Oatmeal Stout Yooper's Oatmeal Stout

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Brewed this today. Anyone ever add vanilla beans?

I have made this twice and added vanilla last time. It was good, but vanilla fades quickly! Drink it fast, or add more than you think you need so that when it levels out there is enough left.

This is a great beer but IMHO the slight acrid note that you get from the black barley is not the best match for vanilla. If I was making a vanilla version again, I would leave that malt out. YMMV.
 
Using my first post here to rave about this recipe. I made it late last year and drank it through out the colder months earlier in the year.

I was just getting around to brewing something for this winter and was remembering how good this one was and that I hadn't provide Yooper with any feedback on this recipe. Big thumbs ups!!

Definitely added it to my book and definitely will brew it again!
 
Great timing. On Sunday I'm brewing this recipe as my second ever all-grain. There's just too many excellent reviews, so I have to give this one a try. Plus it's SWMBO's favorite beer style. I'm brewing it exactly as written, biab method though.
 
Great timing. On Sunday I'm brewing this recipe as my second ever all-grain. There's just too many excellent reviews, so I have to give this one a try. Plus it's SWMBO's favorite beer style. I'm brewing it exactly as written, biab method though.

I did it BIAB, exactly as written, a very enjoyable stout.
 
I did it BIAB, exactly as written, a very enjoyable stout.

Mine was BIAB as well. Hit est OG of 1.052 exactly (that's a first for me ;) Used Denny's favorite 1450 yeast. It started showing signs of active fermentation within 12-15 hours and is slowly but steadily still bubbling away. Still, this is the least active of the few beers I've brewed so far. Smells good though.
 
FYI, be wary of this yeast strain. Lots have had it under attenuate. You will want to increase ferment temps to fully attenuate. I did this after about 4 days. If you bottle, this can easily over carb if you don't get to your terminal gravity.
And it is a good beer! I upped the chocolate malt and oats
 
FYI, be wary of this yeast strain. Lots have had it under attenuate. You will want to increase ferment temps to fully attenuate. I did this after about 4 days. If you bottle, this can easily over carb if you don't get to your terminal gravity.
And it is a good beer! I upped the chocolate malt and oats

Thanks @Kampenken - I'm still a rookie brewer. It went into the fermenter around mid afternoon on Sunday, and I got airlock activity within around 12hrs. I've been keeping it between 63°- 64° so far, and was thinking I'd raise it to 68° or so after active fermentation subsides, probably within a week. There's around 5.5 gals in my 7.9 gal Speidel fermenter, which is inside a Cool Brewing insulated bag. FWIW, I used 2 pkgs of Denny's 1450, no starter. Solid temperature plan? I notice @Yooper recipe calls for fermenter temp at 64° the entire 3 weeks.
 
I'm considering trying a batch of this for a good beer to have heading into winter. Would be my first go at a stout.

I have a couple questions.

My HBS options (none local) either don't have stock of 1335 yeast, or simply don't carry it.

My preferred location, HopDawgs, has these liquid varieties... anything jump out as a good alternative to 1335? http://hopdawgs.ca/Ingredients/Yeast-Liquid

Second, would "Roasted Barley malt - 500L" be the same thing as "Black Barley - 500L"?
 
I'm considering trying a batch of this for a good beer to have heading into winter. Would be my first go at a stout.

I have a couple questions.

My HBS options (none local) either don't have stock of 1335 yeast, or simply don't carry it.

My preferred location, HopDawgs, has these liquid varieties... anything jump out as a good alternative to 1335? http://hopdawgs.ca/Ingredients/Yeast-Liquid

Second, would "Roasted Barley malt - 500L" be the same thing as "Black Barley - 500L"?

Yes, they would be the same.

Brewed mine with S04. Going to bottle on Sat.
 
Thanks @Kampenken - I'm still a rookie brewer. It went into the fermenter around mid afternoon on Sunday, and I got airlock activity within around 12hrs. I've been keeping it between 63°- 64° so far, and was thinking I'd raise it to 68° or so after active fermentation subsides, probably within a week. There's around 5.5 gals in my 7.9 gal Speidel fermenter, which is inside a Cool Brewing insulated bag. FWIW, I used 2 pkgs of Denny's 1450, no starter. Solid temperature plan? I notice @Yooper recipe calls for fermenter temp at 64° the entire 3 weeks.
My guess is you can raise within 4 days or so and I'd let it free rise to 71-72. It won't hurt a thing. You may also take a hydro reading soon to see where you're at.
Yes, Yooper has indicated no issues with this strain but others, me included first time, had issues. Ramp up should work nicely but make sure it fully attentuates to avoid over carb (I assume your bottle conditioning, if kegging it's not as critical I believe as you can dial in carb level).
Best wishes, this is a nice beer- will be brewing it in a few weeks now.
 
My guess is you can raise within 4 days or so and I'd let it free rise to 71-72. It won't hurt a thing. You may also take a hydro reading soon to see where you're at.
Yes, Yooper has indicated no issues with this strain but others, me included first time, had issues. Ramp up should work nicely but make sure it fully attentuates to avoid over carb (I assume your bottle conditioning, if kegging it's not as critical I believe as you can dial in carb level).
Best wishes, this is a nice beer- will be brewing it in a few weeks now.
Thanks again. Yes, I'll be bottling. Day 4 and still a fair amount of activity in the airlock, bubbling every 3-4 seconds.
 
My guess is you can raise within 4 days or so and I'd let it free rise to 71-72. It won't hurt a thing. You may also take a hydro reading soon to see where you're at.
Yes, Yooper has indicated no issues with this strain but others, me included first time, had issues. Ramp up should work nicely but make sure it fully attentuates to avoid over carb (I assume your bottle conditioning, if kegging it's not as critical I believe as you can dial in carb level).
Best wishes, this is a nice beer- will be brewing it in a few weeks now.

Thanks again. Yes, I'll be bottling. Day 4 and still a fair amount of activity in the airlock, bubbling every 3-4 seconds.

I for one have indeed had issues bottling too soon when FG sat for weeks at 1.016/18, only to have slow gushers 6 weeks later. Nothing that really chilling the bottles well prior to opening did not help; but I like to keep my stout at "cellar temp". I have even tried waiting 3-6 days after pitch when the exothermic reaction of fermentation has finished (as a dataphile I record too much) and I open the bucket and stir everything up, sanitized spoon, careful with splashing. It helps, but I have learned to trust my FG. If it's too high, for me and my system and experience, I know not to try bottling.
 
Thanks @Kampenken - I'm still a rookie brewer. It went into the fermenter around mid afternoon on Sunday, and I got airlock activity within around 12hrs. I've been keeping it between 63°- 64° so far, and was thinking I'd raise it to 68° or so after active fermentation subsides, probably within a week. There's around 5.5 gals in my 7.9 gal Speidel fermenter, which is inside a Cool Brewing insulated bag. FWIW, I used 2 pkgs of Denny's 1450, no starter. Solid temperature plan? I notice @Yooper recipe calls for fermenter temp at 64° the entire 3 weeks.

You can definitely raise the temperature! I just never did, but my system is a bit more rustic and it's not easy to raise the temperature a couple of degrees for me. I have "fermentation temperature" and "room temperature" and "kegerator temperature" normally, with a "basement temperature" thrown in if I feel like hauling something that heavy up and down the stairs. :D

I normally would let it sit at fermentation temperature until I keg it, then let it sit at room temperature (about 68 or so at my house) for a week or two, then put it in the kegerator.
 
You can definitely raise the temperature! I just never did, but my system is a bit more rustic and it's not easy to raise the temperature a couple of degrees for me. I have "fermentation temperature" and "room temperature" and "kegerator temperature" normally, with a "basement temperature" thrown in if I feel like hauling something that heavy up and down the stairs. :D

I normally would let it sit at fermentation temperature until I keg it, then let it sit at room temperature (about 68 or so at my house) for a week or two, then put it in the kegerator.
Thanks Yooper. I'll let the temp rise beginning Friday or Saturday. I plan on keeping this in the fermenter for 3-4 weeks prior to bottling, then another four weeks or so until I open one. I have high hopes for this beer, not the recipe which I believe is great, high hopes for my attempt to do the recipe justice.
 
My guess is you can raise within 4 days or so and I'd let it free rise to 71-72. It won't hurt a thing. You may also take a hydro reading soon to see where you're at.
Yes, Yooper has indicated no issues with this strain but others, me included first time, had issues. Ramp up should work nicely but make sure it fully attentuates to avoid over carb (I assume your bottle conditioning, if kegging it's not as critical I believe as you can dial in carb level).
Best wishes, this is a nice beer- will be brewing it in a few weeks now.

I don't think it's the yeast. Fermented mine with S04. Went to bottle today and had a really high FG, 1.026. This was after 3 weeks in the fermenter. So it went into a keg. I'm having issues with every dark beer I try, can't get them to attenuate. IPAs come out fine though using the same yeast and brewing process. :confused:
 
@PADave do you add minerals/acids to target a particular mash pH?

No I don't, but I am thinking this is my problem. Don't the dark malts affect pH more so than base malts? Been thinking about diving into water chemistry for a while now.
 
Yep! I'd look into it. My beers got a lot better when I learned the water chemistry stuff. Get a water report and the Bru'n Water spreadsheet. It's daunting at first but so worth it.
 
I don't think it's the yeast. Fermented mine with S04. Went to bottle today and had a really high FG, 1.026. This was after 3 weeks in the fermenter. So it went into a keg. I'm having issues with every dark beer I try, can't get them to attenuate. IPAs come out fine though using the same yeast and brewing process. :confused:

I had same issue -- dark/crystal malts and/or English yeasts (like SO4). Raising the temp and stirring the fermenter does help, time helps more.
 
Ok, you all scared me into action and do something I've never done before. It's been exactly one week since brew day. For the past 36 hours I've let the temperature free rise from ~63-64°F. This evening I decided to risk infection and open the Speidel fermenter for a couple minutes to take some readings.

Prior to starting I thoroughly washed my thermometer, turkey baster, and large 20 inch stainless steel spoon. Soaked them all in a cleaned bucket filled with StarSan and water. All parts removed, (screw-on top, airlock, etc. were put directly into the StarSan solution in the bucket.

I first took an accurate temperature of the brew, (as opposed to just measuring the outside of the Speidel), it read 66.8°F. It's slowly rising, but with the recent cool nights and 70-ish degree afternoons it's not going up very quickly.

Next I used the spoon to gently mix the beer, taking as much care as possible to not incorporate any oxygen. I then used my turkey baster to pull a sample to check the gravity. The OG had been 1.052. Per my hydrometer the current gravity is 1.022. I hoped it'd been a bit lower, but maybe this isn't too bad?

After carefully putting everything back together it was time to taste the sample I pulled. It smelled awesome!! I saw tiny bubbles making their way up the hydrometer jar. I poured some into a small flight glass. Smelled again, even more awesome. Tasted it. Yes!! It tastes very much like what I expect a good Oatmeal Stout to taste like. I only have three brews under my belt, this being the forth, but this one tastes better than any of my others, pre-carbonation.

I plan on leaving the beer in the fermenter a total of 3-4 weeks, and then let sit in bottles for another 3-4 weeks before opening one, (if I can hold out that long!!). Given all the above info should I expect to see any change in the gravity for the remainder of the time in the fermenter? I don't plan on opening it again until bottling day at which point I'll take the final gravity reading.

Comments welcome, and as always thank you all for your advice and support.
 
If the beer has only been fermenting a week, and is at 1.022, you should definitely see more of a drop. I'd check it again in a week.

You probably do not need to ferment for 4 weeks, I bet you're ready to bottle by 3. The only way to know is to check the gravity and taste the sample too. Don't be afraid to take samples!
 
Well nuts, I took another sample today, two weeks in, and it's still sitting around 1.022. No change for a week.

The temperature is holding at 68°

Any advice? Or should I just be patient?
 
Well nuts, I took another sample today, two weeks in, and it's still sitting around 1.022. No change for a week.

The temperature is holding at 68°

Any advice? Or should I just be patient?

Exactly what happened to me. Mine sat 3 weeks. Like I said above, I have no problems with my IPAs, but my dark beers don't come out right. Did my first batch yesterday with distilled water and adding salts.
 
Is the original post the most up to date recipe? The link at the bottom of the OP is not working on the app.
 
I thought it would be worth sharing since @Yooper has never, to my knowledge, entered this into a competition. My buddy and I brewed it and sent it into the Colorado State Fair. We scored a respectable 32 with no off-flavors detected and the only real notes were that it lacked a little bit of body and creaminess which the judges attributed to mash temp. This was actually a welcomed critique to us because we have been troubleshooting a problem with over-attenuation in our beers and we hypothesized that it might stem from continued conversion due to lack of a mash-out. We haven't confirmed this is the culprit yet, but I think we are on the right path. This is my 4th time brewing this recipe and it has always been, to my palette, delicious....granted I agree with the judges.

Anyway, just thought I would share.
 
Is the original post the most up to date recipe? The link at the bottom of the OP is not working on the app.
Yes the original is up to date. I'm sure others, like myself, have made some changes but you can't go wrong with original, and any changes are just personal mods. I'd suggest you begin with the original, you won't be disappointed!
I'm brewing it this weekend.

Well nuts, I took another sample today, two weeks in, and it's still sitting around 1.022. No change for a week.

The temperature is holding at 68°

Any advice? Or should I just be patient?
So how did it go?
I don't think a rise to 68 is significant. At even one week in I'm not concerned with slow rise (free rise or heat if needed) to 72-74. I generally wait until the main fermentation phase, 3-4 days, is over. You'll be fine.

Exactly what happened to me. Mine sat 3 weeks. Like I said above, I have no problems with my IPAs, but my dark beers don't come out right. Did my first batch yesterday with distilled water and adding salts.
Well my experience is a rise in temp works well on this beer. I've ended 2-3pts higher than Yooper's recipe but started 2-5 pts higher (I've made some tweaks).
I looked back at my notes and noticed other beers with this yeast finished fine and likely with no rise. Interesting. For the past year or so I now have a set template of info I fill in for each beer and ferment temp & # of days at set temp along with same info for ramp temps as part of my records. I find it helps to have a set of regular captured data for replication!
 
Hi kampenken. I see you're in Lansdale, not too far from where our daughter went to college in Easton, PA, (Lafayette College).

I was planning to bottle this past weekend since its been 4 weeks in the fermenter as of yesterday. Things got in the way though, so maybe some night this week. The last gravity check was about ten days ago and it hadn't budged from the one week mark - 1.022 or 1.023. I guess at this point it's as done as its going to be. I'll check one last time when bottling and hope for the best.
 
Hi kampenken. I see you're in Lansdale, not too far from where our daughter went to college in Easton, PA, (Lafayette College).

I was planning to bottle this past weekend since its been 4 weeks in the fermenter as of yesterday. Things got in the way though, so maybe some night this week. The last gravity check was about ten days ago and it hadn't budged from the one week mark - 1.022 or 1.023. I guess at this point it's as done as its going to be. I'll check one last time when bottling and hope for the best.

I know the Easton area well and Lafayette, once snuck into a frat party there! :mug:

You should be fine, i would however possibly stay on the low end of the suggested CO2 vol range ( I use Tastybrew.com for the levels). What may occur after time in the bottle is further ferment and you end up with some bottles over carb'd after a few months in bottle. I've seen this where the earlier consumed bottles are perfect carb, and later ones seem fizzier.
You can always try to rouse the yeast (stir it up) and raise temp and see if you get a few more points out of it. At any rate, I'm sure you'll be pleased. Enjoy!
 
Brewed this last saturday, as per the OP (except scaled batch size to 3.5 gallons).

Great brew-day, hit the numbers expected (sort of... still dialing in my expected efficiency... last batch I was a little higher than predicted, this time was bang on prediction).

Pitched a 1335 starter at around 73F, started bubbling about 4-5 hrs later with temp down to 66F, and has been pretty steady at 63-65F since then.

Was going strong on Day 2-3, and already settled way down. I'll leave it at least 2 weeks, maybe 3 just to stay true to the original recipe before checking FG and bottling. Based on quite a few posts about the beer finishing high, I'll probably allow the primary to rise up to high 60'sF tonight or tomorrow to help it finish up.

Reading all these posts here, I can't wait to have this conditioned and ready to drink. :tank:
 
At about day 5 into primary at 65-66F, most of the activity was done, I allowed my brew to slow-rise to 69F and it's been holding there since then (on day 8 today).

I'll probably plan on bottling after about 14 days (assuming the timing works out for my weekend), or if not, I'll leave it til the following weekend (21 days).

Question... am I better off leaving the primary at 69F until I bottle? Or will I benefit from moving it back to the mid-60's now and holding it there until bottling? Or will it make no difference?
 
At about day 5 into primary at 65-66F, most of the activity was done, I allowed my brew to slow-rise to 69F and it's been holding there since then (on day 8 today).

I'll probably plan on bottling after about 14 days (assuming the timing works out for my weekend), or if not, I'll leave it til the following weekend (21 days).

Question... am I better off leaving the primary at 69F until I bottle? Or will I benefit from moving it back to the mid-60's now and holding it there until bottling? Or will it make no difference?

I don't think 4-5 degrees is going to make much difference at this point.
 
Well I finally brewed this a few weeks ago using a 1 month old packet of Wyeast 1450. I had an OG 1.056 due to an aggressive boil. I aerated the wort using O2 and pitched my 1L starter. I fermented at 66F. Fermentation took off in less than 10 hours. After 4 days the blow-off activity slowed down to almost nothing. I raised the temp 2F/day for 3 days and let it ride at 72F. I checked the FG at 14 days 1.024. Checked again at 18 days and still 1.024. So into a keg it went. I guess I should have roused the yeast.
 
Well I finally brewed this a few weeks ago using a 1 month old packet of Wyeast 1450. I had an OG 1.056 due to an aggressive boil. I aerated the wort using O2 and pitched my 1L starter. I fermented at 66F. Fermentation took off in less than 10 hours. After 4 days the blow-off activity slowed down to almost nothing. I raised the temp 2F/day for 3 days and let it ride at 72F. I checked the FG at 14 days 1.024. Checked again at 18 days and still 1.024. So into a keg it went. I guess I should have roused the yeast.

Why? 1.024 is a perfect FG for this beer.
 
I sampled it and it tastes good with a nice roastiness. It is hard to judge the sweetness until it carbed. I was just concerned since the target FG was 1.016 and my attentuation was only 57%. So ended up with a session stout at 4.2%.
 
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