Is oatmeal considered a specialty grain?

Does Oatmeal count as a grain? For example when i mash? do i calculate the mash water accounting for the oatmeal? I am brewing a brown ale tomorrow and I am calculating how much water sparge and mash water I will need but am unsure if I include the pound of oatmeal into the equation?

***I could not find anything in the search bar answering my question i only found that specialty grains are included, but no mention on oatmeal.***

Yeah, it actually absorbs a little more water than malted barley but unless you are using a lot I wouldn't worry about that.

so would a pound of oatmeal be a lot for a 5 gallon batch?

From what I've read here and in the style guides, most will use and recommend 5-10% of your grain bill. I'm sure there are some higher uses as well.

ok thanks alot!

I did my first partial mash last weekend and calculated the water based on the weight of all the grain in the mash. I don't know if I've ever really seen the exact answer to this, but I didn't really look that hard. I figured, if the water to grain ratio is part of the mash equation, I have to account for the steeping grain in the bill and not just put in an amount of water based only on the base grains or I end up with too little water.

I use 1.5lbs of flaked oats in my oatmeal stout and it comes out great.

Oatmeal (flaked oats) would be considered an adjunct instead of a specialty grain.

I use 1.5 qt per lb for my mash regardless of the grist used.

mmb said:

I use 1.5 qt per lb for my mash regardless of the grist used.

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Again, only one mash under the belt, but this essentially what I was saying in my more roundabout way!