Oatmeal Stout Yooper's Oatmeal Stout

[2BeerSpeer]

 

[Yooper]

I finally poured a glass of the partial mash of this I did back in October last night. WOW!! Smooth, coffee overtones with the chocolate coming through on the back end. The head is creamy tan but not holding up as long as I had hoped. That could be because I didn't hit any of the target SG's, but I'm not complaining one bit. SWMBO loves it as well. Should be a hit at our house holiday party on Saturday. This is one great beer and I am believe I'll be doing it again very soon, because after Saturday there may not be anything left!! Thanks Yooper for the help converting this to a partial mash!!

I'm so glad that she loves it as well, and that it came out so good for you. That's great to hear!

View attachment 85928

Can't wait to try it- thanks for the photos of the labels and for thinking of me! I appreciate it.

 

[nickmv]

Brewing this, along with a Celebration Ale, this weekend.

Yooper, how long from grain to glass is appropriate? I keg my beers so I of course want to be able to drink it at Xmas, but am realistic about the fact that may not be possible. Luckily I have a mint choc stout and a breakfast stout standing by for kegging.

 

[Yooper]

Brewing this, along with a Celebration Ale, this weekend.

Yooper, how long from grain to glass is appropriate? I keg my beers so I of course want to be able to drink it at Xmas, but am realistic about the fact that may not be possible. Luckily I have a mint choc stout and a breakfast stout standing by for kegging.

It's about 6 weeks, more or less, to really be good. It takes a bit of time for the flavors to meld well.

 

[RUNningonbrew]

I've got California ale and London ale yeast which do you guys think would be better?

 

[GotPushrods]

Hey Yooper, getting ready to brew this on Saturday, but unfortunately I need a new probe for my pH meter.

How's your pH with > 200 ppm bicarb? Do you add acid? I was averaging a few different models and thought an alkalinity around 50 would be perfect.

Man I hate brewing blind.... especially dark beers!

Thanks!

 

[HumanGarbage]

I've got California ale and London ale yeast which do you guys think would be better?

I used London ESB (WY1968). Turned out great. Can't give you a comparison to Yooper's original as I haven't brewed it yet...

I don't think you could go wrong with either though. With a stout this rich subtle yeast flavours are not going to be too apparent.

 

[Yooper]

Hey Yooper, getting ready to brew this on Saturday, but unfortunately I need a new probe for my pH meter.

How's your pH with > 200 ppm bicarb? Do you add acid? I was averaging a few different models and thought an alkalinity around 50 would be perfect.

Man I hate brewing blind.... especially dark beers!

Thanks!

No, I've been using my tap water for this stout. My last one (drinking it right now, actually) was 100% tap water (Ca 57, Mg 26, Na 9, S04 45, Cl 14, CaC03 251, HCO3 228) with 3 grams of CaCl2 in the mash. I used 100% RO water for the sparge. Mash pH was 5.52, with a 1.5 quart/pound ratio in the mash.

 

[nickmv]

I got a question about pH as well. I usually just use 1tsp of pH 5.2 Stabilizer in my mash water. Do I need to use the same 1.75ish qt/lb ratio you speak of, or should I be set at my usual 1.33qt/lb?

 

[Yooper]

I got a question about pH as well. I usually just use 1tsp of pH 5.2 Stabilizer in my mash water. Do I need to use the same 1.75ish qt/lb ratio you speak of, or should I be set at my usual 1.33qt/lb?

I'd probably ditch the 5.2 buffer, and use 1.5 quarts/pound, unless you have a pH meter and/or know the exact make up of your water.

 

[te3b0r]

I just saw this, so sorry I didn't answer sooner.

I never considered cocoa nibs- but I despise chocolate beyond belief. I hate the stuff, so I wouldn't make a chocolate anything (not even a cake). I have no experience at all with cocoa in beer. I'm sure many people do make chocolate stouts, though, with good results.

I am right there with ya Yooper that crap is nasty but for some reason in beer it seems to work great....

Okay so the real reason I posted was I think I screwed up. I only mashed for a hour and then aged 2.5 gallons on Oak Soaked Bourbon for a few days after about 3 weeks. Tossed in the keg tonight and while yes I just tossed in the keg it was thin, very very thin. Drinkable but still wasn't what I was after. My numbers were a bit off 1.050 and 1.009 so any hope in making this heavier or just lesson learned on mash time and brew it up again soon?

 

[nickmv]

I'd probably ditch the 5.2 buffer, and use 1.5 quarts/pound, unless you have a pH meter and/or know the exact make up of your water.

I fetched my water report. We've got some of the cleanest water in the country here.

Ca - 4.4
Mg - 1.87
Na - 5.2
S04 - 3.8
Cl - 3.6
CaC03 - 35
HCO3 - ????? (both hardness and alkalinity CaCO3 were 35--not sure if this is related)
pH - 7.2


Any recommendations? I always use tap water for my brews.

 

[GotPushrods]

No, I've been using my tap water for this stout. My last one (drinking it right now, actually) was 100% tap water (Ca 57, Mg 26, Na 9, S04 45, Cl 14, CaC03 251, HCO3 228) with 3 grams of CaCl2 in the mash. I used 100% RO water for the sparge. Mash pH was 5.52, with a 1.5 quart/pound ratio in the mash.

Wow, I'm actually a little surprised by that. I always have pickling lime ready, but I've only had to use it a couple times on ridiculous imperials. I wonder how much of that alkalinity actually makes it from your HLT into the mash tun once it's been heated. (Possibly twice... do you fill your HTL from your hot water faucet?) I assume you got your water report from the cold faucet? Based on TDS readings alone, mine are noticeably different.

I'll just target 100 ppm total alkalinity (in the mash) and hope for low 4.4's. I'll save a small sample of the grain bill and water and see how I did when the new probe arrives!

Can't wait, thanks for the recipe!

 

[LoloMT7]

I just grabbed the grains/hops on my lunch break to brew this.. I will be pitching onto a yeast cake of wyeast 1318. The LHBS didn't have the pale chocolate so i got 1/2 lb of the 450 srm. Hope it still turns out

 

[bleak]

Hey Yooper, I'm still a little bit confused by the "black barley" ingredient. My homebrew store only carries "roasted barley" and "black malt" from Hugh Baird & Sons, described on their website as roasted barley malt at 700°L, which sounds to me like black patent malt. The Briess website says the their "black barley" is a deep brown colored malt, but it is not interchangeable with black malt. Would I be better off substituting roasted barley for the "black barley," or should I just use the Hugh Baird & Sons "black malt?"

 

[Yooper]

Hey Yooper, I'm still a little bit confused by the "black barley" ingredient. My homebrew store only carries "roasted barley" and "black malt" from Hugh Baird & Sons, described on their website as roasted barley malt at 700°L, which sounds to me like black patent malt. The Briess website says the their "black barley" is a deep brown colored malt, but it is not interchangeable with black malt. Would I be better off substituting roasted barley for the "black barley," or should I just use the Hugh Baird & Sons "black malt?"

I don't know! I use the Briess black barley. It's not the same as black patent (like the Crisp black malt is) and it's not the same as roasted barley, either. Black malt might be the closest, but not the same.

 

[beargrylls]

I think the black barley is just a darker version of roasted barley. These are not malted. Black malt (I think is the same as black patent) is malted and gives a different flavor than roasted barley and black barley.

 

[bleak]

I think the black barley is just a darker version of roasted barley. These are not malted. Black malt (I think is the same as black patent) is malted and gives a different flavor than roasted barley and black barley.

The Breiss description of their "black barley": Black Barley is a deep brown colored malt with a coffee flavor, that is dry and intensely bitter.

 

[LoloMT7]

Brewed this today

 

[Yooper]

The Breiss description of their "black barley": Black Barley is a deep brown colored malt with a coffee flavor, that is dry and intensely bitter.

You know, I was just thinking- I wonder if "coffee malt" is a better sub for the black malt? http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?products_id=10129

Maybe a little coffee malt, and a little black patent? That would maybe roughly equal black malt.

 

[bleak]

Thanks, Yooper, that may be it. Do you know the degrees Lovibond of Briess Black Barley? I didn't see it on their website.

 

[beargrylls]

The Breiss description of their "black barley": Black Barley is a deep brown colored malt with a coffee flavor, that is dry and intensely bitter.

roasted barley
http://www.brewingwithbriess.com/Assets/PDFs/Briess_PISB_RoastedBarley.pdf

black barley
http://www.brewingwithbriess.com/Assets/PDFs/Briess_PISB_BlackBarley.pdf

they both say the same thing for general flavor on the pdf info pages. the only thing that is different is black barley is 500 lovibond and roasted is 300 lovibond.
just wanted to share my research

 

[nickmv]

Brewed this yesterday. Other than oversparging by 2 pts, I nailed my numbers. Used 1.5qts/lb mash, so hopefully this comes out pretty good. It's chugging happily alongside my Celebration Ale clone.

 

[Yooper]

Thanks, Yooper, that may be it. Do you know the degrees Lovibond of Briess Black Barley? I didn't see it on their website.

It's really really dark- guessing 450-500 SRM or so.

 

[bleak]

roasted barley
http://www.brewingwithbriess.com/Assets/PDFs/Briess_PISB_RoastedBarley.pdf

black barley
http://www.brewingwithbriess.com/Assets/PDFs/Briess_PISB_BlackBarley.pdf

they both say the same thing for general flavor on the pdf info pages. the only thing that is different is black barley is 500 lovibond and roasted is 300 lovibond.
just wanted to share my research

That's really interesting. Another website said that Briess Black Barley was malted. I guess I'll just sub some roasted barley for the black barley.

 

[jbags5]

Brewed a version of this on Friday (subbed Fuggles/Goldings for Willamette, used British Ale 1098 b/c couldn't find the British Ale II).

Brewday went excellent. Made a 4 gallon batch. Hit numbers great. Aerated like normal, pitched yeast, and....bubbles within about 3 hours. That is very weird for me. Usually takes my beers about 18-24 hours to start fermentation. So I was excited.

After 12 hours (the next morning), I had crazy bubbles. Like 1-2 per second crazy bubbling fermentation. It was in my usual fermentation room, the ambient temps at 65 (stopped using my swamp cooler around October).

Nothing out of the ordinary in my brewing/sanitizing/fermentation process, but the fermentation (1) started faster than any other beer I've ever brewed (2) went more vigorously than any other beer I've ever done, and (3) is seemingly done/winding down now, 72 hours later (bubble every 30 seconds or so), making it the fastest fermenting brew I've ever done. Is anyone else getting a really fast and vigorous fermentation with this brew?

I don't make many porters/stouts (this is my 2nd, and my first AG stout -- made about 15 batches overall), so I'm just curious if this is a common thing with this type of beer.

 

[Gear101]

I open my bucket today, really smells good. Im going to reset it back tomorrow.

 

[Gear101]

Ok after a couple days at 30#s, I tried one last night, really good beer. It has a full wet mouth to it, dark chocolate aroma, oatmeal (just the right amount),some bitterness and very smooth. It is a beer that I could drink all the time and really did want to put it down last night. Glad I set this back.

 

[phoenixs4r]

I brewed this a few weeks ago, been on tap for a week or two. I really f'd up and tightened my mill to get better efficiency. When i looked at my grains they resembled flour more than husks. Between my stupidity and the oats making things sticky I literally had to put a paint strainer on the output of my mash tun and have my GF milk it while i stirred the mash just to get anything out. Took about 2.5 hours.

Well worth it tho, cheers for a good beer! I added cocoa nibs to the boil, which gave it the wrong type of chocolate taste i was going for, but still delicious.

 

[D_Nyholm]

Brewed this about 8 weeks ago and kegged it about 4 weeks ago. In the meantime, my kegerator broke and I have no way to drink it besides bottling it. Do you think there will be any negative effects if I do t tap the keg for another month? Or should I just bottle it and start drinking it? It is carbed so I could just bottle and start drinking right away I just am too lazy to get to bottling it but will if it is necessary!