Oatmeal Stout Flapjack Breakfast Stout (Chocolate-Coffee-Oatmeal-Maple Imperial Stout)

[paarman]

I just brewed an Irish Coffee Stout to the tune of a Hawaiian theme, so with some Kona coffee my friend brought me back from there. Different recipe than here, but used coconut, Hawaiian coffee, cocoa nibs, vanilla, and a little white rum. Turned out fantastic.

Long story short, Kona coffee is great in dark beers

 

[smalloy88]

I'll be brewing a maple stout this weekend. I am planning adding some maple powder at flameout and then adding maple syrup as I cold crash. My fear of pitching 2-3 days into fermentation is all of the maple will be converted. Do you stay at your fermentation temp when adding the syrup?

 

[smalloy88]

I've made it twice so far and its just as good as I could've hoped for. I wanted to get that good bold flavor without any alcohol bite like Founders is able to do but also get a decent Maple character. I figured adding the syrup cold side would help preserve and the aromatics. It totally worked and its nice and drinkable even less than a month old. It definitely does improve with time so stow some away.

The main recipe mentions 2-3 days after pitching, but here you mention adding it cold side. Do you do two additions?

 

[John Kimble]

Looks delicious

 

[Oldskewl]

Very similar to the Scottish Ale I just brewed. Just higher amounts of the specialty malts and no coconut.

 

[Nichols2127]

Guys, I don’t want to be dramatic, but this is the best stout I’ve ever made AND one of the better homebrews I’ve ever made too. I highly recommend finding some of that Chocolate Macadamia Kona coffee and “dry beaning” with it for 4 days. Excellent balance of chocolate and coffee flavors with the addition of 4 oz nibs and 2 vanilla beans. Solid Moops!!

 

[tomchukj]

Brewed this today, the smell was incredible. If this turns out anything like what I smelled on brew day it will be amazing

 

[madscientist451]

I stopped by a coffee roaster today in Greencastle, PA, and picked up some coffee from Bali that is supposed to have "syrupy chocolate" character.....
Going to use that with the OP's recipe. I'm going to soak nibs in vodka and may add some lactose.
Will brew this week if I can get a day off (too much mandatory overtime)...
Hope to bring the brew to February local brew club meeting and post tasting notes here.

 

[Oldskewl]

I stopped by a coffee roaster today in Greencastle, PA, and picked up some coffee from Bali that is supposed to have "syrupy chocolate" character.....
Going to use that with the OP's recipe. I'm going to soak nibs in vodka and may add some lactose.
Will brew this week if I can get a day off (too much mandatory overtime)...
Hope to bring the brew to February local brew club meeting and post tasting notes here.

Hey, I live in Greencastle! And buy coffee at the roasters quite often. Let us know how it turns out. Looking to brew this or the breakfast stout clone before winter is over.

 

[bri11oh34d]

So I picked up these whole beans not long ago from Cycle Brewing. Would these work ok for my coffee addition or will the bourbon over complicate things? And if you think it’s fine to use, which would you use of the two? I’m no coffee guru. Thanks for any input!

 

[Dog House Brew]

View attachment 610999 So I picked up these whole beans not long ago from Cycle Brewing. Would these work ok for my coffee addition or will the bourbon over complicate things? And if you think it’s fine to use, which would you use of the two? I’m no coffee guru. Thanks for any input!

I would use 3-4oz of the Ethiopian beans. Coarsely cracked for 3 to 4 days. I doubt the bourbon will be terribly noticeable. I generally use 4oz for 4 days for my coffee infused stout.

 

[Ncangey0514]

What type of water chemistry did you guys/gals who brewed this beer with success target?

 

[HomemadeSauce]

Just throwing an idea out for later use. Recently enjoyed a collaboration stout between Birds Fly South in SC and Newgrass in NC that used candy cap mushrooms and toasted fenugreek seeds. The seeds imparted a surprising amount of maple flavor. Looking into toasting some seeds the next time I brew this beer (which may be a long way off). Not sure on usage rates, however.

 

[Shenanigans]

Might give this beer a shot in the near future.
Is anyone using the 4oz Cocoa powder like in the original post?
I have just seen discussions in the thread about how to add the nibs but nothing about the powder.

 

[Nichols2127]

Might give this beer a shot in the near future.
Is anyone using the 4oz Cocoa powder like in the original post?
I have just seen discussions in the thread about how to add the nibs but nothing about the powder.

I don’t think it’s necessary. I forgot to add it in mine on brew day and it came out plenty chocolate enough from the nibs/coffee that I used.

 

[Shenanigans]

I don’t think it’s necessary. I forgot to add it in mine on brew day and it came out plenty chocolate enough from the nibs/coffee that I used.

OK, thanks for replying.
Think I'll leave it out too.

 

[Ncangey0514]

Brewed this recently with a few mods. Upped my fermentables to increase ABV, toasted my cacao nibs, used Sumatra beans & added crushed cinnamon sticks with my beans. Unfortunately my yeast was a little happy & I overshot my FG, bringing my batch up to about 11.2% ABV, so I hope it’s not too dry, particularly since I added cinnamon as well. Took a sample yesterday when I added my beans/sticks & although it was super hot from the high ABV, the maple flavor was extremely prevalent & smooth. Will be bottling here in a few days and although I probably won’t be able to enjoy this guy for several months (or longer) I’m pretty stoked for it to be ready!

 

[tomchukj]

This recipe is killer. After brewing for 5+ years this is the first beer i LOVE. Thanks moops

 

[SirHC_]

plan to attempt something like this breakfast stout with a cheapo Mangrove Jack Stout kit.
I'll add some DME or a minimash and reduce the volume to match the gravity of this recipe and follow it from there.

 

[h0psnobery]

Damn this looks good. It seems like everyone added the maple at some point in the fermentation. Has anyone added the full 16oz at kegging? Was it too sweet and how much maple flavor/aroma stayed?

 

[paarman]

I've never kegged it before, but IMO I added 8oz after week 1, and another 8oz at week 2 and thought the maple flavor was really good. You could probably get even more flavor adding it later, but I bottle this and I was worried about bombs.

 

[Shenanigans]

This is near the top of my brew list. My next two brew sessions are already full with other beers but it will be brewed in the session after that in early September. Are you guys doing a long maturing phase in bulk or just going quickly to the bottle and letting it mature there? I always try to avoid a secondary but if you think it matures better in bulk for a few months before bottling then I would make an exception.

 

[paarman]

This is near the top of my brew list. My next two brew sessions are already full with other beers but it will be brewed in the session after that in early September. Are you guys doing a long maturing phase in bulk or just going quickly to the bottle and letting it mature there? I always try to avoid a secondary but if you think it matures better in bulk for a few months before bottling then I would make an exception.

I did a secondary the first time, and all in the primary last time. I think the beer turned out better the 2nd time, but many other things probably contributed to that over the use of a secondary. I go about 3 weeks before I bottle, and my main issue with this beer is I don't get a good level of carbonation-I am always afraid I will overcarb it and I don't want bottle bombs. I still have bottles from 2 years ago of this recipe.

tl;dr: give it 3 weeks in a primary then bottle and age it in the bottle for at least a month-the longer you can wait, the better it usually tastes.

 

[Shenanigans]

I did a secondary the first time, and all in the primary last time. I think the beer turned out better the 2nd time, but many other things probably contributed to that over the use of a secondary. I go about 3 weeks before I bottle, and my main issue with this beer is I don't get a good level of carbonation-I am always afraid I will overcarb it and I don't want bottle bombs. I still have bottles from 2 years ago of this recipe.

tl;dr: give it 3 weeks in a primary then bottle and age it in the bottle for at least a month-the longer you can wait, the better it usually tastes.

Thanks for the tip. I'll be brewing it the weekend after next, hope it works out well.

 

[Shenanigans]

What type of water chemistry did you guys/gals who brewed this beer with success target?

Anyone got any feedback on the above question?

 

[Shenanigans]

Well I plan on brewing this tomorrow and was about to toast the oats. When reading up on it the recommendation was to toast them at least a few days and preferably a week before as they can be harsh in the first few days. Not sure but to be safe I'll leave the toasting and just throw them in the mash.

 

[Shenanigans]

Well I plan on brewing this tomorrow and was about to toast the oats. When reading up on it the recommendation was to toast them at least a few days and preferably a week before as they can be harsh in the first few days. Not sure but to be safe I'll leave the toasting and just throw them in the mash.

I added the coffee beans yesterday by just throwing them into the bucket.
They are still floating on the top so I'm not sure if they will get fully extracted.
Should I give them a gentle stir or they will get soaked through after a few days?

 

[Nichols2127]

I added the coffee beans yesterday by just throwing them into the bucket.
They are still floating on the top so I'm not sure if they will get fully extracted.
Should I give them a gentle stir or they will get soaked through after a few days?

I did the exact same thing. No worries of them completely submerged. They are extracting plenty of flavor just like they are!! I left mine on for either 3 or 4 days and got A LOT of flavor. I wouldn’t bother stirring this at all. I’d rack off of them in a few days though because you may get some harshness and bitterness the longer they go. 3-4 days seemed perfect to me.

 

[Shenanigans]

I did the exact same thing. No worries of them completely submerged. They are extracting plenty of flavor just like they are!! I left mine on for either 3 or 4 days and got A LOT of flavor. I wouldn’t bother stirring this at all. I’d rack off of them in a few days though because you may get some harshness and bitterness the longer they go. 3-4 days seemed perfect to me.

Great thanks, that's exactly what I did in the end too.

 

[paarman]

I'm going to be brewing this one up again Saturday. I want to add some cinnamon to the recipe this year. Anyone have any thoughts to which form (powder or sticks) and how much?

Love making this beer-I've brewed it once a year since I came across this recipe and everyone I've had tried it loves it-even people who don't enjoy stouts. It really is a fantastic recipe.

 

[hopfenstopfen]

I recently brewed a version of this and had it go from 1.084 to 1.016 in 7 days. I was planning to let it get down to about 1.022, but obviously that’s not gonna happen. I’m wondering if anyone else has had a beer this big ferment this quickly.

Details: I used two smack packs of Wyeast 1318, online calculators estimated ~60% viability each. Did a two step starter, both on the stir plate for ~48 hrs. Basically had a yeast starer going all week prior to the brew day as this was the highest OG brew I’ve attempted so far.

 

[tomchukj]

Added bourbon and oak to this recipe, it is becoming an annual brew for me.

 

[Terence]

Love this stout, this is my second brew of it. 90 litres in a fermenter now. I'm going to keg this as I do with all my beers but once its gassed I'll be bottling all of it to share with mates. Highly recommended.

 

[Shenanigans]

Brewed it for the first time in September.
Haven't tried one in ages and am off the beer for the next month or so. Should be just about ready to drink by the time I'm back drinking ( 5 and a half months after bottling).
Will report back in about a month.

 

[secretlevel]

I'm going to be brewing this one up again Saturday. I want to add some cinnamon to the recipe this year. Anyone have any thoughts to which form (powder or sticks) and how much?

Love making this beer-I've brewed it once a year since I came across this recipe and everyone I've had tried it loves it-even people who don't enjoy stouts. It really is a fantastic recipe.

I read through your previous brew of this beer and it sounds awesome. Good job on efficiency! I do have a question on whether you added more yeast in the end or just left it at 1.060 gravity?

I've been reading about yeast quite a bit and it sounds like your beer was beyond the capabilities of most English ale yeasts (about 10%), so it may have stalled out. I think this may have helped the maple flavors though, because anytime I add the stuff it ferments out and dries out the beer

 

[Shenanigans]

Brewed it for the first time in September.
Haven't tried one in ages and am off the beer for the next month or so. Should be just about ready to drink by the time I'm back drinking ( 5 and a half months after bottling).
Will report back in about a month.

Well I tried this again today and it's deffinitely getting better but very slowly.
I did the recommended 4oz full bean coffee dry hop but the coffee bitterness is still a bit too much, even after more than 7 months.
I guess it really depends on what type of coffee you use but has anyone else exprienced that is takes the best part of a year before it starts getting more balanced and more enjoyable to drink?

 

[paarman]

Well I tried this again today and it's deffinitely getting better but very slowly.
I did the recommended 4oz full bean coffee dry hop but the coffee bitterness is still a bit too much, even after more than 7 months.
I guess it really depends on what type of coffee you use but has anyone else exprienced that is takes the best part of a year before it starts getting more balanced and more enjoyable to drink?

I definitely think the type of coffee makes all the difference. I always try to aim for medium-bodied, but I personally love coffee so it’s hard for me to pick out nuances more than the average person. I just realized this year that I have used a different type of coffee each of the 4 years I’ve brewed this. Sumatran, Guatemalan, Peruvian, and this year Papau New Guinea. So far, in my opinion and feedback of others, Guatemalan has been the best. I just bottled this years so I haven’t tried the Papau yet.

Someone else asked about water profiling. I use the Bru’n Water spreadsheet for every beer. I use distilled water and scale up what I need. In this beer I add Gypsum, CaCal, and baking soda. I shoot for a mash pH of 5.5.

On a related note, just wrapped up my 4th time brewing this and have it pretty dialed in now. Comes out at 12% and all the flavors mesh so well. Everyone I share this beer with loves it and I look forward to brewing it yearly even though it’s such a long brew day.

Bottled yesterday, and the last 2 years I’ve been using a SS Brew Bucket to ferment. It gets so thick at the bottom with syrup and eveything else that the valve is not usable. I ended up using a fine mesh bag over the top like you would BIAB, and autosiphoning through that-it worked super great, no clogs until the end when it was really thick. That’ll be my next project-figuring out how to maximize the beer out of there as I lost about .5 gallons from the sludge.

 

[Shenanigans]

I definitely think the type of coffee makes all the difference. I always try to aim for medium-bodied, but I personally love coffee so it’s hard for me to pick out nuances more than the average person. I just realized this year that I have used a different type of coffee each of the 4 years I’ve brewed this. Sumatran, Guatemalan, Peruvian, and this year Papau New Guinea. So far, in my opinion and feedback of others, Guatemalan has been the best. I just bottled this years so I haven’t tried the Papau yet.

Someone else asked about water profiling. I use the Bru’n Water spreadsheet for every beer. I use distilled water and scale up what I need. In this beer I add Gypsum, CaCal, and baking soda. I shoot for a mash pH of 5.5.

On a related note, just wrapped up my 4th time brewing this and have it pretty dialed in now. Comes out at 12% and all the flavors mesh so well. Everyone I share this beer with loves it and I look forward to brewing it yearly even though it’s such a long brew day.

Bottled yesterday, and the last 2 years I’ve been using a SS Brew Bucket to ferment. It gets so thick at the bottom with syrup and eveything else that the valve is not usable. I ended up using a fine mesh bag over the top like you would BIAB, and autosiphoning through that-it worked super great, no clogs until the end when it was really thick. That’ll be my next project-figuring out how to maximize the beer out of there as I lost about .5 gallons from the sludge.

Thanks for the reply.
I used dark roast beans from Starbucks, must check again exactly what they were.
Anyway it's all gone now since about August and still didnt taste great after almost a year.
I did some water treatment too using Brewin Water as a guide and added Gypsum, CaCal, and baking soda.
Maybe it went wrong there somehow - need to look at my numbers again as I have a bit more experience since then.

Anyway with all the good reviews this has gotten it must be down to something in my process/ingridients.
There are so many beers on my to brew list that I won't be rushing back to try this again soon but maybe I'll try it again sometime if something sticks out as being wrong when I review my process.

 

[hbajwa]

Wouldn't maris otter be better for the base malt? The 2 row works fine but maris otter is the premium stuff.

 

[evolutionary]

Kegged this about 6 months ago and did the OP’s recipe except for cocoa powder. It is awesome and a vote for anyone looking to make a stout. Definitely think it was better after three months than fresh, and right now is even better than that.