What's missing from my stout

Any ideas of what I can add or delete to turn out a better stout. I was thinking of substituting corn syrup for the malto-dextrin hoping to add a bit of crispness to the stout. Previously I used Pale Crystal 40L in the stout but it was missing something so maybe the Crystal 60L will be it.

Any suggestions or ideas?
Thanks,
Jeffrey
Buda, TX


7.5# Pale Ale Malt
0.5# Chocolate Malt
0.5# Roasted Barley
0.5# malto-dextrin (thinking about corn syrup)
0.25# quaker instant oats
0.25# Medium Crystal 60L
WLP004 Irish Ale Yeast

Bittering hops: 1 oz. Target 10% alpha acid
Flavouring hops: 1/2 oz. East Kent Goldings
Aroma hops: none

Corn sugar doesn't add crispness and malto detrine adds body.

Never heard of a stout being "crisp" before. I like mine dark, full-bodied and dry.

Sorry for the choice of words; I guess by crispness I meant dry but so far I haven't gotten the level of dryness that I was hoping for. I thought that by adding corn sugar that I might get a little bit of the cider flavour that would add another dimension to the stout. Now I'm mostly hand-waving here but the few times I've used corn sugar I tend to get a hint of cider flavour at least that's my perception; I'm still learning to discern flavour profiles. I feel that I'm close to the stout that I want and I don't want to abandon this recipe yet but maybe I should simply try someone else's recipe.

If you are looking for dry, drop the crystal. Crystal is unfermentable sweetness.

I agree with david, although I would keep the crystal and drop the m-d and maybe even the oats if it's dryness you're looking for. Guiness is a dry stout and I'm pretty sure they don't use any m-d or oats. You could maybe even go with 80L and drop the percentage a bit while maintaining the same SRM.

Also, mash low - 149-151F or so to produce a highly fermentable wort.

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll let you know how it turns out.