Oatmeal Stout conditioning / taste?

[undergroundbrewer]

Here's my scenario:

I recently brewed an Oatmeal Stout, being wary of cleaning / sanitizing every surface the beer would come in contact with to prevent off-flavors. I pitched the yeast at 73 degrees (let the beer chill in a sealed carboy overnight before pitching...), and got vigorous fermentation for ~3 days. I got my desired gravity readings after 2 weeks in primary, so I bottled with 3/4 cup dextrose (though I normally prefer to do weight...since its exact). I know I'm leaving out some details but I'll just fast forward to now...

It was 10 days and I cracked open my first to give it a try. This particular beer happened to be conditioning in the fridge for all 10...anyway, the beer had a decent aroma but no head whatsoever, and didn't really taste carbonated. I understand that its standard to wait 2 weeks before even considering drinking it. But after talking to some folks that have brewed stouts in batches past, they suggested waiting 1-2 months for all of the flavors to really come out? My particular batch had some dry and malty tastes, but no real sweet elements like I had tried in other batches?

My question is this: should I expect the flavors to come together and be sweet LATER in the conditioning? What about the carbonation / head of the beer? Thanks for your input!

 

[ashort33]

As far as the beer having no head, I am guessing you did not let the yeasties work long enough. My rule of thumb is minimum 3 weeks at room temp and then put one in the fridge to check it for proper carbonation and flavor.

As far as flavors melding, I just brewed an oatmeal stout tonight. I will bottle in two to three weeks and then put it away until mid February. I tried the liquor out out of the hydrometer test tube and it was harsh, so I am looking for it mellow over the next two months...

 

[jasonsbeer]

It was 10 days and I cracked open my first to give it a try. This particular beer happened to be conditioning in the fridge for all 10...anyway, the beer had a decent aroma but no head whatsoever, and didn't really taste carbonated. I understand that its standard to wait 2 weeks before even considering drinking it.

I suspect leaving it in the fridge for the entire post-bottling time has inhibited carbonation. Ale yeasts don't like it cold. You want to let the bottles condition at room temperature. You'll also want to remember that the oils from the oatmeal may decrease head. I have a double chocolate oatmeal stout that tastes pretty good, but has little head.

As far as conditioning time, I find that 2 months is minimum for full flavored beers. The best stout I ever drank came from a batch I made after finding the bottles buried under some other beer after 1 year. Tasted great!

 

[Frank99]

I just polished off an Oatmeal Stout and have a Porter on tap and both came out great at the 2 month mark. They were certainly drinkable and not bad at 6 weeks, but the add'l 2 weeks did wonders. Be patient and build up a pipeline!

 

[NewrBrwr]

This could have been my post 2 months ago! I was concerned about the carbonation and head of my oatmeal stout as well. Now after a little over two months of bottle conditioning the carbonation has built up more and has a better head. Just wait it out!

 

[undergroundbrewer]

UPDATE: Tried another one from the batch yesterday at Thanksgiving dinner. Needless to say the bottles I left out of the fridge to carbonate certainly taste better, but still didn't see much of a head on my beer...though I might take NewrBrwr's advice and wait it out. Perhaps I need more proteins in my mash to get a bigger head (at least that's what other threads have suggested?)...can this be done with more Flaked Oats?

 

[stoneyrok]

good, I am glad I came to this post, because I have a porter and it is about 1.5 weeks, and I cracked one just to see what the taste/carbonation etc was like... Since I am new at this I don't mind wasting a few here and there so I can tell first hand what happens over time. I consider it a learning process, but I was worried about carbonation. Now I feel better letting it sit for a few more weeks at least, plus some say it takes a little longer for a porter/stout to carbonate. Not sure why...

 

[Justibone]

There is a product called "Kreamyx" or something like that. It is specifically made to add more head to your homebrew. Ask at your LHBS.

 

[undergroundbrewer]

good, I am glad I came to this post, because I have a porter and it is about 1.5 weeks, and I cracked one just to see what the taste/carbonation etc was like... Since I am new at this I don't mind wasting a few here and there so I can tell first hand what happens over time. I consider it a learning process, but I was worried about carbonation. Now I feel better letting it sit for a few more weeks at least, plus some say it takes a little longer for a porter/stout to carbonate. Not sure why...

I don't believe it has much to do with carbonation levels as much as it does taste. By letting it sit longer, the flavors will combine and give you a different taste altogether (instead of being able to identify the individual aspects of the beer, i.e. the chocolate taste, then the oat taste, etc. it will all combine into one delicious beer!!). Hope this answers your question!

 

[erock2112]

Take it out of the fridge for at least three weeks, put a bottle back in for two days, then taste it.