Chocolate Oatmeal Stout suggestions/help?

[drux_tx]

Relative recipe newbie here -- I'd done kits up to about a month ago and have since seen the light -- working with extract/specialty-grain recipes currently until I get the hang of it.

I'm about to start a batch of a chocolate oatmeal stout based off a recipe for a clone of "Oscar's Chocolate Oatmeal Stout" (Sand Creek, WI), but with some minor changes based on what was available at my HBS at the time. It looks pretty straightforward -- the color coming from 4oz of chocolate malt, but the temptation is there to make it *really* chocolate-y and my reading keeps coming back to adding chocolate to the mix somewhere along the way.

I think with my option (I'm still doing single-stage fermenting -- boil->carboy->bottles), my best bet is to use cocoa powder in the grain bag during the steep, but I do have a big ol' bag of leftover hershey's chocolate bars from Halloween.

My questions are:

Should I use the cocoa powder or the chocolate bars? Will there be that much of a difference if I'm bottle conditioning? (I've read that using the bars can cause hassles with those kegging.) Either way, how much should I use for a 5 gallon batch, and am I right in thinking: add to the steep for the powder, add to the beginning of the boil for the bars? If I use powder, should I add in some sugar to offset the bitterness? I'd love to go for a smooth, silky oatmeal stout. Lots of body.

Has anyone any anecdotal advice? I'm all for trial-n-error, but I'd of course love to hear any comments a/o stories.

Base recipe follows:

6.6# light LME
1.0# munich malt
1.0# wheat malt
4 oz roasted barley malt
4 oz chocolate malt
10 oz. flaked oats
1 tsp. irish moss
1.5 oz First Gold (boiling, 60m)
0.5 oz First Gold (aroma, flame-out)
Safale S-04 Dry Ale Yeast

also, i've been reading conflicting views about roasting the oats beforehand. some say do it, but the conflict comes from doing them on the day of the boil or a few days before "to let the oils evaporate". any thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Chriso]

I think I would go with the cocoa powder, personally. I understand why them chocolate bars are tempting...... they could be saved to use as garnish!

 

[drux_tx]

I think I would go with the cocoa powder, personally. I understand why them chocolate bars are tempting...... they could be saved to use as garnish!

Ha! Good suggestion. Thanks! So, what... 4 oz. cocoa powder tossed in with the grains for the steep? I would think that would get the flavor into the mix during the sparge. I'd like for it to end up being a "sweet" beer (the wife's fonder of the sweeter brews), so I'm also wondering if 4 oz. of demerara sugar added to the boil would be welcome or would the LME be sweet enough?

 

[emacgee]

BYO - Brewing with Chocolate

 

[drux_tx]

BYO - Brewing with Chocolate

Bookmarked - thanks!

 

[farmbrewernw]

A little chocolate extract at bottling/kegging will give you a extra kick of chocolate. I just made a Mocha Oatmeal stout and it has 4 oz of cocoa powder and a little choc extract in the keg, it's a chocolaty mother f'er. Really good beer with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.

 

[Jewrican]

i have been really wanting to do an oatmeal stout but apparently you cannot brew oatmeal without mashing it and the mash has to be done with flaked barley if i remember right... you will have to do a mini mash at least to get use out of the oatmeal.

 

[Jewrican]

whoops. it is barley malt

How to Brew - By John Palmer - Other Grains and Adjuncts

 

[Chriso]

The Demerara sugar will ferment out, and dry out the product, not make it sweeter. 4 oz won't have a huge impact, but it *won't* sweeten it any.