Oatmeal mini-mash

[Fraesp29]

I'm currently planning to brew a stout, and I intend to use oatmeal (or flakes oats, whichever is better). The recipe also includes 1 lb. crystal 60L, .5 lb. roasted barley and .5 lb chocolate malt. My question is: is it enough to steep all these to consider it a mini-mash (thus converting all the starches) before adding the extract, or should I just forego oats for now till I start all-grain brewing? (Btw, I intend to use pale malt DME).

 

[snow16]

Those grains have been processed/roasted in such a way that they no longer have diastatic power. Long story short, they are unable to convert the starches in the oats into simpler, fermentable sugars. Either substitute a pound or two of pale malt for a comparable amount of DME and do a mini-mash, or wait until next time to mess with the oats. If you simply 'steep' the oats with those other grains you'll end up with a wort full of unfermentable starches, leading to all sorts of problems down the road for that poor beer. A mini-mash is a really simple thing to do, but not worth trying if you have nothing to convert the starches in the first place.

Hope this helps and best of luck, whatever you decide to do...

 

[Fraesp29]

Thanks a lot! I'll just skip oats for now; I'm just getting started so I'd rather keep my recipes simple for the time being.
Btw, I've seen a particular malt called "diastasic malt" in my local brewing shop. What's that supposed to mean? Does it have a particularly high diastasic power? Is it particularly useful for adjunct-heavy recipes?

 

[snow16]

Keeping things simple is always good, especially in the beginning. Get a few more brews under your belt and you can make this hobby as complicated as you want...!

I'm not sure what your LBHS means by labelling it 'diastatic malt.' Maybe it's just their way of saying 'base malt'? Maybe someone else can chime in if they know.

Happy brewing!

 

[RM-MN]

I'm currently planning to brew a stout, and I intend to use oatmeal (or flakes oats, whichever is better). The recipe also includes 1 lb. crystal 60L, .5 lb. roasted barley and .5 lb chocolate malt. My question is: is it enough to steep all these to consider it a mini-mash (thus converting all the starches) before adding the extract, or should I just forego oats for now till I start all-grain brewing? (Btw, I intend to use pale malt DME).

No. It won't be a mini mash and no you shouldn't forego the oats. You might do better if you pre-cook the oats but you're making a stout. Nobody will ever notice if it doesn't clear due to starch haze but the oats will lend a slick mouthfeel even though not converted. That's what the oats are primarily for in an oatmeal stout.

 

[Fraesp29]

Thanks a lot for all your replies. I'm still on the fence on this one, because, even though I wouldn't mind starch haze, as (I've read somewhere) it's merely an aesthetic problem and not very noticeable in a stout anyway, I've also been led to believe that unconverted starches can affect beer stability by fostering the growth of undesired microorganisms. What should I make of all this?

 

[RM-MN]

Thanks a lot for all your replies. I'm still on the fence on this one, because, even though I wouldn't mind starch haze, as (I've read somewhere) it's merely an aesthetic problem and not very noticeable in a stout anyway, I've also been led to believe that unconverted starches can affect beer stability by fostering the growth of undesired microorganisms. What should I make of all this?

Are you going to store this beer forever or drink it sometime. I didn't have any problems with stability with the oatmeal stout I made as an extract batch even though there was no base malt for conversion and I couldn't see any starch haze either, the beer was black.