Questions about BrewersBest oatmeal stout extract kit

[Katman]

Hi everyone this is my third 5 gal batch and my first BrewersBest kit as well as my first stout. I have a few questions that I hope one of you can help me with since the directions are not very clear. It seems like every recipe for a oatmeal stout says to roast the oatmeal (flaked) for 15 min at 350* in a oven. This is not in the recommended procedures that came with the kit. All it says is to steep the oatmeal and other grains for 45 min at 148* to 152*.
Also this kit contains 1 oz of cascade hops but the directions just say to add the hops but not when to add them. So my plan is to roast the oatmeal before steeping and add the hops at the beginning of the boil, like I did for the other two ales I have brewed.
If anyone has any suggestions or if I am on the right track please let me know. I had heard nothing but good things about Brewersbest kits but I am a bit disappointed it the quality of the instructions. I guess they assume that I know more than I do.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

http://www.brewersbestkits.com/assets/1042_oatmealstout_recipe.pdf is what I looked. Agreed, the directions are not as clear as they could be. Hopefully, additional sets of eyes will be helpful.

I don't brew with oats, so I do not have an opinion either way.

For the hop timings, I'd go with a 60 minute addition for the hops (based on what I saw in the "Brew Day Schedule" box).

 

[thedevilandgod]

Unless you want to spend the time, roasting the oats is unnecessary. The oats are for body (mouthfeel), and just steeping them will do the job.

Adding the hops at the beginning of the boil is how the instructions seem to suggest the use, although the instructions are pretty vague. Stouts are traditionally only hopped once at the beginning of the boil, so it’s likely that’s what they were going for.

Good luck, and happy brewing!

 

[Jag75]

Dont put the oats in the oven . Just steep the grains at the temp and time given. Sometimes they swap out hops if they're out of the ones on their instructions. The .5 oz are at the start of the boil.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I brew an Oatmeal Stout and I toast the Oatmeal in the oven. I am not sure if it actually adds any character that makes it to the finished beer, but it make me feel like I am adding something special. This is totally optional and adds more work and introduces one more potential for a mistake.

I am impressed that this kit comes with some base grain for an actual partial mash. As far as the partial mash goes, it is not critical to hold your mash at a specific temp. You could raise the temp to 154F, wrap your pot in some blankets, and the temps will be fine. You might want to give it a stir half way through and boost the temp if it has fallen below 148F.

Good luck with your beer!

 

[Jag75]

I've done a ton of BrewersBest kits . They are good quality kits for sure . Most of their kits say steep at 156-165 and never get higher then 170

 

[Katman]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I figured I was on track with adding the hops at 60 min. I think I will not toast the oats this time since the directions do not call for it and the next batch of oatmeal stout I brew I will try toasting and see if it changes the taste at all. I plan on brewing a lot of oatmeal stouts (probably my favorite beer) and hope to find or come up with a recipe that will be my regular house beer.

 

[Bubbles2]

I make a recipe like that ever few weeks. I toast the oats and notice a bit, but bring em to dark toasted. The oats I buy are the instant. I use a pan on the stove and brown em or toast em.
I use a separate sack at heat up time or partial mash. I pull em at 150ºf so I do not get too much starch that is more of Trub at the end then sugar or sachrides. I leave the other sack of grains in all the way to 170ºf for "lock out". Pull em, kill heat, add your LME OR DME and bring up Boil.
When you start to understand A and B of the sachride release you will be able to make it sweeter or boozier, pending on hold of temp. Moreonthat later
The Hops are added on how bitter or flavor you want. Cascade is an aroma hop so the last 20 of boil is where I'd add that. The reason is the Chocolate grain is bitter, as is Carafa 1,2,3, so you do not need to boil the hell out of it to get your bitter on a hop that is under 10%; you are getting your bitter from that chocolate wheat grain (if that is what they sent).
Consider adding 2 TBSP of Real Vanilla extract at bottling, pull a cup add 1/4tsp to see if you like it or not so you don't ruin your 5gal.

 

[RM-MN]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I figured I was on track with adding the hops at 60 min. I think I will not toast the oats this time since the directions do not call for it and the next batch of oatmeal stout I brew I will try toasting and see if it changes the taste at all. I plan on brewing a lot of oatmeal stouts (probably my favorite beer) and hope to find or come up with a recipe that will be my regular house beer.

I too like oatmeal stouts but I have found that they change in flavor over time. I now prefer to leave my stouts in bottles for several months before drinking as I like how they smooth out with that time. Try one of yours a week after bottling. Try another each week and notice the changes. With a 5 gallon batch that should have you drinking the last one at the end of a year (make more batches in between for more immediate drinking). I've fond that with an imperial stout they keep improving even after that amount of time.

 

[Katman]

Well I brewed the oatmeal stout yesterday and learned a few important lessons. I had not been checking the SG of my wort before topping off with water. The first two batches I brewed from kits hit the target OG just by following the directions no problem. My oatmeal stout had a OG of 1.030 after topping off, it should have been 1.056 – 1.064. The only fermentable I had on hand to boost it up was 2lbs of priming sugar, so I boiled that up in a pint of water and added it to the fermenter. That brought the OG up to 1.068. I hope it will not screw up the taste. From now on I plan to keep extra yeast and DME around in case something goes wrong. Over all I was disappointed in the brewers best kit. The directions were kind of vague, the yeast packet was out of date, the specialty malts didn’t smell fresh and even though I followed the direction to the tee I had very low OG. On a happier note I popped a few bottles from my first batch (amber ale) in the fridge yesterday (been in the bottles a little over a week) they were crystal clear, well carbonated and tasted great.

 

[Jag75]

Theres no need to check the gravity before you top off to 5 gallons. The kit could have been sitting for a while , however most kit grains and such aren't the freshest. You cant beat doing all grain . Kits are no brainers everything is given to you . All you have to do is do the wort then top off with cool water . You should be using Ro water because extract kits have all the salts and acids done in the LME. You have to make sure when you top off you mix it well because you will get a different gravity reading. I'm sorry you didnt have luck with the kit . The only thing I can say is I've done so many of those kits and always hit the OG on the button.

 

[Katman]

Just a quick update on the oatmeal stout. I bottled it last weekend and it did not taste to bad flat. It was a little thin for a stout but OK. I pulled one out last night just to see how it was progressing and it was already full carbonated but has developed a strong alcohol taste since bottling (the alcohol taste is over powering everything else). Going to give it a couple more weeks to bottle condition and see what happens.

 

[Sky_Blue_Waters]

For my 2nd batch a couple months ago made a Hefe that smelled like straight booze and cloves when I bottled it. Turned out wonderful. spent a lot of time worrying about it before i finally opened one though!

Also, I recommend not buying kits if you have access to a Homebrew store near you. Ingredients will be more fresh and you will save a lot of money.
I find recipes online or imitate the kit's. If its AG i'll scale it to my batch size, then replace the base malts with extract.
It also has forced me to learn a lot more about brewing than just kits would have. (basically did my first mash session just now!)

 

[Katman]

@Sky_Blue_Waters
I gave up on buying kits after my fourth batch. The only one that came out anywhere close to what I expected was the first one I did from NB. I live a long way from any home brew stores but did find one a couple hours from me (Atlantic Brew Supply) that has a good selection and cheap shipping. My last two brews a porter and a brown ale came from them. There is a huge difference in the taste and smell of the fresh ingredients and I hit my target OG and FG dead on the money with both recipes. I will be bottling the porter this weekend and can't wait to see how it taste after a couple weeks of conditioning.

 

[Alex4mula]

Just a quick update on the oatmeal stout. I bottled it last weekend and it did not taste to bad flat. It was a little thin for a stout but OK. I pulled one out last night just to see how it was progressing and it was already full carbonated but has developed a strong alcohol taste since bottling (the alcohol taste is over powering everything else). Going to give it a couple more weeks to bottle condition and see what happens.

Maybe the beer didn’t need that extra sugar you added. Hopefully it mellows out with time.

 

[brewbama]

@Sky_Blue_Waters
I gave up on buying kits after my fourth batch. The only one that came out anywhere close to what I expected was the first one I did from NB. I live a long way from any home brew stores but did find one a couple hours from me (Atlantic Brew Supply) that has a good selection and cheap shipping. My last two brews a porter and a brown ale came from them. There is a huge difference in the taste and smell of the fresh ingredients and I hit my target OG and FG dead on the money with both recipes. I will be bottling the porter this weekend and can't wait to see how it taste after a couple weeks of conditioning.

I second Atlantic Brew Supply. They don’t leave you hangin like some shops: the yeast I ordered was nearing its best by date. Dude putting together my shipment called me and offered to throw in two or replace it (with a more expensive strain) at no charge. Good folks.