has anyone tried the brewers best oatmeal stout kit

[krazyboi]

just took another reading and it is at 1036 at 20C...I am assuming it is a stalled fermentation since it dropped only 1 point in 5 days...I shook the fermenting container a bit to get the yeast roused up again so maybe that will help...

 

[mortox]

I did this same recipe and OG was at 1.070 - after couple weeks i was at 1.036 - i tried repitching with more alcohol tolerant yeast and it didn't budge.

Bottled yesterday, ABV is about 4.4. Taste decent but recipe has to be incorrect.

 

[charliedvrs]

I was stuck at 1.030 with this kit for 3 weeks. Threw some Amylase Enzyme (should have it at your LHBS) in and a week later had it down to 1.021. Tastes decent but still a little sweet, definitely a huge improvement though.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/help-im-stuck-214122/

 

[OhDavey]

I brewed this kit last Saturday (my first brew) and am anticipating the same problems as everyone else since my OG was around 1.064. Can anyone comment on the effectiveness of adding a yeast energizing powder versus adding amylase enzyme? Would it hurt to add both?

 

[BigB]

Yeast energizer is just like a good dose of vitamins for the yeast to hopefully rouse their sluggish arses back to work (kind of like 5 hour Energy Drink for humans). Amylase enzyme will break down longer chain/complex carbohydrates into smaller bits that the yeast can eat. Amylase is often used when you want to dry out a beer. So it wouldn't hurt to add both.

 

[DrunkleJon]

Same general gravities here(1.055/1.03). Was my second brewing so I thought it was brewer error. Guess I didn't screw up as badly as I thought. I am enjoying the final product even though it ended up at only 3.28%. If anyone can make it work I would enjoy to hear how it was done.

 

[slicksmix]

I have added yeast energizer and yeast nutrient and neither helped. I truly believe the problem lies with the maltodextrin. I think they calculated it into their recipe thinking it would ferment. It makes sense.

I do have to admit that even though its low in alcohol, it tastes pretty damn good

If I would do this recipe again I would omit the maltodextrin and add alot more dark dme

 

[johnnyc]

Update: a Guy from bb emailed me about the recipe. He states that the conversion temp was too high and extracts too many unfermentables from the grains. Lowering the temp to 150 should help

What do u guys think

The BB guy is definitely right on temp. I too have used amylase enzyme to fix a beer that I mashed too high and got stuck at 1.033. Dropped it down to 1.019. You add it straight to the fermenter, I used a teaspoon.

 

[lou2row]

First, thanks to BigB for being a group counselor throughout this thread. You have been a great help to understand what is going on. Which is important when I explain my second comment..................

I had read this thread as it was happening. Seen how everyone was struggling. Went with my wife last weekend to pick out my starter equipment and a couple brew kits to get started brewing with after researching and reading HBT for over six months.

Any guesses what I brought home???? I am such an idiot!

 

[slicksmix]

First, thanks to BigB for being a group counselor throughout this thread. You have been a great help to understand what is going on. Which is important when I explain my second comment..................

I had read this thread as it was happening. Seen how everyone was struggling. Went with my wife last weekend to pick out my starter equipment and a couple brew kits to get started brewing with after researching and reading HBT for over six months.

Any guesses what I brought home???? I am such an idiot!

Dont beat yourself up lou lol... no really, the beer will turn out great (even with the low abv) I am about to do my third batch this week. I am going get it right eventually.

@big B... or anybody that would like to help. Like i said above, i am going to attempt this again, but i wanna sub dark dme for the pound of maltodextrin. question is how much dme should i add in place of the malto? i was thinking 3 pounds would be good. does this sound right? should i be using light dme instead?

 

[BigB]

I agree with slicksmix, It will still be a good beer- much better than BMC! So have fun with it, and don't stress about the FG. In general, I would say to just ignore BB's FG "range" because it is way off unless you omit the maltodextrine. But if you do that, you will lose some character of the beer- it will be dryer and have less body. Regardless, just have fun with the process!

slicksmix: why do you want to add DME instead of the malto? 3 pounds of DME will add a lot of fermentable sugars and drive up the OG by about .025! Plus it will ferment out equally with the other ingredients giving a MUCH higher ABV. Of course the recipe will be a dramatic change from the original in terms of flavor and body. Instead, why not try a different oatmeal stout recipe? By doing so, you will learn more about the style and give you an idea what different ingredients add to a recipe. Further, it helps people the think "outside the box".... in other words, to get away from the prepackaged kits and to see how the prepackaged kits are really not that much different than recipes you can get on this site. I have a fantastic recipe for Samuel Smiths Oatmeal Stout if you are interested in trying something different. The recipe comes in at about 5.5% ABV and is full of body and flavor. The only tough part might be finding the yeast, but I could help you find a suitable substitute.

 

[charliedvrs]

First, thanks to BigB for being a group counselor throughout this thread. You have been a great help to understand what is going on. Which is important when I explain my second comment..................

I had read this thread as it was happening. Seen how everyone was struggling. Went with my wife last weekend to pick out my starter equipment and a couple brew kits to get started brewing with after researching and reading HBT for over six months.

Any guesses what I brought home???? I am such an idiot!

I wouldn't worry. I actually just bottled mine two days ago and when I took a sample it tasted pretty good. I ended up using amylase enzyme to cut down the longer sugars from the dextrins into shorter ones that would ferment. Did that after it sat in the carboy for about 2 or 3 weeks and it ended up getting down to about 1.020. If I were brewing this kit again I'd probably half the maltodextrin and, as someone suggested earlier, mash around 150 degrees. If you're not set on a traditional oatmeal stout, I threw some coffee into the secondary and that did a nice job of complementing the sweetness with some extra bitterness. Either way have fun! It's not a horrible kit, just a recipe that could use some tinkering.

 

[lou2row]

I'm going to RDWHAHB myself and just enjoy the learning experience. I've read enough to know it will most likely end up beer, no matter what. Once I'm in a little farther, your stout and citrus wheat are saved to my favorites list for ones to make down the road ( I may hit you up on yeast suggestions if I can't find it).

Like you mentioned, I do have a red ale with Notty yeast I could make and rack over onto it's yeast cake if it is deemed necessary. I bought an extra 6 gallon better bottle for just such an emergency.

 

[johnnyc]

My only suggestion would be to mash low and slow. Other that that should be great!

 

[lou2row]

This got brewed up yesterday. Brew day went really well. A couple little faux pas, but nothing of concern. It was bubbling away by morning. I cut the malto dextrin in half.

 

[lou2row]

Checked the hydro today. Any guesses? 1.032. If anything, this kit is consistent. I took it down to the basement to continue at a little lower temp, and after a week or so if it hasn't changed then decide if I am going to brew up the red ale and then rack over to the nottingham cake.

 

[slicksmix]

Checked the hydro today. Any guesses? 1.032. If anything, this kit is consistent. I took it down to the basement to continue at a little lower temp, and after a week or so if it hasn't changed then decide if I am going to brew up the red ale and then rack over to the nottingham cake.

What temp did u mash at? Is halfing the malto the only mod u made?

 

[lou2row]

mashed at 150 - 155 for one hour. I ran my cooled wort through a sanitized colander to help aerate more as well as poured half of each water bottle, then shook the rest of the bottles up hard to get more oxygen in as well as rock the fermentor. Didn't make a starter or do anything with the yeast other than pour it in the wort and stir.

If I were to do this kit again, I'd change out the yeast for some other variety. I think the issue is there. My grabbed hydro sample tasted like watered down Guinness.

 

[BigB]

You brewed on Sunday and checked the hydrometer on Wednesday???? Leave it alone for a few days and give the yeast a chance to work. Also, why are you cooling it down? Leave it in the warmer envirnment because yeast are more active in a warmer wort. If you cool it off too quickly, the yeast will drop out of suspension and it will be a beech to get them going again- especially Notty.

 

[slicksmix]

What are some other yeasts that would perform better or give a better result?

I guess you could do what another poster did and use that Beano stuff.

Man this is really strange...

 

[lou2row]

Okay, now a week and a half. Still at 1.032. Going to brew a red ale in an extra primary better bottle I bought and then rack this over onto that yeast cake. I will let you know how that works.

 

[paradoxic]

What are some other yeasts that would perform better or give a better result?

I guess you could do what another poster did and use that Beano stuff.

Man this is really strange...

I'm brewing this recipe from Brewer's Best. It's been in the primary for four weeks now. There is still activity in the airlock about once every minute or two after shaking it once every few days, there was a period it stopped before I shook it around about two weeks in the primary. My current gravity is at 1.022, though I just took the first reading today (I didn't want to introduce bacteria). Unfortunately I do not have an OG reference but everything was done exactly to specs in the instructions.

The local homebrew shop gave me Irish Ale yeast in the vial (white labs I think?).

 

[slicksmix]

well, yesterday i did attempt number three of this recipe. Everything went really well. Some things i did differently is i mashed in two gal of water for about 50 min at 150*. Then when i added my extract i added only half a pound of maltodextrin instead of the full pound. Before pitching i stirred very well, trying to introduce as much oxygen into the wort as possible. This morning its bubbling alot. I will keep yinz updated on the progress.

on a side note... congrats paradoxic, 1022 is a record for this recipe.

 

[BigB]

Good luck Slicksmix. Just don't do the shaking every couple days like paradoxic did.... After fermentation has started, shaking a beer is a great way to oxidize it. Do all your shaking prior to pitching. After pitching you would only gently stir to rouse the yeast.

 

[slicksmix]

Thanks. Will keep this in mind.

 

[paradoxic]

I did not mean to use the word "shake", more of a twist of the bucket to stir things around some. Hopefully this doesn't cause problems

 

[BigB]

I did not mean to use the word "shake", more of a twist of the bucket to stir things around some. Hopefully this doesn't cause problems

As long as you didn't froth it up, you should be fine... but if it tastes like wet cardboard, you'll know why! But just twisting it around a bit should be ok.:cross:

 

[lou2row]

Brewed the red ale on the 12th, hit OG on the money, and a week later had the FG according to specs for two days. Transferred it to a secondary, and put the oatmeal stout (3 weeks old now, and still at 1.032) on to the red ale trub. 24 hours and I am getting some airlock activity. Not a lot, but it is gurgling every so often. I only swirled the sediment a little while I autosyphoned on the stout on it, but enough to break it up off the bottom and get some chunks floating.
I don't know how this will turn out, but it looks promising so far. The red ale was still very cloudy but smelled great, and the hydrometer sample tasted like it was going to good.

 

[slicksmix]

My latest attempt is a personal best but still bad. 1030. I plan on doing the same thing with my falconers flight ipa. Keep us updated. Cheers

 

[lou2row]

Well, the transfer onto the red ale yeast only gained 0.02 to my final gravity. I am going to go ahead and bottle this up and see how it is. It tastes fine, albeit thin.

By the time I try another oatmeal stout, I will probably be experimenting with other peoples clone recipes so I won't revisit this unless the bottled flavor blows mine or the SWMBI's minds.