First Partial Mash Attempt - Recipe Critique

So I am going to give this whole partial mash thing a shot. I get how to do it. I'm just not sure about the recipe I put together. I want to do an oatmeal stout. I might have went a little overboard with the grains. I'm still new at this, so I'm just winiging it

Mash these:

2# - 2 row
1# - Flaked Oats
10oz - 60 Crystal
8oz - Carapils
8oz - Chocolate malt
6oz - Black Malt
6oz - Roasted Barley
Maybe a few ounces 120

Then 3# Light DME

Either 2oz Willamette or Fuggles @ 60 and maybe a little bit for aroma. Or Northern Brewer instead. Thoughts?

Was thinking Irish Ale Yeast


So what about the grain bill? Too much/not enough 2 row? 6 row instead? Too much oats? Too much grain in general?

On Brewtarget my numbers are pretty much in on target for the style except that my IBUs are low. I feel that because it is my first time doing a partial mash, I'll do something wrong and my efficiency won't be that high. So I don't really trust the numbers.

In generally, you want to have the same amount of two-row as other malts, so increase the two-row so that 1/2 of your grainbill is two-row. You could easily leave out the carapils in that recipe- you won't need it at all. But if you want great foam stability, adding in some flaked barley instead would be my preference.

As far as grainbill, I'd consider reducing the black malt and/or roasted barley. I don't use both in my oatmeal stout, as I like the Briess black malt in my oatmeal stout.

I don't use any aroma hops at all in my oatmeal stout- just the bittering hops. Normally, you want a creamy mouthfeel, with a slight roasted-grain flavor and aroma with no real hops aroma and flavor in an oatmeal stout. I think either EKG or fuggles or even willamette would be my first choice for bittering.

I like a little victory malt in my oatmeal stout for a hint of nutty/toasted flavor to the beer. That's just my own preference, though, and certainly not necessary to a good oatmeal stout!

I concur with Yooper, half the malt should be 2 row, I would use an English 2 row. Aroma hops aren't needed in this style. If you decide to use them, use a restrained amount. The level of oats looks good to me. I'll second leaving out the carapils, and second picking either black malt or roasted barley; you could increase the chocolate to compensate. I've been hearing about adding the roasted barley late in the mash to avoid astringency, you could try that, but either way is probably okay. As for the yeast, the Irish yeast is fine, you could also do WLP002 which might be a little more traditional. Good luck on your first PM.

Yooper said:

In generally, you want to have the same amount of two-row as other malts, so increase the two-row so that 1/2 of your grainbill is two-row.

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Can you expand on this a bit? Is this for mash conversion/efficiency reasons, or general recipe advice. Given that there is also 3# extract, I'm assuming this has something to do with the mash and not the overall recipe.

jigidyjim said:

Can you expand on this a bit? Is this for mash conversion/efficiency reasons, or general recipe advice. Given that there is also 3# extract, I'm assuming this has something to do with the mash and not the overall recipe.

Click to expand...

Yep, conversion/efficiency. You need to make sure that you provide enough enzymes (in the form of two-row) to convert all the starches to sugar. It also provides the backbone in terms of body, so you don't want a busty beer with no backbone