Yeast choice for a "raisiny" brown ale

[Reggiegentry123]

I want to make a brown ale using flaked oats and make it reminiscent of an oatmeal cookie, so I wanted to find a good yeast that may give that raisiny character. Any suggestions? I feel like I've read that the English ale yeast strains will work for what I'm looking for, just not sure if any one is better than the other.

 

[dmtaylor]

Raisin flavor does not come from the yeast, it comes from the malt. Steep about an ounce of Belgian Special B malt (crushed) per gallon that you are brewing, and it will give you a lovely raisin flavor. Or maybe two ounces/gallon. Somewhere in that range. The yeast selection is not critical. I use whatever's cheap.

 

[tagz]

A combo of biscuit, special b, oats and some cara malt should get you moving in the right direction. Careful with the special b though, a little goes a long way. If you overdo it, you'll end up with a single note of burnt raisin. As for yeast, 1968 works great in a brown ale. It adds a fruitiness that mixes well with the dark malts.

 

[Reggiegentry123]

Oh, ok. For some reason I had thought that certain strains would give that raisiny flavor profile. Didn't realize that was solely based on grain selection. Luckily I have a pound of the Belgian special B already for the recipe. Thanks!

 

[tagz]

Nice. I would go about 1-3% on the special b. Let us know how it turns out!

 

[Rdom]

Northern brewer has an oatmeal cookie brown ale kit. I haven't brewed it but their kits have a good reputation. Their grain bill might give some ideas. It does include special b.
http://www.northernbrewer.com/oatmeal-cookie-brown-ale-biab-all-grain-kit

 

[BigMack]

I think Crystal 120 gives a lot of raisin. Special B as well.

 

[Queequeg]

Victory and crystal together has given me raisin qualities before.