I would like some advice on my Imperial Oatmeal stout

I recently drank a beer at RED BONES In Somervile, MA and loved it. It was Southern Tier Oatmeal Stout (imperial)
Oat (Imperial Oatmeal Stout) - Southern Tier Brewing Company - BeerAdvocate

They list the beer on the brewery website as:
11.0% abv • 28º P • 238º L • Imperial Oatmeal Stout • 2-row pale malt / oats / caramel malt / barley flakes / chocolate malt / black malt / kettle hops: columbus & willamette

I would really like to make my own version as close to the original as possible. It will take some tweaking and experimenting however I was hoping a few experienced brewer's might step in an offer some sage advice.
I have never crafted a recipe, and I have no experience with Imperial's I am reading Ray Daniles Designing great beers, and using Jamils brewing classic styles to find foundation to build off of.

-Sumo


Style: Imperial Stout
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 8.21 gal
Estimated OG: 1.119 SG
Estimated Color: 51.7 SRM
Estimated IBU: 83.3 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 120 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
19 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 77.55 %
2 lbs Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM) Grain 8.16 %
1 lbs 8.0 oz Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM) Grain 6.12 %
1 lbs Chocolate Malt (450.0 SRM) Grain 4.08 %
1 lbs Victory Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 4.08 %
2.50 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] (60 min) Hops 73.9 IBU
2.00 oz Williamette [5.50 %] (10 min) Hops 8.4 IBU
2.00 oz Williamette [5.50 %] (1 min) Hops 1.0 IBU
3 Pkgs American Ale (Wyeast Labs #1056) Yeast-Ale


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 24.50 lb
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 30.63 qt of water at 165.9 F 154.0 F


Notes:
------
Cook oats in a 300 degree oven untill they start to brown and smell like oatmeal cookies. Aprox 30 to 45 minutes. Turn every 5 minutes or so with spatula to keep from burning.

Couple of quick comments.
Be sure to let the oats air over night. My understanding is that roasting them creates some harsh compounds that will dissipate with time, so don't throw the oats directly in the mash after baking.
The ingredients list from Southern Tier lists Carmel malt but you don't have any in yours. I think a medium or dark caramel malt would add some nice flavors to the imperial stout. Maybe even a little of both?

Craig

+1. I'd add a single batch of 60L Crystal. Frankly, I'd dump the Victory, as well; I think it'll make it way too bready.

As written, swapping the Crystal for the Victory, you're still not at 28ºP. ProMash is telling me 25.4ºP, or 1.108 OG (at 75% efficiency, which I sincerely doubt you'll get with this sort of grist).

Imperial stout is tricky. Tricky to brew, tricky to ferment. Me, I'd split the batch to two days. Cram as much as I can into the mash tun each time, knock out 3 gallons each time. That'll lessen the impact on your efficiency, and lessen the impact on your grist. Pitch a crap-ton of yeast on day one; when I knock out on day two, the first half of the batch is in high krausen. Ferment usually works well that way.

Cheers,

Bob

CBBaron said:

Couple of quick comments.
Be sure to let the oats air over night. My understanding is that roasting them creates some harsh compounds that will dissipate with time, so don't throw the oats directly in the mash after baking.
The ingredients list from Southern Tier lists Carmel malt but you don't have any in yours. I think a medium or dark caramel malt would add some nice flavors to the imperial stout. Maybe even a little of both?

Craig

Click to expand...

ok I made a few changes..

Style: Imperial Stout
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 7.78 gal
Estimated OG: 1.121 SG
Estimated Color: 50.5 SRM
Estimated IBU: 77.8 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
19 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 76.00 %
2 lbs Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM) Grain 8.00 %
1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 4.00 %
1 lbs Chocolate Malt (450.0 SRM) Grain 4.00 %
1 lbs Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM) Grain 4.00 %
1 lbs Victory Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 4.00 %
2.50 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] (60 min) Hops 69.0 IBU
2.00 oz Williamette [5.50 %] (10 min) Hops 7.9 IBU
2.00 oz Williamette [5.50 %] (1 min) Hops 0.9 IBU


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 25.00 lb
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 31.25 qt of water at 165.9 F 154.0 F


Notes:
------
Cook oats in a 300 degree oven untill they start to brown and smell like oatmeal cookies. Aprox 30 to 45 minutes. Turn every 5 minutes or so with spatula to keep from burning. Store in brown paper bag overnight.
Bottle at 70 degrees for 4 weeks. Store at 40 degrees for 6 months before drinking. Will keep 1 to 3 years with proper temp control.

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120L is too dark for that amount. It's already going to be a full-bodied, BIG beer. 120L will take it completely out of whack. If you want to use a full pound of crystal, use 60L, no darker. If you want a mix, go no higher than a half-pound of 120L.

Bob

Thank you for your input. I think I have it norrowed down a bit..


BeerSmith Recipe Printout - BeerSmith Brewing Software, Recipes, Blog, Wiki and Discussion Forum
Recipe: Oatmeal Imperial Stout
Brewer: Albert DiGeso
Asst Brewer:
Style: Imperial Stout
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 8.21 gal
Estimated OG: 1.107 SG
Estimated Color: 64.9 SRM
Estimated IBU: 90.1 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 65.00 %
Boil Time: 120 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
19 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 73.79 %
2 lbs Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM) Grain 7.77 %
1 lbs Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM) Grain 3.88 %
1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 3.88 %
1 lbs Chocolate Malt (450.0 SRM) Grain 3.88 %
12.0 oz Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM) Grain 2.91 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 1.94 %
8.0 oz Victory Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 1.94 %
2.50 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] (60 min) Hops 79.9 IBU
2.00 oz Williamette [5.50 %] (10 min) Hops 9.1 IBU
2.00 oz Williamette [5.50 %] (1 min) Hops 1.1 IBU


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 25.75 lb
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 32.19 qt of water at 165.9 F 154.0 F


Notes:
------
Cook oats in a 300 degree oven untill they start to brown and smell like oatmeal cookies. Aprox 30 to 45 minutes. Turn every 5 minutes or so with spatula to keep from burning. Store in brown paper bag overnight.
Bottle at 70 degrees for 4 weeks. Store at 40 degrees for 6 months before drinking. Will keep 1 to 3 years with proper temp control.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Looks better! The only other advice I have is to examine your procedure on this very, very carefully. Your efficiency on this mash is likely to be quite bad.

[pauses, looks both ways to see if anyone's listening]

You might wish to replace some of your pale malt in the grist with extract in the kettle.

[dons asbestos suit]

I normally get 82% I know it will be higher then 65 but I lowered it to stop the nay sayers.
Thank you for the reply though. I am going to make it next week and we will see how it goes.

Extract does have its place, especially when doing big beers like this. No flames from me on that. I agree its a prudent thing to do too. However I am trying to really push myself to get all that I can from the grain, even at the failure of a brew session.
If its bad beer we can drink it when everyone is hammered and less likely to know. lol

My final recipe:

Style: Imperial Stout
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 8.21 gal
Estimated OG: 1.107 SG
Estimated Color: 64.9 SRM
Estimated IBU: 90.1 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 65.00 %
Boil Time: 120 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
19 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 73.79 %
2 lbs Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM) Grain 7.77 %
1 lbs Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM) Grain 3.88 %
1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 3.88 %
1 lbs Chocolate Malt (450.0 SRM) Grain 3.88 %
12.0 oz Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM) Grain 2.91 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 1.94 %
8.0 oz Victory Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 1.94 %
2.50 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [14.00 %] (60 min) Hops 79.9 IBU
2.00 oz Williamette [5.50 %] (10 min) Hops 9.1 IBU
2.00 oz Williamette [5.50 %] (1 min) Hops 1.1 IBU


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 25.75 lb
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 32.19 qt of water at 165.9 F 154.0 F


Notes:
------
Cook oats in a 300 degree oven untill they start to brown and smell like oatmeal cookies. Aprox 30 to 45 minutes. Turn every 5 minutes or so with spatula to keep from burning. Store in brown paper bag overnight.
Bottle at 70 degrees for 4 weeks. Store at 40 degrees for 4-6 months before drinking. Will keep 1 to 3 years with proper temp control.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------