Recipe critique for my Espresso Stout?

[JohnRudolfLewis]

I'm a beginner all grain brewer. I've never brewed a big beer before. I'd like to try. Other than my very first batch, I've always formulated my own recipe. But I'd like some advice on this recipe before I try it.

First, some background.

I recently tried both Oakshire Overcast Espresso Stout, and Southern Tier Mokah and liked aspects of each. I loved the strong espresso flavors of the Overcast. I loved the big beer mouth feel of the Mokah. I did not like the over the top chocolate flavors of the Mohah, but was wishing the Overcast had a little bit more.

So here is my recipe:

14 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)
4 lbs Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM)
2 lbs Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM)
1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM)
1 lbs Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM)
4.0 oz Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM)
2 lbs Candi Sugar, Dark (275.0 SRM)
1.5 oz Nugget [13.0%] - Boil 60 min
0.5 oz Willamette [5.5%] - Boil 15 min
0.50 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10 min)
0.50 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Boil 10 min)
0.5 oz Willamette [5.5%] - Boil 0 min
2 pkgs Irish Ale Yeast (White Labs #WLP004)
0.50 lbs Espresso Roast Coffee (Primary 4 weeks)
1.00 oz Cacao Nibs - Ghana (Primary 4 weeks)

Color: 77.3 SRM
Bitterness: 55.0 IBUs
Est OG: 1.107 (25.1° P)
Est FG: 1.024 SG (6.2° P)
ABV: 11.1%

I plan on making a 3L starter, shaken not stirred, since I do not yet have a stir plate.

This will be batch sparged.

I plan on doing only a primary, and not bothering transferring to a secondary.

After the initial vigorous fermentation is complete, I plan on adding the cacao nibs, and the espresso directly to the primary. I will cold-brew the espresso and filter out the grounds before hand.

This recipe was formulated using beersmith. But my concerns can't really be answered by a formula, only experience, which I do not have in this case.

With all the oats, and an estimated FG of 1.024, how thick is this going to feel? One of my earlier attempts at an oatmeal stout was way to thin, but am I going overboard here?

I have the IBU's down at 55 because I don't want the hops to overpower the espresso or the cacao. But is this going to be enough bitterness? Will this be cloyingly sweet?

 

[JohnRudolfLewis]

Oh, and I forgot to mention, I plan to taste a sample after 4 weeks, with the espresso and cacao in there for 2 weeks at this point. I will dry-hop and/or add/remove cacao nibs as needed and let it sit in the primary for another 2 weeks.

Once bottled, I plan to let it age for 90 days.

 

[RainyDay]

Looks like a big beer. 1.024 will be decently chewy (in a good way). I'm sure someone's going to say not to use 2lbs of Roasted Barley, but I use 2lbs in my chocolate coffee stout, and its not bitter at all (but it does cut through the chocolate well).

Edit: Didnt finish my thought. I dont have a lot of experience with flaked oats, so maybe someone else can jump in here, but I only used 1lb in mine and got a good mouthfeel. Dont know what 4lbs would do either way though. I'd recommend toasting them a week or so before, it'll add some more depth.

 

[JohnRudolfLewis]

bump

 

[RainyDay]

I'd drop the flaked oats to 1 pound, lose the black patent, drop the candi sugar to one pound or just replace all of it with a pound of brown sugar, and save the espresso beans and cocoa nibs for the secondary (primary will blow off a lot of flavors). I'm guessing you mean beans when you say coffee. 8oz is going to be a lot, may want to dial that back to an ounce or two (a little goes a long way) and taste after a week or two; you can always add more.