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

[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.

 

[pigroaster]

Thanks for writing all the comments. I am going to do this as soon as I get some fresh Maple syrup. It is that time of year here. All tips welcome.

 

[pigroaster]

This is a solid recipe resulting in many layers of flavours. I will be doing this one again next year.

 

[Jayjay1976]

This is a solid recipe resulting in many layers of flavours. I will be doing this one again next year.

Dammit I'm in too, sounds like a great winter sipper. A touch of butter flavoring and a pinch of salt sounds magical.

 

[Thecakepounder]

Brewing this tomorrow. Searched for an IBU range just for reference with only one member saying they got 43 from their software. I plan on being around 50. Any input would be appreciated.

 

[secretlevel]

Brewing this tomorrow. Searched for an IBU range just for reference with only one member saying they got 43 from their software. I plan on being around 50. Any input would be appreciated.

Nice! I'm fermenting a spin-off right now! Oatmeal stouts are 25-40 IBU usually, you don't want to approach the IPA territory when the focus is on the chocolate malts and maple syrup. IBUs can be nice, but I've been leaning towards less and less every iteration of this.

 

[evolutionary]

Its a great recipe - got 41 IBU from beersmith for my version using cluster and williamette and it was a perfect level.

 

[Thecakepounder]

Nice! I'm fermenting a spin-off right now! Oatmeal stouts are 25-40 IBU usually, you don't want to approach the IPA territory when the focus is on the chocolate malts and maple syrup. IBUs can be nice, but I've been leaning towards less and less every iteration of this.

True. I figure with a gravity of 1.090, 50 ibu wouldnt be too bitter. I targeted around 50 and it's in the fermenter, starting to bubble away!

My russian imperial comes out to about 90 ibu with my software, and its not bitter at all. Thanks for the input. So what did you switch up in your brew????

 

[Thecakepounder]

Its a great recipe - got 41 IBU from beersmith for my version using cluster and williamette and it was a perfect level.

Noted.ill see how this tastes after bottling, but going from the audience I seem to be high. Oh well, itll be drunk and enjoyed. Next time.

I also subbed crystal for the cluster

 

[Langerz]

I brewed this a few weeks ago and just getting around to posting about it. I used essentially the original recipe, but I had one pretty big oops in the process. I cold crashed the beer before transferring. I use a chest freezer with an ink bird and the temp probe fell out and I didn't notice. After what I thought was a good 48 hour cold crash I opened the freezer to find a 5 gallon beer popsicle. I read up a little on the affects on frozen beer and most advice said it wouldn't matter but I'm wondering if it made a difference. Note I let the beer thaw out naturally so stuff like the last coffee addition was in the beer for several days longer than planned, but in a frozen or slushy state.

From a flavor standpoint the beer is good, but not what I expected. It's basically a straight coffee stout. Lots of coffee and roasty flavor, but no maple or vanilla. With the amount of maple or vanilla added that surprises me.

Is it possible that freezing the beer stripped out some flavors? Or since the beer was exposed to the coffee beans for several days more than planned did the extended steep create enough coffee flavor it overpowered everything else?

I'd like to do this one again soon and want to know if just try the same plan (without freezing) or adjust something else.

 

[Oldskewl]

I find this beer needs a few months to mellow out. The coffee and roasted malts will calm down and blend more with the maple/vanilla. Although I never got a tone of maple from this beer. It is likely that the extended time on the coffee beans did increase the coffee presence. Just give it a couple months and it will be a different beer for the better. I still have a few bottles of this beer that I brewed a couple years ago and it is still enjoyable.

 

[Langerz]

I find this beer needs a few months to mellow out. The coffee and roasted malts will calm down and blend more with the maple/vanilla. Although I never got a tone of maple from this beer. It is likely that the extended time on the coffee beans did increase the coffee presence. Just give it a couple months and it will be a different beer for the better. I still have a few bottles of this beer that I brewed a couple years ago and it is still enjoyable.

I should have mentioned in my post I brewed this one back in July. It definitely took a bit for it to get to the point it is now, but I'd say at this point it seems to be pretty stable. Stouts are an "every once in a while" type drink for me so I'll probably still have it around for a while, but also thinking ahead and wanting to give it another shot.

 

[Oldskewl]

When I brewed mine I used grade A maple syrup. I feel that the maple syrup mostly fermented out. I have read that using grade B maple syrup has a more pronounced flavor. I would be inclined to use grade B next time or use maple extract. Because mine had barely any maple flavor or aroma from day 1 and lessened to "0" shortly there after.

 

[taulpondolo]

I brewed this back in January. Has good flavor, sadly it barely carbed. No idea why i didnt pitch some extra yeast at bottling. Solid beer even half flat (especially with a cigar).

 

[secretlevel]

I brewed this a few weeks ago and just getting around to posting about it. I used essentially the original recipe, but I had one pretty big oops in the process. I cold crashed the beer before transferring. I use a chest freezer with an ink bird and the temp probe fell out and I didn't notice. After what I thought was a good 48 hour cold crash I opened the freezer to find a 5 gallon beer popsicle. I read up a little on the affects on frozen beer and most advice said it wouldn't matter but I'm wondering if it made a difference. Note I let the beer thaw out naturally so stuff like the last coffee addition was in the beer for several days longer than planned, but in a frozen or slushy state.

From a flavor standpoint the beer is good, but not what I expected. It's basically a straight coffee stout. Lots of coffee and roasty flavor, but no maple or vanilla. With the amount of maple or vanilla added that surprises me.

Is it possible that freezing the beer stripped out some flavors? Or since the beer was exposed to the coffee beans for several days more than planned did the extended steep create enough coffee flavor it overpowered everything else?

I'd like to do this one again soon and want to know if just try the same plan (without freezing) or adjust something else.

Coffee is a pretty powerful adjunct, it can easily overpower others, especially with contact time of more than 48 hours. On the good side though, intense levels of coffee will usually drop off to a more pleasant coffee flavors within a month or two, so just sit on this beer for a little while. Give it 3-4 months, and I'm sure you'll start seeing more vanilla and maple. Although maple is a very subtle flavor unless it doesn't get fermented out.

As a side note, a brewer I chat with swears by using fenugreek seed and makes a tincture with it. I haven't tried his beers, but he says they're pretty mapley. Anyone try this approach?