Oatmeal IPA

[Strat6255]

So there is a new local craft brewery near me called Sand City. They have an oatmeal IPA. I really enjoyed it and wanted to do something similar. I asked the owner what hops they used and I was going to use an Extract IPA recipe I have already used and just change to the hops he used and add some oats. That's where I'm not so sure about what I'm doing. Should I just add the oats to my stealing grains or do I have to alter the recipe?
I'm using 6.6 pounds of liquid extract and 2 pounds of dry malt extract. I'm also using 1 pound of of caramel/crystal malt 40L. Thank you

 

[TexasDroughtBrewery]

Oatmeal IPA...interesting what hops did he say he used?

 

[Braufessor]

Oats need to be mashed. You can't just add them to caramel malt and steep them. You could do a "mini mash" and perhaps instead of using the DME, use 2-3 pounds of 2 Row. Add your caramel and your oats to all of that and do a small mash - about 1.5-2 gallons of water @ mash temp of 150-155 of so - perhaps "brew in a bag" style. Mash for an hour. Remove grains. Squeeze out liquid from grain and then use the wort you collect, in addition to your LME and more water to get boil volume you want.
**I use 1-1.5 pounds of flaked grains in my IPA's all the time.

 

[Calder]

Oats need to be mashed. You can't just add them to caramel malt and steep them. You could do a "mini mash" and perhaps instead of using the DME, use 2-3 pounds of 2 Row. Add your caramel and your oats to all of that and do a small mash - about 1.5-2 gallons of water @ mash temp of 150-155 of so - perhaps "brew in a bag" style. Mash for an hour. Remove grains. Squeeze out liquid from grain and then use the wort you collect, in addition to your LME and more water to get boil volume you want.
**I use 1-1.5 pounds of flaked grains in my IPA's all the time.

Since it is an extract batch, I'd recommend mashing lower, closer to 148/150 F.

Sparge/rinse with extra water will extract more sugars.

I've never used flaked grains in an IPA, except when using flaked rye in a Rye PA. What does it add. How does it affect the style?

 

[Cauchy]

Braufessor and Calder are correct. I often brew beer that are a bit of all grain and extract; the easiest way to determine how much base malt (2-row, 6-row, etc.) you should use in place of DME/LME would be to use some brewing software. Most have free trials and are well worth the purchase.

Type in your recipe as-is, then add base grain (use at least 1.5 to 2 pounds of base malt per 1 pound of oats) and subtract extract malt until your desired OG/ABV is displayed by the software.

To sum the mash process, mash (in essence steep in a grain bag) all your grains together with about 1.5 quarts for every pound of total grain in about 148 F water for an hour. Note that you will want to heat up water to about 158 F before you add the bag of grains, as the cooler bag of grains will drop the temperature upon contact (this is more trial-and-error so don't stress)! Stir this mash gently every so often to redistribute the warm water and break up clumps. Check the temperature periodically and maintain around the 148 F range. Follow Braufessor's steps from squeezing and beyond.

It would be really beneficial if you looked up mini-mashing (what the aforementioned process is considered) on this forum, especially because we just scratched the surface! It will open a ton of brewing related doors!

High protein adjuncts like oats, wheat, rye, etc. are often used to give beer a fuller, smooth, and/or viscous mouthfeel. Look up Surly Brewing Company. They use oats in almost every beer that they make and they are oh-so-good!

 

[Braufessor]

That is a good call on the lower mash temp. as it is primarily an extract beer..... did not even think about that.

 

[Braufessor]

I've never used flaked grains in an IPA, except when using flaked rye in a Rye PA. What does it add. How does it affect the style?

Yeah - fuller, smoother, rounded feel. Popular approach for a lot of NE breweries and MW breweries. Not quite the same as the traditional "west coast" IPA that is somewhat sharper, crisper and more assertive.
This is my standard approach to a session IPA I brew all the time. I usually go around 10% flaked grains in it. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=568046

 

[drives_a_bike]

I'm doing this soon. Bought everything and I'm ready, but I have a few beers I have to do first. I'm doing mine with 2row, Simpson Golden Naked Oats and Flaked Oats. Magnum, Cascade and Columbus in the boil and then dry hopping with cascade, columbus, Citra and Simcoe. Wlp007. Fingers crossed!

 

[Cauchy]

Awesome! Something else to note is that when I used oats in a lighter colored beer, it stayed hazy for a long time. I only employed Irish moss as a fining agent, however, so I'm not sure how other products would work. Still tasted great!