Very confused about adding Oats to an extract recipe

Evening All,

I just placed an ingrdient order for a Root Beer Dark Brown Ale I'm brewing, I wanted to get the taste/body as close to a nice creamy mug of Root Beer as possible, so of course I decied to add oats to the recipe to get the velvety smoothness.... Im sure the forum vets know where this is going, Im an extract brewer (just dont have the space or money to upgrade at this point) and I just discovered the whole "you need to mash your oats, no way around it" rule.

any advice, Ive read old threads about the subject but nothing really answered my questions.

1) IS there anyway around mashing all grain style?

2) Could I just steep the oats with some base malts in a seperate pot to get them going then dump the wort into my boil?

Thanks, -Ron

While I'm not a seasoned pro, I have quite a few batches under my belt. When I was an extract brewer (and I do still like doing extract brews every now and then), I used oatmeal in several of my brews. On all cases, I didn't mash, but did the typical "partial mash", bringing the grain bag to 165 for 20 minutes or so. The oats were in my bag, and all seemed to work OK. I'm not sure it got the full effect of the oatmeal, but there was a bit of an oatmeal taste in the beers, and it worked OK given that was all I could do at the time.

So I would steep them in the same pot you will brew in, following a typical partial mash schedule. It's easy, no worries (no extra tools needed).

Good luck

I was leaning toward trying that out, thanks for the help!

The oats won't convert themselves so if you rely on them for fermentables you must mash them with a base malt or enzyme. However your kit should have all the gravity it needs by itself, so id do a step steep, starting in the 130s and raising to the 150s or so. Just my opinion.

Add some barley malt with the oats,all i get is slickness in mouthfeel-from oats, if you want body add some barley flakes or some flaked wheat(not alot) for the creamy body.YOu do need to mash with base malt for conversion as said.

tre9er said:

The oats won't convert themselves so if you rely on them for fermentables you must mash them with a base malt or enzyme. However your kit should have all the gravity it needs by itself, so id do a step steep, starting in the 130s and raising to the 150s or so. Just my opinion.

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Can you explain this a little more? How long should I let it steep at 130?

One of the problems though with just steeping the oats (and not converting them via some sort of mash) is that you will add a bunch of starch and dextrins to the beer. Regular brewing yeast cannot ferment these, but wild yeast (Brettanomyces) and bacteria certainly can. So, you'll basically be adding food for infectious critters. Of course, if your sanitation is top notch, you shouldn't have much to worry about.

Sounds like you want some maltodextrin.If your not mashing.Ive never used it personally but thats what i see here without mashing. Thats why alot of us end up doing all grain or partial mashing for the most part you have more control over the outcome/(its cheaper) as you learn malts/mashing.You dont have to because like i said maybe you can use maltodextrin with extract and make a very good beer-which ive never tried.

I'd do a 10-15 minute rest at 130 before raising. This is a protein rest and will add to head and smoothness.

I recently brewed an extract Imperial Stout with 1 pound of flaked oats. I simply steeped the flaked oats at 155 degrees for about 30 minutes with the other specialty grains. I read somewhere (wish I could quote the source) that flaked oats are at least partially converted by the flaking process, and supposedly contribute at least a small amount of fermentable sugar.

Even if they do not contribute to the alcohol content of the finished beer, they certianly DO add mouthfeel, body, and some flavor characteristics to your brew. If you are looking to add body to a brew, then steeping flaked oats will help. If you expect a big jump in ABV from adding oats, then you will need to mash.

DrummerBoySeth said:

I recently brewed an extract Imperial Stout with 1 pound of flaked oats. I simply steeped the flaked oats at 155 degrees for about 30 minutes with the other specialty grains. I read somewhere (wish I could quote the source) that flaked oats are at least partially converted by the flaking process, and supposedly contribute at least a small amount of fermentable sugar.

Even if they do not contribute to the alcohol content of the finished beer, they certianly DO add mouthfeel, body, and some flavor characteristics to your brew. If you are looking to add body to a brew, then steeping flaked oats will help. If you expect a big jump in ABV from adding oats, then you will need to mash.

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Ok this is basically what I was looking for! I geuss I shouldve stated this in my OP. I just want the oats for the purpose of adding mouthfeel and a little body, not any alcohol, I have enough fermentables in this recipe. So it seems like steeping oats is ok if ur just looking to add smoothness and no alcohol?

I still suggest a brief rest in the 130's to prevent some stickiness.

VonBaron said:

Ok this is basically what I was looking for! I geuss I shouldve stated this in my OP. I just want the oats for the purpose of adding mouthfeel and a little body, not any alcohol, I have enough fermentables in this recipe. So it seems like steeping oats is ok if ur just looking to add smoothness and no alcohol?

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Yes. Steeping 1/2 pound to 1 pound of flaked oats will add the "smoothness" you are looking for, but no alcohol.

DrummerBoySeth said:

I recently brewed an extract Imperial Stout with 1 pound of flaked oats. I simply steeped the flaked oats at 155 degrees for about 30 minutes with the other specialty grains. I read somewhere (wish I could quote the source) that flaked oats are at least partially converted by the flaking process, and supposedly contribute at least a small amount of fermentable sugar.

Even if they do not contribute to the alcohol content of the finished beer, they certianly DO add mouthfeel, body, and some flavor characteristics to your brew. If you are looking to add body to a brew, then steeping flaked oats will help. If you expect a big jump in ABV from adding oats, then you will need to mash.

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A source for the commercial process for flaked or rolled oats is:

https://byo.com/article/oatmeal-stout-style/

Quoting:
There are a few different kinds of oats available to the homebrewer. With flaked oats, also called rolled oats, the gelatinization is done by the manufacturer. This is done by softening the oats with steam and then passing them through heated pressure rollers into flakes. The grain husks are removed when the oats are rolled, and in this process the flake thickness can be controlled. The heat and pressure gelatinize the starches, and these grains can be added to the mash directly. The brewer does not need to cook these prior to mashing.

Rolled oats are available in the supermarket. It is best to buy the “quick cook” or “one minute” oats. These are identical to the traditional breakfast oats (which require longer cooking time), but the “quick oats” are cut into finer pieces. The resulting increased surface area allows the starches to dissolve more readily into the water. Special flaked oats, similar to the supermarket “quick cook” oats, are available in homebrew supply stores.