Brewers Best Oatmeal stout

[gijimmy]

I brewed Brewer's Best Oatmeal Stout kit on Febuary 8th. Bottled on the 23. Just started on the 2nd case of bottles this week and they have a "bite" to it... can't tell if its over carbonation or some sort of contamination. anyone else have an issue with this kit? thanks!

 

[RM-MN]

What temperature did you ferment at? The temperature has the most impact on the final product. You also may be drinking this stout a bit young. Put what is left out of sight for another month and then report on how it tastes.

I have beers that are overcarbonated. When I open them they soon begin to foam and will continue to foam out the top of the bottle until half to 3/4 of the beer is gone. That's overcarbonation.

 

[gijimmy]

I fermented it between 65-68 i think.

 

[RM-MN]

The last stout I brewed I started fermentation at 62 degrees (ambient) and left it at that for a week, then brought it to a 72 degree room for the next 3 1/2 weeks and then bottled it. It was very tasty a week after I bottled it. The only "bite" it had was from the combination of grains I used.

The warmer the temperature the faster the yeast work which raises the internal temperature of your fermenter. When the yeast get too warm they produce what are called 'fusel alcohols" or "Fusel oils" which are alcohols of higher molecular weight. These fusel alcohols (Fusel is German for foul, I think) have a bite to them that you may be tasting. The next time you make a batch, check the temperature of the fermenter to see how warm it is getting. You can get the little stick on liquid crystal thermometers that will show you approximately what the internal temperature is.

 

[brewski09]

Agreed on the prob not overcarbed, but time will tell on that one. Was the first case good? Could storage temp have spiked? What yeast was it?

 

[greenthumbed]

I made a Oatmeal Stout last fall using kit and grains. The first tasting had a hell of a "bite" to it. I was wondering if I had over sparged (squeezed)the grains and got some tannins or something. It is improving in the bottle (after 5 month) but I am not sure it will ever become great.

Sounds like yours needs more time.

 

[Johnnyhitch1]

time will tell is what i go by with all my darker brews last 2 stouts had the same "bite" in the beginning after about 2 months of bottle its finnaly "setting in" and smoothing out its profiles

 

[brewski09]

I made a Oatmeal Stout last fall using kit and grains. The first tasting had a hell of a "bite" to it. I was wondering if I had over sparged (squeezed)the grains and got some tannins or something. It is improving in the bottle (after 5 month) but I am not sure it will ever become great.

Sounds like yours needs more time.

it is easier to extract tannins from dark grains, especially if your sparge water is too how (I believe the limit is 176F). also, oversparging can cause excess tannin extraction. If it is tannins, then only time will mellow them, but they will go away, much like a red wine. However, it shouldn't take as long. I think stouts can be a good project to age.

As far as the Brewer's Best kits go, they are extract with specialty grains, so not too hard to oversparge/overextract the specialty grains (I've done that before). That may be what happened here. Good luck.

 

[greenthumbed]

Hey Guys,

I just cracked a bottle of my oatmeal stout(5+ months) to see how it was shaping up. Needs more time. A big change though, since my last sample for the better. I think it'll be good by winter.

 

[RM-MN]

It takes two conditions to extract tannins. Temperature must be over 170 and pH over 6. You cannot squeeze out tannins and you would not extract them by sparging unless you keep on sparging with very hot water until your pH rose too high.

 

[greenthumbed]

It takes two conditions to extract tannins. Temperature must be over 170 and pH over 6. You cannot squeeze out tannins and you would not extract them by sparging unless you keep on sparging with very hot water until your pH rose too high.

Thanks for the tip RM.:rockin: I have to admit I don't take a temperture reading on my sprage water. I use "hot" tap water which could well be over 170*. I sparge with 2L water so I don't think this is too much but my pH is quite high. I might try RO water next time.

 

[brewski09]

Thanks for the tip RM.:rockin: I have to admit I don't take a temperture reading on my sprage water. I use "hot" tap water which could well be over 170*. I sparge with 2L water so I don't think this is too much but my pH is quite high. I might try RO water next time.

Hot tap water is usually around 140F if you can't run it over your hands. Any hotter and it would cause burns beyond the superficial redness.

Over sparging is pretty easy with just the specialty grains, causing the ph to rise. Sounds like you measure it, so that's good. I don't. That, coupled with too hot of water could easily lead to tannin extraction for many of us.

 

[gijimmy]

THe first case was really smooth and tastey...thats whats making me wonder about this case.