Mash & sparge questions for oatmeal stout

I am preparing to brew a clone of Firestone's Velvet Merlin (yeah they call it merkin but we know what they mean). I have found a lot of different info on the mash & sparge temps and even time for mashing. I want the creamy smooth mothfeel that you get with the Velvet Merlin so I thought I'd ask for suggestions from the folks on HBT.

My plan is to mash at 155 for 60 minutes & sparge at 170 (batch sparge and I use a 5 gal. Rubbermaid MLT). In brewing classic styles they suggest mashing at 154 for 90 minutes. Others say mash in at a low temp then raise the temp (that would be somewhat difficult with my set up since I am maxing out the 5 gal. cooler as is)

Suggestions?

I mash my oatmeal stout at 156, and it's perfect. (Sparge temps don't matter).

If you really want a luscious mouthfeel, try using a yeast that provides a "fuller" mouthfeel. Dennys Favorite 50 (Wyeast 1450) comes to mind. The Wyeast 1335 strain is wonderful in my stout as well.

Thanks Yooper

I already have a starter ready using WLP002 (English Ale yeast) so I'm pretty locked in on that but I'll keep it in mind for next time.

Just so all the world knows, this will be the first brew with my new 11 gallon SS pot. I am soooo looking forward to having some head space and not having to jockey my wert around in two kettles on two burners!

It's always exciting to brew with new brew gear. Best of luck on the batch and let us know what temp you mashed at and if the beer turns out as you planned.

I just bottled a breakfast stout, mashed at 156 and used Debby's 1450 yeast. Even though its not carved yet the beer has a nice thickness to it.

Well, the brew day is over and it went well for the most part. My mash temp came in a bit low - 153° but it held that temp for the entire 60 minutes. Sparging was another story. For the first time, I had a stuck sparge - not fun (and I had added a half pound of rice hulls tot he grist...). Hopefully I got enough 170° water in there to stop me from getting too much tannin in the wert. It took quite a bit of stirring and a bit of ingenuity to get it unstuck but we got there and ended up with just under 7 gal. preboil.

One nice thing with the new pot - I finally got the amount of boil off that was calculated. Yeaaaa, no more guessing how much wert to start with.

Anyway, the yeast is pitched and in a few weeks, I'll post up how it tastes (the hydro sample was sweet & smooth).

How did it turn out? Brewing my first oatmeal stout in a couple weeks and will probably try to mash at 156.