Oatmeal Stout Yooper's Oatmeal Stout

[newfiebrew]

Hello.... what would be a good dry yeast to use as I'm new to brewing and do not have a stir plate to make a starter? Nottingham or us-04???

thanks!

 

[orangemen5]

Hello.... what would be a good dry yeast to use as I'm new to brewing and do not have a stir plate to make a starter? Nottingham or us-04???

thanks!

You don't need a stir plate to make a yeast starter. It's just make things easier. You can continually shake it every couple hours. I've made this beer twice. First time using s-04 second time using the British ale yeast. Much preferred the one made with British ale yeast. Never tried it with the notty though.

 

[Moose_MI]

This is not intended to contradict orangemen5 as he is correct a stir plate is not required. I'm new and have added a variety of equipment in the 8 months I've been brewing. Nothing has been as valuable as the $40 I spent on a stir plate. Unless you are sticking to dry yeast or pitching on yeast cakes....get one.

 

[orangemen5]

This is not intended to contradict orangemen5 as he is correct a stir plate is not required. I'm new and have added a variety of equipment in the 8 months I've been brewing. Nothing has been as valuable as the $40 I spent on a stir plate. Unless you are sticking to dry yeast or pitching on yeast cakes....get one.

+1. I never actually made a starter without a stir plate myself. I bought one right away. Just threw an option out there. It's def worth spending the $40.
The best part is the starter makes itself while your at work. Most ppl can't continually shake it every couple hours due to being busy.

 

[TrustyOlJohnson]

Hello.... what would be a good dry yeast to use as I'm new to brewing and do not have a stir plate to make a starter? Nottingham or us-04???
Newfiebrew,
If I may make a suggestion, maybe consider Danstar Windsor. Its a british yeast that does leave some flavors behind and doesnt ferment as completly as Nottingham. You will be left with a lil bit more sweetness and body. SO 4 will be similiar, but will fermen a lil bit more out. And then SO5/Nottingham will have the most complete fermentation with no profile in the flavor.
thanks!

"Sometimes Im right half of the time ...."

 

[newfiebrew]

Could someone suggest a good stirplate and what size flask is best? I have read a review on the one at stirstarters.com and some say it struggles with large volume starters (2000ml or higher)???

 

[mtnagel]

I turned this USB fan into a stir plate and used hard drive magnets on the fan. Works great and I've made a gallon starter with no issues. Just make sure to match the stir bar size to the magnet and it will work fine.

I mostly use a 2L flask, but have a tall rubbermaid container with a flat bottom that has a 4L capacity for making larger starters if necessary.

 

[redshift76]

I turned this USB fan into a stir plate and used hard drive magnets on the fan. Works great and I've made a gallon starter with no issues. Just make sure to match the stir bar size to the magnet and it will work fine.

I mostly use a 2L flask, but have a tall rubbermaid container with a flat bottom that has a 4L capacity for making larger starters if necessary.

Same here, works great:

 

[orangemen5]

Could someone suggest a good stirplate and what size flask is best? I have read a review on the one at stirstarters.com and some say it struggles with large volume starters (2000ml or higher)???

I have the stir plate from stir starters. I've done 3L starters without a problem

 

[PeteNMA]

Hi Yooper

Have you (or anyone else on this thread) tried using a Perlick Creamer faucet to serve this? I've found that a straight pour from the picnic tap results in a good head but it disappears quickly, but if you top it off with some foam by just cracking the tap open then it lasts forever.

I'm going to be buying another tap anyway so was wondering if the creamer was worth it, or if it would be fine with a regular 525/630

 

[Jsslack]

My buddy and i have the 525 and it is great. A nice alternative to actually having a stout faucet.

 

[Keota]

Has anyone experienced a "yeasty" flavor to this beer? I transferred to a keg after two weeks of fermenting and the sample I tried tasted like yeast.

I know the OP said to ferment for 21 days, but I wanted to take some to my brother's this weekend so transferred after 15 days. Other posters commented that they transferred to keg/bottles after two weeks and reported no problems.

I have made several batches of beer before and I have never experienced this result after fermenting. Any advice/suggestions? Thank you.

 

[pricelessbrewing]

What was the og? Yeast were probably still active.

 

[Keota]

OG was 1.032.

I think you are right and the yeast was still active. It was my first time using 1335. All my previous batches of beer I used a different yeast and two weeks was always enough. I never experienced the yeasty taste before.

I guess I am still learning some things the hard way.

 

[pricelessbrewing]

Yeah 1.032 is much too early. I would suggest killing off the yeast, cold crashing, racking to another keg if possible and adding something to bitter it slightly and mask the sweetness. Maybe dryhop, or chocolate, or some cold brewed coffee.

 

[Keota]

Thanks for the help, pricelessbrewing.

I have never cold crashed before so I will give it a try. See how it works. How long do you suggest I let it sit at the cold temperature?

 

[pricelessbrewing]

Well make sure you kill the yeast off first, then cold crash to get them to compact at the bottom. I'd say three days minimum, up to a week at most. Won't cause any problems but the purpose will be completely done by then.

Alternatively if you try and wake the yeast up and let it finish, but you may have introduced too much oxygen and messed it up by racking to the keg. Someone else may have a better suggestion but I would throw a party and get that keg kicked just in case, since any problems will arise quickly and will probably just get worse with time.

 

[d2xx]

made this on 8-2 (sat). used wlp-007, made a 1.5l starter on a stir plate and it started fermenting in under 3 hours. keeping my fingers crossed mine turns out as well as a lot of these have.

Thanks Yooper

 

[bunt1828]

What did I do wrong?

I brewed this up in June (followed recipe except scaled up to 6gal and a lower efficiency) and have had it on tap for a few weeks now. It tastes AMAZING but has no head whatsoever, and any foam I am able to create by pouring straight down the middle of the glass (which isn't much) fades quickly. What could cause this? Is it just not carbed enough? I've got it set at 12psi right now which is my normal serving pressure. The other beers on tap are fine (one was added much later) and don't have any oats/wheat while this one has 1.3lbs.

I was planning on entering this in my first competition next month (probably still will) so I'm pretty bumbed. Any ideas?


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[Yooper]

What did I do wrong?

I brewed this up in June (followed recipe except scaled up to 6gal and a lower efficiency) and have had it on tap for a few weeks now. It tastes AMAZING but has no head whatsoever, and any foam I am able to create by pouring straight down the middle of the glass (which isn't much) fades quickly. What could cause this? Is it just not carbed enough? I've got it set at 12psi right now which is my normal serving pressure. The other beers on tap are fine (one was added much later) and don't have any oats/wheat while this one has 1.3lbs.

I was planning on entering this in my first competition next month (probably still will) so I'm pretty bumbed. Any ideas?


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

Did you use flaked barley in it? That's what I use in it for head retention.

 

[bunt1828]

yep. 11oz of flaked barley. my scaled version was as follows:

9lb 6oz of MO
1lb 5.5oz Flaked Oat
1lb Victory
11oz pale chocolate
11oz flaked barley
9oz roasted barley
11oz crystal 75
2oz chocolate

2oz Williamette (5.3%) @ 60
1.5L starter - for some reason I didn't write down which type I used, but I did note that it was old and Brewer's Friend quoted it at 20% viable.. fermented a little slower than usaual but still fine - 2 bubbles/sec after 48hrs, full attenuation.

Normal brew process with 60min at 153, batch sparge, 60+min boil, cool, pitch, ferment at 64. OG=1.055.

 

[Yooper]

Hmmm- that's actually pretty nice for head formation and retention. I don't use roasted barley in mine (so it's not my recipe), but that isn't an issue for head.

One suggestion I have is to make sure your glass is residue-free. If you take a glass, moisten it with water and then sprinkle salt in it, using your hand to scrub the glass well inside and around the rim, and then pour one it should tell us if it's the glassware or the beer itself.

I assume that the keg was never shaken to carb up? I know some brewers do that, but in my experience it does destroy head retention later on.

 

[broncosmoker]

Bunt,

Are you using Fermcap or any anti foaming agents in your brew to prevent boilovers?

 

[bunt1828]

Oh man! That's a good call. I didn't put it in my notes, but I was using it almost every batch up until July (upgraded from 7.5gal kettle to 20). This one was basically maxed out with ~7gal pre-boil so it's not a stretch to conclude that I may have overdone it with that stuff. Damn. Well, lesson learned.

Thank you both for the quick replies. I'll try and clean the glasses properly to see what that gets me. I didn't shake it, but I did force carb at 30psi for 36hrs after cooling it. That wasn't enough so I did another ~8hrs. Seems to be at the right level now as far as taste goes.

Great recipe Yoop! No doubt I'll be brewing it again (and again, and again). FWIW, the roasted barley was the 500L stuff, and was the closest they had to the black barley. I'll replace it if it ever becomes an option, but I'm happy enough with it as-is if that day never comes.

 

[broncosmoker]

Yeah I stopped using Fermcap on heavier beers due to lower head retention even with enough items to make it big. I think that small little amount of oil slick causes issues on darker beers. I have no problems on other beers with rye or barley, just the porters and stouts.

It is a great recipe that Yooper put together. I follow it almost exactly (I toast my oats everything else is the same) so really haven't changed it and will give credit where credit is due. Score consistent 39-42's with it. Found a sweet spot for aging and serving that I think really adds to the complexity of this beer.

As always thank you Yooper for sharing this recipe and insight.

 

[CadiBrewer]

Yeah I stopped using Fermcap on heavier beers due to lower head retention even with enough items to make it big. I think that small little amount of oil slick causes issues on darker beers. I have no problems on other beers with rye or barley, just the porters and stouts.

It is a great recipe that Yooper put together. I follow it almost exactly (I toast my oats everything else is the same) so really haven't changed it and will give credit where credit is due. Score consistent 39-42's with it. Found a sweet spot for aging and serving that I think really adds to the complexity of this beer.

As always thank you Yooper for sharing this recipe and insight.

Care to share your "sweet spot for aging and serving?"

 

[broncosmoker]

87-140 days after primary IMO. It's good all the way through, but I think the balance is best in this range, then mellows a tad. Before this block of time I think it is a little too rich and the complexities get masked. Again my opinion.

 

[Setesh]

Here is an excerpt from this BeerSmith thread that covers some head retention high points:

Head retention is its own special science. Ph.D.s have been earned on the subject. The thing to keep in mind is that the molecules that form head do so only once. Then they're done.

First, eliminate the common things that are foam negative:
Oils/soap residues
pH above 4.7 (finished beer)
pH below 3.8 (finished beer)
hot break
low CO2 lamination
Excessive foaming, churning during fermentation and bottling.
Repeated gassing and degassing kegged beer.
Oxidation
Unclean glassware
High ethanol level
Low ethanol level (the optimum is right around 4.5 to 5.5% abv)
High amounts of fusel alcohols



As to FermCap causing the problem...maybe, but I doubt it. I now use FermCap in the boil kettle for all of my beers because it keeps me from having to knock the hops back down into the beer since foam doesn't form on top of the boil. I also use it in my fermenters to prevent blowoffs. But I only started doing this in the last couple of years. Before that I didn't use it at all, and I didn't notice any change in the finished product at all, including Stouts and Porters. The interesting thing with FermCap is that it settles out so quickly that I have to add more to the fermentor. In other words, what I added to the boil kettle seems to stay in the boil kettle. If I don't add more to the fermentor it will foam just like a normal fermentation. The theory being that if something isn't actively kicking it up (either boiling or fermentation) it settles out very quickly, allowing you do get clean beer off the trub. I do use much less than the bottle says to though. I have found that 3 drops in an 11 gallon batch is more than sufficient to prevent boil overs, and the same amount in fermentors works great too. Obviously YMMV.

 

[2BeerSpeer]

Yooper I'm about to barrel age this recipe again. I'll let you know when to look for a package. ..

 

[Yooper]

Yooper I'm about to barrel age this recipe again. I'll let you know when to look for a package. ..

I saw that you posted- and realized that it's already September! I'm not even close to brewing this yet, as I'm still hoping for summer type weather. I admire your ability to think ahead. Oh, and Danny, if you forgot my address, I'll be happy to remind you!

 

[srob18]

I've been wanting to do a Belgian stout for some time and think this seems like it could be a good recipe to experiment with!

Does anyone think they know a Belgian yeast strand that could work particularly well with this beer??

 

[Moose_MI]

I followed original recipe but used S04. My first time brewing a stout and I don't really drink a lot of stouts. 3 weeks primary; 3 weeks bottle. Primed with 5oz corn sugar.
It's Very Good! I'm interested to see how it changes over the next several weeks because I think it's still a little green. I did not get a lot of nose, but what was there is nice. Nice chocolate head. I get chocolate and coffee but I'd say this is easy drinking as stouts go. I may have a little more carb than what the style calls for...I think it's made the mouth feel just a little thin....I could be drinking it a little colder than what is "proper" also.
I really like this.....I'm anxious to share this with friends that enjoy stouts to see what they think.
Thanks for the recipe!

 

[JollyBombadil]

Hi folks. So I'm really excited to brew this up for the first time. Not excited about how my LHBS crushed black patent into my bag though!

Any ideas how I can try and bring this beer back around with all that black patent roastiness in there? Maybe secondary on vanilla beans? I would love any ideas on how to smooth this beer out. Thanks!

 

[TAK]

Hi folks. So I'm really excited to brew this up for the first time. Not excited about how my LHBS crushed black patent into my bag though!

Any ideas how I can try and bring this beer back around with all that black patent roastiness in there? Maybe secondary on vanilla beans? I would love any ideas on how to smooth this beer out. Thanks!

Don't worry about it too much. Maybe mash higher to get some extra residual sweetness.

 

[MerlinWerks]

Still trying to figure out the whole "Black Barley" ingredient. My current take is that most maltsters produce a roasted barley that is around 500L and Breiss calls their version of this "Black Barley". It appears that what Briess markets as roasted barley is around 300L and is not what the majority of maltsters would call roasted barley.

Does anyone have any evidence that Briess "Black Barley" is really something different than another companies roasted barley?

 

[orangemen5]

Still trying to figure out the whole "Black Barley" ingredient. My current take is that most maltsters produce a roasted barley that is around 500L and Breiss calls their version of this "Black Barley". It appears that what Briess markets as roasted barley is around 300L and is not what the majority of maltsters would call roasted barley.



Does anyone have any evidence that Briess "Black Barley" is really something different than another companies roasted barley?

I researched this question when I brewed this beer also. Came to the same conclusion. Black barley and roasted barley are the same thing. Briess 300l roasted barley isn't what most stouts call for when a recipe says roasted barley. They usually mean the 500l

 

[Yooper]

Black barley, black malt, black patent, and roasted barley are different. Different maltsters make different grains, but in general the unmalted grains are not exactly like the malted ones.

I like this description from Briess:
http://www.brewingwithbriess.com/Products/Dark_Roasted.htm
http://www.brewingwithbriess.com/Products/Roasted_Barley.htm

 

[MerlinWerks]

Thanks folks, I understand the difference between black malt/patent vs. black barley/roasted barley. I just wanted to be sure there wasn't some significant difference between black barley and roasted barley.

Went with roasted barley, actually had to change my order because I initially ordered the Briess Black Malt, then did some more reading and determined that black malt was not what I wanted to use. Went with the Muntons roasted barley since Ritebrew doesn't carry the Briess Black Barley.

Regardless, brewing this up on Saturday

 

[tgmartin000]

Just tapped v2 of this stout. Came out fantastic last year, and it's even better this year. It finished at 1.0185, and is nice and rich. I used the golden naked oats. Just entered into the rocky Mountain homebrew challenge. We'll see how it turns out. .. but at 4.9%, it makes a solid session beer!

 

[Moose_MI]

I followed original recipe but used S04. My first time brewing a stout and I don't really drink a lot of stouts. 3 weeks primary; 3 weeks bottle. Primed with 5oz corn sugar.
It's Very Good! I'm interested to see how it changes over the next several weeks because I think it's still a little green. I did not get a lot of nose, but what was there is nice. Nice chocolate head. I get chocolate and coffee but I'd say this is easy drinking as stouts go. I may have a little more carb than what the style calls for...I think it's made the mouth feel just a little thin....I could be drinking it a little colder than what is "proper" also.
I really like this.....I'm anxious to share this with friends that enjoy stouts to see what they think.
Thanks for the recipe!

Yep, it's had a few more weeks in bottle and it smoothed out a little more. I poor and let it warm for 5 min and it gets creamy...just stupid good beer. Thanks Yoop!