Raisin flavor

What is the best way to get a subtle raisin flavor in an oatmeal stout?

I get that flavor a lot with Special B malt in the beer. Also some of the darker candy sugars can give raisin and fig types of flavors.

Or you could take some raisins, caramelize them a bit, put them in a bag and add that to your fermenter (or secondary if you're inclined to such things).

I'm still working on this one. I'll tell you what way is incorrect-> putting some sterilized (with steam) raisins in a hopsack into the keg of finished stout.

I racked on top of raisins. After keg finished carbing I poured a pint-> first pint was VERY SWEET! A lot of the raisin sugars were suspended right around the raisin sack at the bottom of the keg since it hadn't been shaken.

The second third fourth fifth etc pints were all very yummy as the stout was essentially flowing through the raisins to the beer-out line.

Then one day... it started tasting less great. It started subtle so I thought it could've been my tastebuds or the glass I was using. Maybe just a little bit of a bite to it?

One day later... whole keg tasted nasty. The raisins were beginning to rot in the bottom of the keg, oxidizing everything and giving a seriously funky taste.

So anywho... that's one way NOT to do it. I'm not trying my oatmeal-raisin-cookie-stout again until Autumn so I'd be very interested in hearing if you find success with another method

cheers

just found this thread. it's worth reading before you decide on a method of using raisins

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/proper-use-raisins-beer-145703/

I'll be brewing my breakfast in a bottle tomorrow (Oatmeal Raisin Bacon Coffee Stout). I know it sounds a bit strange, but I have strange taste buds. I have already figured out the degreased, caramelized bacon and cold brew coffee additions in the secondary but I am worried about the raisins making the stout to sweet and overpowering the other flavors. That and I have never really liked the idea of fruit in beer for fear of rotting.

Gduck said:

I get that flavor a lot with Special B malt in the beer. Also some of the darker candy sugars can give raisin and fig types of flavors.

Or you could take some raisins, caramelize them a bit, put them in a bag and add that to your fermenter (or secondary if you're inclined to such things).

Click to expand...

I might try the dark candy sugars thank you

jotakah said:

just found this thread. it's worth reading before you decide on a method of using raisins

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/proper-use-raisins-beer-145703/

Click to expand...

Awesome thank you for the link and I will let you know what I decide and how it turns out.

Agree, Special B and Dark Candy Syrup (D or D2).

The thing is, the raisin doesn't come through until at least 3 months in the bottle for me. I was initially disappointed in my Dubbel as I could not taste any raisin. Then it came through rather nicely after some aging.

Crystal 120 can also lend a dark fruit, raisin, plum-like flavor. Otherwise agree with Special B and darker syrups (D45, D90, D180).

Ok so I went ahead and added raisins to the fermenter because I was planning on aging the beer anyways. 2 days after the addition, I had what appeared to be a white mold on top of the beer. Now I'm kinda scared to do anything. Should I toss the batch and start over or rack it off and then filter to try and salvage it.

Extra Dark Crystal or Crystal 150 are great. The grains smell and taste like raisins, and contribute that flavor to your beer. .25-.5 lb in a stout should be subtle.

I did a belgian style xmas ale using d45 and got some nice raisin

slohsandt said:

Ok so I went ahead and added raisins to the fermenter because I was planning on aging the beer anyways. 2 days after the addition, I had what appeared to be a white mold on top of the beer. Now I'm kinda scared to do anything. Should I toss the batch and start over or rack it off and then filter to try and salvage it.

Click to expand...

Dump or try to salvage

Post up a pic of the "white mold". Could be a pellicle forming of desirable bugs found in a sour. If thats the case, I would leave it alone for extended aging. See Post up a pic of your pellicle thread for examples.

If it is mold, you might just want to rack under and drink it up. With either one, you will have to be careful with sanitization moving forward. Any plastic that touches it might be risky moving forward. I have a second set of equipment that is for sour duty, but is segregated.