Brewers Best Partial Mash

[slicksmix]

Hello all...

I would like to ask a few questions about the brewers best oatmeal stout recipe. I received two grain bags in my kit, so i assumed that my one pound of flaked oats go into one and my assortment of other crushed grains (12 oz 2 row pale malt, 6 oz dark chocolate, 4 oz victory, 2 oz caramel 120L) go into the other. What do you guys and gals think?

second question: This recipe requires a partial mash, 1 gallon of water for every 2 pounds of grains. I have a total of 2.25 Lbs of grains, should i be that concerned about the extra 1/8 gallon of water or will i be ok to steep my grains in just a gallon?

and... im a noob... the flaked oats are considered a specialty grain and needs to be steeped in the mash, correct?

any tips or advise would be greatly appreciated

Thank you all

 

[avidhomebrewer]

Welcome to HBT and to the hobby of brewing.

1. You could do it that way or combine them. When they are mashed, they are combined. Either way, rinse the bags (don't squeeze) with about 1 gallon (1/2 gallon each if you separate) of ~165 degree water.

2. You will be fine to steep your grains in 1 gallon.

As for flaked oats, they need to be steeped too.

 

[BigB]

Well, 24 oz of grains is actually 1.5 lbs of grain. Plus, add the one pound of oats.. that gives you 2.5 lbs of grain. So, you will use 5 quarts of water. You really only need one bag for all of the grain and the flaked oats (yes the oats are included in the mash). The extra bag can be used for hops during the boil. DON'T separate the oats and the rest of the grain.

 

[slicksmix]

Thank you for a response. I am glad to join a nice and also helpful community.

If im not mistaken 24 oz is 1.5 lbs. 16 oz a pound right? So i guess my next thought is... Do i include the pound of flaked oats into my water addition in my mash?

Edit: ok. nevermind about that, i see my mistake

I could either...

A-say I have 2.5lbs of grain (including flaked oats) and use 1.25 gallons of water

or

B-say I have 1.5lbs of grain (excluding flaked oats) and use .75 gallons of water

 

[BigB]

Yes, I was half asleep last night when I wrote that reply. You are correct with option A.

 

[slicksmix]

Thanks big b. I did my boil yesterday and all seems well. My og was a little higher than it was supposed to be. The recipe called for 1.046-1.056. Mine was 1.064. Do u think this will make a big difference? Maybe more body and taste but I'm not sure. Have u ever done this kit? If so what did u think of it?

 

[BigB]

No, I've never done this kit. But to end up so high with such little amount of mashed grains, I would suspect that you didn't mix the wort with the top off water well enough. If you don't mix the top off water in thoroughly, you can end up taking a hydro sample that is not representative of the entire solution. 8 points north of the high end would suggest that. I think you will be fine, as the fermentation will mix everything up anyways. So, RDWHAHB!

 

[jz989]

Thanks big b. I did my boil yesterday and all seems well. My og was a little higher than it was supposed to be. The recipe called for 1.046-1.056. Mine was 1.064. Do u think this will make a big difference? Maybe more body and taste but I'm not sure. Have u ever done this kit? If so what did u think of it?

Hey slicksmix, I just brewed this kit last Saturday. I'm new to homebrewing as well. How did this turn out for you? My OG ended up at 1.062! I had a heck of a time attempting to keep the steep temperature between 160 and 165 degrees. I tried to follow the included instructions/recipe as best as I could.

So, I've had this sitting in the fermenter since Saturday afternoon. At first the airlock was rolling pretty well, but it completely stopped bubbling Tuesday morning. The fermenting temperature was around 60 to 62 degrees. I've moved the primary to another room where the temperature is a bit warmer at around 65 degrees to see if I get any more action out of the airlock.

Just wondering if you've bottled/kegged your's yet and what the FG was? Did you move it to a secondary fermenting vessel? If you've bottled/kegged have you had a chance to try any of your finished product, if so, was it pretty sweet?

My brew is still in the early stages, so I'm wondering if there is anything that I should try to do now to try and start fermentation again, or if I should just plan on moving it to the secondary fermenter over the weekend.

Thanks!

Also found this thread in the forums as well. Seems like others have had issues with this kit.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/has-anyone-tried-brewers-best-oatmeal-stout-kit-208196/

 

[slicksmix]

Hello jz989, I have done two oatmeal stout kits, this thread is related to my first attempt. After having problems and contacting Brewers Best, they hooked my up with another kit and some modded directions with some major changes. Both kits gravities ended in the 1030's, and whatever i did would not help.

That being said, I proceeded to bottle my first batch and i do enjoy it, so its not like it was terrible beer, it was quite good (although a little sweet for my personal taste). I really like the recipe and i think that if we left the ONE POUND of maltodextrin (which is a ton), i think that the gravity would get alot lower. I just bottled the second batch a couple of days ago so i havent tasted it fully carbed, but it tasted good before bottling.

I did perform the secondary fermentation with both batches. I also tried several things to get the gravity lower but to no avail (tried repitching champagne yeast, stirring and warming, and yeast energizer). Others have tried repitching with starters but i havent heard anything about the results (keep an eye out in my other thread you posted the link to)

if you have any other questions please feel free to ask, and i will help you if i can. oh, and welcome to HBT and the art of brewing

 

[jz989]

if you have any other questions please feel free to ask, and i will help you if i can. oh, and welcome to HBT and the art of brewing

Bummer. This is my fourth attempt at brewing with a Brewer's Best kit and each one has had problems. I suspect my first couple brews were foiled by improper sanitation, so I made extra sure that I completely sanitized EVERYTHING this time after I cleaned all my equipment. Getting a bit discouraged, but I'm going to keg this batch and save myself the time bottling. I suppose that I can do with a sweet stout.

Thanks for the reply, have fun, and keep on brewing! I'll keep an eye on your other thread... didn't notice that you authored that thread as well before I posted this.