I checked the beer for FG about a week early. So I went to my LHBS and got the grains to reset, while the grains where in the mast tune I was going to keg the first beer. After opening it up I found out that it was infected. Well in a hard spot what I did was keg the beer, the infection was not that bad, then took the yeast out of the bottom of the bucket. I put the yeast onto a small Ball Jar, about half way full, topping the rest off with Starsan and shook the jar. Well I didn’t have time to run back to LHBS and get more yeast, so I tossed in the Starsan/yeast into the cool wart. Had no problems with the second beer, now with that said I would not make a normal practice of this? LOL :smack:
 
I'm gonna be honest -- I have no idea what you just said. You need to explain that again.

Something about grains "resetting" (whatever that means) and dumping starsan'd yeast on an infected beer or something....
 
Well, I just brewed this today and hit an OG of 1.052. It looks good and we'll see how it tastes in about 5 weeks (2 weeks for bottle conditioning).
 
Can anyone compare this oatmeal stout to samuel smith's? I already asked but no answer. I'm really teetering between which one I'll buy grain for. May be brewing next weekend. I'm pretty much done buying my all grain equipment.

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Can anyone compare this oatmeal stout to samuel smith's? I already asked but no answer. I'm really teetering between which one I'll buy grain for. May be brewing next weekend. I'm pretty much done buying my all grain equipment.

Can't compare, but can tell you that you will not regret brewing this recipe :)
 
Here's mine fermenting away. Does the krausen look about right? This is only my 4th brew and second with a glass carboy. I'm (for whatever reason) skeptical of an infection. The smell I get from the air lock seems a little different but that might just be my imagination. Here are some pictures...

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Yum your gonna love it.. mines on tap and I'm sure the keg is gonna blow anytime now. Your looking good nice healthy krausen.
 
Did this one 2 days ago as my first all-grain (BIAB style). I used Irish Ale yeast though, and did the regular chocolate malt for both chocolate malts. I hit a little low on the OG (1.041), but Looking forward to this one! Yay all-grain. I'll probably add another # or so of base malt next time to account for my efficiency.
 
I've been drinking this for a few weeks now and it is really good. I'm gonna make another 12 gallons. Thanks Yooper.
 
Gear101 said:
I reused infected yeast by sterilizing it with Starsan.

I don't think starsan could possibly uninfect yeast. It is amazing, but c'mon.....
 
I brewed this twice.

Once was the original recipe, and then again a month ago.

On the second brew I replaced 2lbs of the Maris with 2lb or rye malt, the flaked oats with flaked rye, and the williamette with Norther Brewer.

Both turned out delightful. Thanks Yoop!

I recommend anyone that likes rye beers to brew the rye stout version. It is great!
 
Yooper's description of this is dead on. Has all of the notes of an oatmeal stout with none overpowering the others. And this is before it is cold and carbed up! Giving it a few more days, then kegging this one, can't wait!
 
Bottled this last night after 29 days in the conical. Thank you Yooper for such a fantastic recipe. Brewed it up exactly as posted and it is deliciously smooth! It is so good that I'm gonna try to save some for Iowa State Fair beer competition this August. I'll post up how it does.
 
yooper, you've mentioned brewing this various ways - have you ever tried using all pale chocolate and black barley? i'm curious how much depth the regular chocolate provides.

i'm also not very knowledgeable on flaked barley v oats v white wheat v other malts designed for mouthfeel and head retention. aren't oats supposed to contribute many of the same things as flaked barley?
 
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