Secondary addition advice for oatmeal stout

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timmystank

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I was wondering if anyone had any good ideas for additions to secondary for a oatmeal stout? Was thinking some vanilla and chocolate somehow to sweeten it up a bit. Going into primary it tasted severely "burnt". This is my first oatmeal stout so Im not sure if it will stay this way.
 
Time will mellow out the burnt taste...but I think some people erroneously equate oatmeal as sweet. It usually imparts a smoothness....so it shouldn't be the first thing you reach for with a sweet stout: it can compliment though. If you're looking to sweeten this particular batch....lactose is the easiest: it's unfermentable and does impart a sugar taste. Chocolate might not mask a burnt note as its dark bitterness might actually enhance. But those are my 2 cents. If I have a stout with an unexpected flavor, I tend to roll with it and might enhance it. One batch turned out too dry once: instead of sweetening it, I added coffee and it really seemed to compliment it.
 
Just a warning, I had some cherries laying around so I decided to make a cherry stout with lactose. I liked it much, much better without the cherries. But if you don't like it now, then I suppose you could go 21A on it.
 
Time will mellow out the burnt taste...but I think some people erroneously equate oatmeal as sweet. It usually imparts a smoothness....so it shouldn't be the first thing you reach for with a sweet stout: it can compliment though. If you're looking to sweeten this particular batch....lactose is the easiest: it's unfermentable and does impart a sugar taste. Chocolate might not mask a burnt note as its dark bitterness might actually enhance. But those are my 2 cents. If I have a stout with an unexpected flavor, I tend to roll with it and might enhance it. One batch turned out too dry once: instead of sweetening it, I added coffee and it really seemed to compliment it.

Thanks. How much lactose is a good dose. I dont want chocolate milk here. What about vanilla extract?
 
I'd personally do it in steps. This is like cooking....you don't have to dump a lot in at once....you can go in increments until it's just right. For lactose, I'd use half a pound first. Taste the beer after it's settled with .5 lbs of lactose....if not sweet enough, add another half pound. I made a milk stout once for a g/f who only liked sweet beers. I thought that at 1lb it was getting way sweet....but it was just getting to her preference.

If after the lactose....it's getting sweet, but not chocolaty enough....then put in 1tbsp of bakers chocolate at a time. But again, I think you might find some "chocolate" overtones just by sweetening the stout to begin with. With the roasted barley, and possibly chocolate malt in the recipe, you might find it tasting more like dark chocolate with some more sweetness.
 
Thanks alot. I had a anderson valley oatmeal stout and was amazed, I guess I was kinda going for that. We'll see.
 
haven't had the anderson valley oatmeal stout....have had a couple of their beers. But yeah, I like oatmeal stouts for a nice balanced stout (one that's not too sweet or too dry). If it's too much of a burnt taste, then maybe your recipe was calling for too much black patent...make sure you're steeping your specialty grains in the 150 degree range, and maybe next time try a little less black patent.
 
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