Help w/ Oatmeal Stout...

I have only used pure extract until now, but would like to make an Oatmeal Stout. I told my LHBS what I wanted to build and he recommended a True Brew Irish Stout kit with additional flaked oats.

Kit came with (1) can of hopped LME, 2lbs of dark DME, 8 oz. of crushed crystal, 6 oz. of crushed roasted barley, and Cascade hops. He threw in a pound of flaked oats.

I can follow the directions of the kit, but not sure how much of the flaked oat to use or how to use it. I assume that I put 4 oz. or so in a bag at the same time that I do the other grains, and remove them when I remove the others...following the directions of the kit for the other grains with regards to steeping, etc. Can someone confirm this for me?

Also, I don't like the "burnt" taste of some stouts, so I am thinking that I might not use the whole bag of roasted barley...assuming this is where that flavor comes from. Maybe I need to make two 2.5 gal batches using different amounts of barley to find the flavor that I like?

I'd like to add a little coffee flavor. I think I would add this to the secondary, but not sure how much. Again, I may have to experiment to find the flavor that I like?

Any suggestions for the use/proportions of the oats, barley, and coffee, to create a not-so-bold Oatmeal Stout/porter would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Chris

I usually use no more than 3 oz of roasted barley in my stouts. You are correct that is where that "burnt" flavor is coming from.

I think chocolate malt is the coffee taste. I might be wrong. Someone will respond that knows I am sure.

i would use all that you were given. Especially all the oats, crystal, and chocolate. Maybe not all the roast.

I was under the impression that oats had to be mashed to get the desired effect from them.

devaspawn said:

I usually use no more than 3 oz of roasted barley in my stouts. You are correct that is where that "burnt" flavor is coming from.

I think chocolate malt is the coffee taste. I might be wrong. Someone will respond that knows I am sure.

Click to expand...

My Scottish Ale had more roasted barley than that. I don't think 3oz really qualifies as a stout.
The recipe posted by the OP sounds pretty mild as is, I would brew it as is with the addition of the whole pound of flaked oats.

I usually prefer to mash flaked oats but others have had luck with steeping them. Just follow the recipe and add the oats to the steeping grains and you should have a good stout.

Craig

jacksonbrown said:

I was under the impression that oats had to be mashed to get the desired effect from them.

Click to expand...

You need to cook, then mash the oats to get full use of the starches and convert them to sugars; however, you can steep quick oats and still get that creamy mouth feel. You might have some haze from the starch but that's not important in a dark beer like a stout...

Thanks, everyone, for the advice and responses. Will chocolate malt provide the coffee taste? If so, what is a good amount to start with in a mild recipe as this? And, how/when should I add this to the mix?

Thanks, again.

CBBaron said:

My Scottish Ale had more roasted barley than that. I don't think 3oz really qualifies as a stout.
Craig

Click to expand...

I agree, I add a half pound to my stouts, along with 2oz of black patent.

431brew said:

Thanks, everyone, for the advice and responses. Will chocolate malt provide the coffee taste? If so, what is a good amount to start with in a mild recipe as this?

Click to expand...

In my all-grain oatmeal stout, I use a half-pound each of crystal 120, roasted barley and chocolate malt. It's silky smooth, and everybody who tries it asks if I've added coffee.

In my original post, I was thinking of brewed coffee in the secondary as I read in some other posts. If chocolate malt, along with the crystal and roasted barley is the combination that gives that flavor, then I need to pick up some chocolate malt.

BlindLemonLars is using equal portions. With the amounts of grains shown in my original post, do you think 6-8oz. of chocolate malt would be enough to give a hint of a coffee flavor? And, would I just add it when I steep all the others?

Thanks, again.

I know that roasted barley can be used in higher concentrations, it's just not my preference. It sounds like it's not this guys preference either. Ray Daniels has a Scotch ale recipe that has 15 lbs of grain and 4 lbs of dme. He uses only one oz of roasted barley. It's what made me feel comfortable using lower amounts of roasted barley in styles that call for it.

I am hoping to get this brewed this weekend if the weather cooperates. The tropical storm is supposed to be moving through, so going to be a good, rainy weekend for it.

Thanks for the help.