Rolled Oats and Enzymes

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mcliffor

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Some English period recipes call for oat malt, but that's not commercially available. If I use oatmeal, will I have to let the beer sit longer during mashing so that all the oat starches are converted to sugars, or will this happen in the same time as if I used 100% malt in the recipe? My theory is that because the amount of enzymes per starch is less than in a recipe calling for 100% malt, it would take longer for the enzymes in the wort to convert all the starches, including those in the oats. Are there any consequences for letting it sit at the right temperature for too long, say 3 hours? Or does conversion of the starches continue at a slower rate during primary fermentation?
 
Generally an hour in the mash is enough time as long as 1/2 of the grain bill is 2-row. An all 2-row mash can convert in 20 minutes. You need to cook (as if you intended to eat them) rolled oats prior to adding them to a mash, flaked oats do not need to be cooked.

Mashing 3 hours shouldn't be necessary, but won't hurt. Some people mash over-night just to break up the brewing session into two shorter periods.

Once you boil the wort the enzymes are history.
 

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