Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout

[DRonco]

Yeah, it's a fault....sometimes I can't leave well enough alone. I'm hoping the late addition cocoa will leave some flavor behind. It's chugging away quite happily as we speak.

 

[BigB]

Yeah, it's a fault....sometimes I can't leave well enough alone.

It's your beer. I always encourage experimentation. That is the best way to learn.
EDIT: Besides, I think the chocolate might add a bit of rich complexity. It should work well with this recipe.

 

[DRonco]

One week into fermentation and it still has a high krausen and is off gassing about 4 times a minute. My previous brews, an Amber and a Belgian Dubbel were at terminal gravity by this point. Granted, I haven't sampled it yet, but don't see a reason to as long as it's still got krausen. Must be a top cropping yeast? It was Wyeast 1469 (Yorkshire).

 

[Blamm]

Seriously considering making this recipe as my second brew.
The White Labs yeast you are suggesting is unfortunatly not available around here (Netherlands), but I do have access to most dry yeasts, and a collection of Wyeast.

What would be a good alternative to use? From a costs perspective, and being new to the game, I would prefer a dried yeast, so was thinking Nottingham or S-04. Any feedback on those, or should I skip them and go into the direction of Wyeast #1028 (London Ale) / #1084 (Irish Ale) / #1318 (London Ale III) ?

 

[BigB]

Both Nottingham and S-04 are great yeasts, but IMHO they are a bit too neutral for the Samuel Smith. I would definitely not use 1028, too dry. I've never used 1318, so I'm not sure there. I guess I'd lean towards the 1084 or if you really wanted dry, I'd go with Nottingham, or even Windsor Ale if you have access to it (manufactured by Danstar).

 

[Blamm]

Thanks,

Yeah all Danstar are available widely here, as are Fermentis yeasts.
Will keep your suggestions in mind. A Wyeast might be a nice step forward quality wise.

 

[GeorgiaTiger]

I did a 2.5 gallon scaled down version of this. Fermenting away in my LBK...or should I say NOT fermenting any longer. Been in the fermenter now for almost 3 weeks and will bottle it just after new years day. I cant wait to try this!

 

[cottagebrews]

I'd recommend racking this to secondary for a little while to make sure the oatmeal proteins and yeast can settle out. I had a lot of that stuff coagulate in the bottle, and it was a pain to explain it to people who hadn't had home-made beer before.

 

[Blamm]

Perhaps a silly question that is still bothering me. But wouldn't steeping oatmeal result in little effect and a lot of unconverted proteins in the wort?

 

[BigB]

Perhaps a silly question that is still bothering me. But wouldn't steeping oatmeal result in little effect and a lot of unconverted proteins in the wort?

Valid question. But see post #26 for my thoughts on it.

 

[dlprice45]

This is my first time posting here, just wanted to say that I brewed this recipe yesterday and had almost the exact same experience as cottagebrews below! Ha, everything went great yesterday and I pitched the yeast (Wyeast Irish Ale) about 4pm. I used a 6.5 gal carboy so didn't think I'd need a blowoff tube (this is only my second brew, first non-kit recipe). Well, at 7am this morning the airlock was overpowered by the fermentation, but wasn't so clogged that it blew off. As deftly as I could right out of bed I removed the airlock and attached blowoff tube (sanitizing everything as I went). It was happily bubbling and gurgling away as I left for work. Thanks for posting the recipe, I'll try to give an update on my brew as it progresses.

David

Thanks, BigB, that was very helpful. Brew day went off without a hitch, apart from dropping my hydrometer and having to run out to buy another. The "sound of victory" this morning was a bit louder than expected, however: krausen forced its way into my airlock, clogged it, and eventually blew the lid clear off my primary bucket. I was able to rig a blow off tube using part of the airlock and the siphon tubing. Crisis averted for now. Fermentation was active enough that I hopefully won't suffer any serious contamination, but final word on that will have to wait until I bottle in four weeks. Thanks again!

 

[I-Train]

Just wanted to chime in and say I brewed this recipe about two months ago. I've been drinking it for the past week or so and it's one of my favorite beers I've ever made. It was a hit with my family and neighbors as well!

I followed the recipe as written here except that I had to substitute English Ale yeast for the Yorkshire Square strain. I also took the oats out of the oven about 10-15 minutes early because the burning smell was getting too strong to bear as others have attested! Still came out great!

 

[RitalinIV]

This recipe is outstanding! I made my batch exactly as BigB wrote. It is by far the best beer I have made.

I kept my first batch in the primary for 17 days and transferred directly into the keg. I started drinking after only 10 days. Amazing!

Other batches utilized Wyeast #1028 and 1275-- All great match ups. Started another batch yesterday...

Thank you for sharing, BigB!

-Ritalin