Oatmeal Stout, not quite what I was expecting, Tips?

I'm 2 weeks into the bottling phase, and I wanted to test carbonation so I opened one last night. The flavor was fantastic, carbonation was close but not complete. However, the mouth feel was more of a porter than a stout. I would like to figure out why it's not a "thicker" beer.

Do you just mash the oats with the rest of the grain bill? Does it need any protein rests?

Here's my recipe:

8 lb. American 2-row
1 lb. American victory
8 oz. American crystal 60L
8 oz. American chocolate
8 oz. Roasted barley
2 lb. Flaked oats


OG 1.0610
FG 1.0090

Single Infusion Batch Sparge, 154 deg

Your final gravity was 1.009, so it should be pretty dry which thins out the body. What yeast did you use?

Like beeraroundtown says - your FG is a little low. I'd suggest mashing a few degrees higher next time, and maybe tossing in some CaCl2 if your brewstore has salts handy. I like the recipe though!

might try mashing around 158, maybe .5 to 1lb carapils?

Also check the calibration of your thermometer. Your recipe says that you mashed @ 154 F but you got like 85% apparent attenuation which seems high for that mash temp and grain bill (depending on the yeast strain).

Also make sure what you're thinking of isn't due to stouts usually being served on Beer Gas. No matter what you do (aside from kegging with beergas) it will be carbonated, not silky like guiness for example.

I doubled the oats from the original recipe, hoping to increase the mouthfeel. this was only my second all grain. I mashed outside, so the wind created a bit of temp swings. Since then I've moved the lauter tun inside, and the last batch had a MUCH more even and controllable temp.

I will try a slightly higher temp for my mash next time and see how it turns out.

I was planning on letting this beer condition in the bottle a while so I didn't keg it.


I think a close comparison for this beer would be the viscosity/mouthfeel of Black Butte Porter and the flavor of a rich chocolate oatmeal stout.

TheChemist said:

Like beeraroundtown says - your FG is a little low. I'd suggest mashing a few degrees higher next time, and maybe tossing in some CaCl2 if your brewstore has salts handy. I like the recipe though!

Click to expand...

So why can't I just toss some Tums in the boil
:cross:

Would adding 8 more ounces Flaked Barley help with the body as well?

What's the difference between roasted barley and flaked barley?

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]According to Palmer: "Flaked Barley Flaked unmalted barley is often used in Stouts to provide protein for head retention and body. It can also be used in other strong ale styles. Use 0.5-1 lb. per 5 gal batch. Flaked barley must be mashed with base malt.[/FONT]"

IXVolt said:

So why can't I just toss some Tums in the boil
:cross:

Click to expand...

I think it's the chloride you want, not the Ca. CaCl2 just has 2 chloride ions per unit so you can use less salt. Tums is CaCO3.