Oatmeal Stout Rescue!

[WenValley]

Brewed up a ten gallon batch of oatmeal stout. Pretty basic recipe. 14 pounds of two row, assorted other adjuncts (Yoopers Oatmeal Stout) and the recipe called for TWO pounds of flaked oats.

I had the local brew shop include two pounds of flaked oats, and the next week when I brewed I added two more pounds of flaked oats that I toasted in the oven. I forgot that I had already added the oats. Duhhhhhhhh!

So, I've doubled the oats and I kegged the first carboy today. It's pretty astringent. I'm not getting that malty stout flavor. The profile starts out OK, but l get a nasty after taste that wipes out your palette.

The beer has been in primary for 18 days.

I tried mixing up some lactose into the first glass (before it was chilled or carbed) and it seemed to help, but not much.

I have a second carboy of this still in primary.

Maybe carbing and chilling will move this beer closer to drinkable, but right now I wouldn't serve this beer.

What say you?

 

[iijakii]

Yeah, I've read before that too much oats will give an astringent flavor. I think you are pretty limited on your options. I'd try carbing it and adding a little bit of lactose to a glass and see if that makes it OK. If not you might want to try blending with a sweet stout. Or you could go for broke and make it a coffee chocolate milk stout and hope that covers it enough

 

[WenValley]

How would you make it into a coffee sweet stout? Especially now that it's in a keg. Thanks in advance.

 

[worlddivides]

I had read and heard that astringency is the main reason why oats are rarely used in beers and, when they are, only sparingly and in beers where their astringency could be more acceptable (such as stouts and porters). I've enjoyed quite a few commercial oatmeal stouts, but I've even had commercial oatmeal stouts that were too astringent for my tastes.

One way I've seen for making it a coffee stout would be to cold-brew coffee (don't boil it!!) and then add however much of it that you want in your stout directly to the fermented wort after primary fermentation has ended (which it seems it already has) and leave them in the fermenter (or keg? I don't know, but it seems doable). If you want to make it sweet, you could add about 4 ounces of lactose dissolved in a small amount of water as well (assuming it's a 5 gallon batch). Of course, if you want it to be even sweeter, you could add 6 ounces or even 8 ounces, but it's all up to your taste, I think.

 

[day_trippr]

The suggestion was to blend with a new batch of sweet stout....

Cheers!

 

[WenValley]

I'm liking the coffee addition idea. I have a latte machine. We use triple shot portofilters so I could brew up a five or six and add to the stout.

Again, thanks for the suggestions.

 

[WenValley]

Would there be any reason not to add table sugar as the beer will beg kegged? It's not going to be bottled. Lactose doesn't seem to have much sweetening power per cup.

Thanks.

 

[dkwolf]

Would there be any reason not to add table sugar as the beer will beg kegged? It's not going to be bottled. Lactose doesn't seem to have much sweetening power per cup.

Thanks.

It doesn't matter that it will be kegged instead of bottled - it will still ferment all of the table sugar. Small boost in ABV, but no 'sweetening' of the beer. That's why lactose is used - it's an unfermentable sugar.

 

[WenValley]

How can it ferment at 38 degrees? Thanks.

 

[Yooper]

How can it ferment at 38 degrees? Thanks.

It won't. You can add sugar or honey or anything that sounds good to you!

 

[WenValley]

So, Yooper. How would you "fix" this problem. Love your recipe, when it's done correctly...

Thanks.

 

[Yooper]

So, Yooper. How would you "fix" this problem. Love your recipe, when it's done correctly...

Thanks.

I'm sorry to say that I just don't know. I hate sweet things, so I personally wouldn't sweeten- but most people like sweet things.

 

[zmanzorro]

Would cold steeping some other grains and adding them, help at all? It might balance out some of the flavors, but not necessarily make it sweeter.

 

[WenValley]

I'll do some searching on cold steeping. I was looking at three pounds of Munich Malt extract syrup.

Wonder what that would do if I dumped the container into a five gallon keg?

 

[beersk]

Weird, I've never heard of oats giving astringency. I thought they were supposed to add a creamy mouthfeel...
You sure this wasn't some other pH issue?

Either way, that doesn't matter. I'd maybe add some cold brewed coffee or even make a pint or two of iced latte and add that. Or even iced vanilla latte...

Wonder what that would do if I dumped the container into a five gallon keg?

If the keg is full, just pour it VERY carefully in. If it's already carbonated, it will foam up. If not, then you just want to minimize any oxidation when adding the coffee.

 

[Electrake]

For my own knowledge, did you use the oats directly after toasting them in the oven?

 

[WenValley]

The oats that I purchased at the brewshop were not toasted. The oats that I added at home were toasted in the oven.

I toasted them in two large pans. One thing I did different this time was to use the broiler to speed up the toasting.

I'm thinking of making another 5 gallon batch without oats, and then blending the keg in the cooler with the new batch when it's finished in three weeks.

I don't think that there's any way to hide this off flavor, and I don't want to dump ten gallons.

Thanks.

 

[Electrake]

One of the books I just finished reading, i think it was "Radical Brewing" by Mosher, talks about using toasted oats. Other than the fact that I think this is a fantastic idea, he talks about how the oats need to be left alone a while (week or two) so that a lot of the more harsh odors can be neutralized or dissipate.

Somone correct me if I'm wrong.

This is the reason why I asked what I did, if used right away the flavors from broiling these oats probably was what left it's ugly mark. My 2 cents

 

[WenValley]

I've done this ten gallon recipe about four or five times in the past. I've toasted the oats in the oven, then ground them the same day with the rest of the grain. No off flavors. It's been a very popular beer.

This last time I did use the broiler and the oats got pretty "toasted". I'm wondering if that isn't part of the problem. They were not burned, but in the past I just cooked them at 375 and they had a wonderful cookie smell.

Thanks to all.

I have the ingredients for a five gallon batch without oats, so my day now includes brewing.