Oatmeal Stout feedback PARTIAL MASH

[hendricksonfr]

I wanted to brew something close to Duclaws Alchemy Oatmeal Stout, so I created a recipe on my own and I just wanted some feedback from it. This is my first post on the site although I've come here plenty of times for information, and I'm still fairly new to the whole homebrew process so I'm still perfecting my techniques.

This is my 3rd brew, so here it goes...

Recipe Type: Partial Mash
Yeast: White Labs Irish Ale
Batch Size (Gallons): 5
Original Gravity: 1.067
Final Gravity: 1.017
IBU: 38
Boiling Time (Minutes): 60
Color: 50
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 14 Days @ 68F
ABV: 6.5

Grain/Extract/Sugar
Amount - Name
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.00 lbs. Dark LME
3.00 lbs. Dark DME
4.00 lbs. British Pale Malt(2-row)
2.00 lbs. Flaked Oats
2.00 lbs. Crystal 80L
1.00 lbs. Chocolate Malt
1.00 lbs. Black Patent Malt

Hops
Amount - Name - IBU - Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.00 oz. Goldings Pellet 5.00 40 min.
1.00 oz. Glacier Pellet 5.50 20 min.
1.00 oz. Goldings Pellet 5.00 10 min.
1.00 oz. Cascade Pellet 6.00 5 min.

1.00 oz. Goldings Pellet Dry Hop

Extras
Amount - Name - Time
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.00 Tsp Irish Moss 15 Min.(boil)

Yeast
-----
White Labs Irish Ale Yeast

Mash Schedule
-------------
Steeped grains at 155 for 40 minutes
Boiled LME, DME, Flaked Oats for 60 minutes (added hops accordingly)

I've only brewed an IPA and an IIPA so far, so I'm not really sure what to expect from the grains I used to make this batch. I was considering adding half a cup of coffee to the wort (crushing the beans and letting them steep in boiled water), but I don't want overkill with the coffee flavor. I'm still learning so if I'm doing anything wrong/the hard way - please let me know!

 

[Oldsock]

With that much dark extract and 2 lbs of crystal you are going to end up with a pretty sweet beer. I would switch all/most of the dark extract for light (you'll get plenty of color from the dark grains) and drop the crystal down to a pound. Otherwise looks tasty to me, good luck.

 

[hendricksonfr]

Do you think an addition of coffee would help balance the sweetness?

 

[Oldsock]

I don't think coffee will do much to change the balance, plus I think you have enough going on already. If you already have the dark DME use it, but get rid of the crystal and mash in the high 140s to ensure the malt portion highly fermentable.

I also just noticed that it sounds like you are boiling the oats with the wort, they should be mashed along with the grains to convert their starches to sugars.

 

[Ichthy]

+1 to Oldsock's comments. You need to change the dark DME to Light. You'll have plenty of flavor with all the crystal and roasted malts. Just FYI, you will be doing a mash, not just steeping those grains.

 

[hendricksonfr]

Sorry - typo, I actually did mash the flaked oats with the grains. Not boil them.

And Mashed, not steeped. Thank you for the heads up!

 

[hendricksonfr]

Okay, so I've sampled some of my results and it's really really good. It has a Starbucks Caramel Mocha Frap aftertaste to it - not too sweet with a great coffee taste. I actually brewed this for my wife because she likes these styles, (I'm more of an IPA/XXIPA guy) but I'm surprised at how much I actually like this brew. After a few more weeks of conditioning and this is going to be perfect. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys that Starbucks frozen drink stuff. I guess sometimes more is more.