Brown oatmeal stout with a very light body

[latProd]

So, I've brewed my first stout using this recipe:
10 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US
1 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L
1 lb Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM)
1 lb Oats, Flaked
0.50 lb Roasted Barley
1.50 oz Williamette [5.50 %] (60 min)
Safale-05

Mash @ 156 for 60 minutes
Mash out @ 168 for 10 minutes
Ferment @65C

My FG was 1.063 and after a week in the fermenter it's down to about 1.015
It tastes clean and smells good, but it's 100% brown, and I don't get any of that dark, oily stout mouthfeel either.
I used RO water as a base and followed some water addition guidelines on here, so I think my water should be fine.
It sure looked a lot darker going into the fermenter than it does now. I've read that yeast in suspension and proteins etc can cause it to not be as dark as it's going to be later... but it looks like sewage at the moment.
Can / should i steep some roasted barley / chocolate malt and add to the fermenter? or leave it alone?

Thanks!

 

[cooper]

I'd leave it alone for another week and let the yeast finish up. Check the FG over the course of a couple days to make sure it hasn't change and then package normally. Once it's carbed and chilled then tasted it and evaluate what you would change for the next batch.

 

[McKnuckle]

You should leave it alone. After one week in primary you can't really tell anything useful about this beer other than the gravity. Even if the color stays as is, I would say that the flavor is far more important, and you can't really modify it without risking the introduction of some other flaw.

Suspended yeast will always lighten the color, anyway, and for certain that's happening at one week. Also, stouts develop their creamy mouthfeel after conditioning; I wouldn't expect to see much of that during fermentation.

Patience! It won't be what you want it to be for at least another month (3 weeks conditioning, minimum).

 

[latProd]

I'd leave it alone for another week and let the yeast finish up. Check the FG over the course of a couple days to make sure it hasn't change and then package normally. Once it's carbed and chilled then tasted it and evaluate what you would change for the next batch.

Yeah thanks, I guess you're right. There's also a slight acid aftertaste as i was stupid enought to add some sauermalz to the grist, when you apparently should not do that in dark beers. any way to adjust or fix that during fermentation? or... not?

 

[latProd]

You should leave it alone. After one week in primary you can't really tell anything useful about this beer other than the gravity. Even if the color stays as is, I would say that the flavor is far more important, and you can't really modify it without risking the introduction of some other flaw.

Suspended yeast will always lighten the color, anyway, and for certain that's happening at one week. Also, stouts develop their creamy mouthfeel after conditioning; I wouldn't expect to see much of that during fermentation.

Patience! It won't be what you want it to be for at least another month (3 weeks conditioning, minimum).

Ok thanks for the info. I've never brewed dark style beers before so not sure what to expect. I'll package in a week and wait 3 more to see where it's at. Hope the acidity dissipates but i'm dearing the worst.

 

[RM-MN]

I'd leave the beer alone. As the others have said, at one week you really can't tell much about how the beer will be when bottled and conditioned. After 2 or 2 1/2 weeks in the fermenter you will have some idea from a sample, after 3 months in the bottle you will have a better idea. After 6 to 12 months in the bottle it will likely be entirely different than it is now.
What you percieve as acidity now may be just the flavor of the active yeast.

 

[latProd]

T

I'd leave the beer alone. As the others have said, at one week you really can't tell much about how the beer will be when bottled and conditioned. After 2 or 2 1/2 weeks in the fermenter you will have some idea from a sample, after 3 months in the bottle you will have a better idea. After 6 to 12 months in the bottle it will likely be entirely different than it is now.
What you percieve as acidity now may be just the flavor of the active yeast.

Thanks I hope so

 

[65C]

I usually stick 500g Special 1, 2 or Special 3 in which darkens it a *lot* as well as the chocolate - my 'stouts' are by far the best beers I brew at moment - I think our local hard water helps

I leave out Crystal and go heavy on the bittering - I don't like sweet porter/stout beers

Also I find using Maris Otter as a base gives me more mouth on a stout in a good way (I don't like that on the lighter beers I brew)

Here is last dark I brewed - not tasted it yet - but it's a slightly stronger version of my normal using up some hops that were kicking around:

7KG Maris Otter
500G Oat Flakes
250G Chocolate
250G Special 3
250G Special 1
200g Torrified

20g Northern Brewer at 60
20g Target at 60
25g Saaz at 5
100g Galena at 0 (80C)

Using Wyeast 1187 Ringwood