Burnt match aroma and flavor

oatmeal stout

8lbs maris otter
2lbs munich
6 oz roasted barley
8 oz chocolate malt
8 oz crystal 60
4 oz speacial b
1 lb flaked oats, toasted at 300 for 1hr
OG 1.060

During the mash and when I tasted a sample, It smelled and tasted really roasty, like coffee...Nice! I decided to mix it up a little and ferment with Wyeast Munich lager. I let it ferment for 2 weeks at 52 degrees. Took a gravity reading 1.020, tasted sample. It had a really smokey/burnt flavor and aroma. Like a burnt match. I let it sit for another week. Tansferred to 2ndary, took SG reading 1.015, still tastes smokey/burnt. I plan on letting it sit for a month at 35 degrees. I am not sure if this is from the yeast or what, I assume it will dissipate with time. Has anyone else run across this?

Question, why did you do an Oatmeal Stout (Ale) with a Lager yeast?

Did you use anything to sanitize/sterilize like Sodium metabisulfite?

You could always sell the recipe to Budweiser for a new Bud Light Burnt Match flavor.

Question, why did you do an Oatmeal Stout (Ale) with a Lager yeast?
Why not? I was hopping to get the smooth and mellow flavor of the malts to shine through.

Did you use anything to sanitize/sterilize like Sodium metabisulfite?
No, I use one step.

It could be that the lager yeast is producing some sulphur compounds (as lager yeasts tend to do) that are combining with the roasted notes to make for a "burnt match smell." I would guess that, as you lager your oatmeal stout over some weeks, that sulphur character will fade.

Do be aware that you likely will need to lager this beer over some time to get it clean. The yeast doesn't care that you are making an oatmeal stout. It will do what it does, and you have to deal with that. In the future, if you want to use an ale yeast, there are many out there that emphasize malt character. Just about all the British styles do, as does California V and the Scottish ale yeasts. I tend to use WLP002 for my oatmeat stout.


TL

Technically, One-Step is a cleanser, not a sanitizer. IF you leave it long enough it'll do an ok job at sanitizing, but you'll be better off with something like Star-san or iodiphor for a no-rinse sanitizer.

otherwise, I agree with TexLaw here. the sulphur from the lager strain and the young age of the beer are causing the flavor/smell. it needs time.