why only dark beer for oatmeal?

[jmo88]

Oatmeal provides such a nice creaminess to beer. I put a half pound in my brown ale and it's damn clear so I can't understand why there isn't lite colored ales that use this grain. It seems to me that a cream ale would be well served with oats. So, why do brewers avoid oats in lighter beers?

 

[killian]

it is often used in wit beers

 

[meschaefer]

Oats can create a haze, which may not have been noticeable (if present) in your brown Ale.

 

[khiddy]

You've got me thinking, jmo88. As Killian said, oats are indeed used in wit beers. The one thing is that oats are so creamy that you kind of need something peppery to balance, and wit beers use a fairly spicy yeast to bring that necessary balance.

I have an American Wheat that I'm working on tweaking (Malt-O-Wheat) before brewing tomorrow. There's nothing stopping me from adding a half-pound or so of oats, since there's already a haze. But the recipe is already going to be pretty soft and creamy as-is, so oats might not be very well received (even though I'm adding some rye to give it a little more crispness).

Of course, what's stopping you, jmo88, from giving it a try and posting the results?

 

[Oldsock]

I have a pale ale of sorts fermenting now that had 10% oats in the mash.

A traditional cream ale isn’t creamy. They are crisp and very clear, so oats (from a style accuracy perspective anyway) would not be a great addition. That said I think swapping out the flaked corn for oats in a cream ale would make for a tasty summer beer.

 

[jmo88]

Good point about creams ales. There are few cream ales around here that are served nitro. After tasting my brown, I thought adding oats would be as close as I could get to replicating that nitro creaminess in a bottle conditioned beer.

 

[Bob]

Oats are not often seen in homebrew recipes intended to result in a star-bright beer. With darker beers - porter & stout - clarity isn't as much an issue.

But in proportions of less than 10% of the grist (as well as patience and haze treatments) oats don't necessarily guarantee haze.

I like Fawcett's Oat Malt, myself. It's a really nice addition, and I find it superior to flaked or Golden Naked oats.

Bob

 

[B-Dub]

I have used rolled oats in an IIPA and Strong Golden Belgian.

A little haze in both, but hardly worth worrying about. Both at about 10% of the grist.

BW

 

[snailsongs]

Oats are awesome. If you toast them they add a wonderful nutty flavor and aroma to your beer. I got curious this last winter and decided to create an english pale built around toasted oats. here is the recipe. It turned out fantastic, and do you know what? At cellar temps it drops clear as a bell and in the fridge it gets no more chill haze than any of my other homebrews......