Oatmeal Stout Yooper's Oatmeal Stout

[rico567]

My first batch fermented out to about the same place- 1.016-1.018. Doesn't matter, this is one great, tasty, smooth stout. Exactly as advertised, a great oatmeal stout for those who want minimal bitterness.

 

[Yooper]

Yooper: I think you mentioned early in this thread that originally you only used the 2oz of "regular" chocolate malt because you didn't have quite enough of the pale chocolate malt on hand. Do you feel the 2oz of higher kilned chocolate malt adds a specific character to this recipe? I'm just wondering if 12oz of pale chocolate malt and none of the regular stuff was the original thought.

That's exactly what happened! I didn't notice any difference, but I kept it in because I did like it and normally have the darker chocolate on hand in small quantities anyway.

 

[TAK]

That's exactly what happened! I didn't notice any difference, but I kept it in because I did like it and normally have the darker chocolate on hand in small quantities anyway.

Thanks, Yooper. I brewed it as written just this Sunday.


For those that have asked about the krausen with this recipe and the 1335 (I know I saw a few posts as I read this), I thought I'd throw out what my batch did. I've got it dialed in right at 65*F. I had a krausen show up quick and top out around 24 hours at about 1 inch thick. That started as an off-white foam with a bit of darker brown thick stuff on top. That began to fall, and then I was surprised to see this morning that there was a "second" Krausen that was thick dark brown through and through and about 2 inches thick.

I just got a beer gas and stout faucet setup that this will go on. So exited about that.

 

[user 78027]

I bottled this as is, I didn't add any yeast. I will be away for a week and will sample it when I return.

It had an off flavor, bitter like from bitter chocolate. I will see how it is with a little carbonation, if it carbonates.

 

[kbowman]

I love this stout. I have made it before and it is always great. This time I am substituting Roasted Barley for Black Barley. Not my choice--it's what the lhbs had in stock. Has anyone else tried this substitution and how was it? I would be ok with a "roastier" coffee flavor, but not an extreme change. I am brewing it either way--would just like to know.

Tasted this today. Definitely not the same. I do not taste the "coffee" like I do in the original. Tastes more like a porter than a stout. Not a good substitute in my book.

 

[atimmerman88]

Yooper and/or all that've brewed this.

My LHB only carries white labs...

Looking for an equivalent for this....WLP025?

thread search didn't turn up much

 

[m1ke]

I brewed a 10 gallon batch using s-04 and it's definitely one of the best stouts I've tasted - rich, chocolate, roasty goodness!

Next time I will try it with 1335.

Thanks for sharing the recipe, Yooper!

 

[user 78027]

I bottled this as is, I didn't add any yeast. I will be away for a week and will sample it when I return.

It had an off flavor, bitter like from bitter chocolate. I will see how it is with a little carbonation, if it carbonates.

I just opened my first bottle after it sat for a couple of weeks carbonating and it is great. A little thinner then I anticipated but tastes great. I only have 25 bottles so I will be trying it again soon

 

[truvr]

I just finished bottling this. Unfortunately I couldn't get my hands on the black barley so I subbed for 4 oz coffee malt, 4 oz brown malt, and 2 oz black patent. The sample tasted great. I guess I'll have to brew it again to taste the difference using black barley.

I do love the 1335. The yeast cake was so tight I ran the siphon right on top of/into it, left no beer in the fermenter, and had no sediment left over in the bottling bucket. Anyway, I can't wait for these to condition. This should be a tasty cold weather brew for sure.

 

[TAK]

I racked this to the keg today. I know I've seen others post a tad high FG, so I thought I'd throw out my results. OG = 1.0545 and FG = 1.020. I fermented steady at 65F for about 6 days, until signs of fermentation were really trailing off, then I upped it a couple degrees to 67F for a little while.

Low attenuation, maybe a bit sweet, but not too much. It definitely doesn't throw off the balance, which this beer has in spades.

Great recipe; I'll be doing this one regularly.

 

[atimmerman88]

Just mashed in on this!!!

6" of fresh snow on the ground and potentially record lows tomorrow today/tonight/tomorrow -45 :smack:

 

[Gear101]

Yooper and/or all that've brewed this.

My LHB only carries white labs...

Looking for an equivalent for this....WLP025?

thread search didn't turn up much

wyeast 1968 or 1335 might be better

 

[atimmerman88]

wyeast 1968 or 1335 might be better

Thanks for the response...

I ended up ordering from northern brewer so I've got 1335, it'll work well I'm going to make a bender clone using it as well

 

[mtnagel]

I plan to use harvested S04 for this. Very similar specs and one is British and one is English. Same difference, right?

 

[Newsman]

7 lbs Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 63.64 %
1 lbs Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM) Grain 9.09 %
12.0 oz Victory Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 6.82 %
10.0 oz Chocolate malt (pale) (200.0 SRM) Grain 5.68 %
8.0 oz Barley, Flaked (1.7 SRM) Grain 4.55 %
8.0 oz Black Barley (Stout) (500.0 SRM) Grain 4.55 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM) Grain 4.55 %
2.0 oz Chocolate Malt (450.0 SRM) Grain 1.14 %
2.00 oz Williamette [4.80 %] (60 min) Hops 31.6 IBU

1 Pkgs British Ale II (Wyeast Labs #1335)


Water was
Ca: 84
Mg: 26
Na 9
SO4 45
Cl 62
HCO3 228

Mashed at 156, with a thin mash (1.75 quarts per pound) to keep the pH in range.

This is the second time with this recipe. I've started using the black roasted barley unstead of the regular, and using less of it. It's got a great roast behind it, but it's not a big roasty flavor that overtakes the stout. It's reminscent of coffee, with a hint of the coffee notes behind the flavor. Not too big, not too sweet, not too dry, with a creamy mouthfeel and brown head that lasts and lasts.

Hi, Yooper.. just found this thread. Looks like this is about 4.3% ABV -- a good "session" stout. That about sum it up? If someone wanted to bump this up, would you just add more Victory or Crystal?

 

[Gear101]

Hi, Yooper.. just found this thread. Looks like this is about 4.3% ABV -- a good "session" stout. That about sum it up? If someone wanted to bump this up, would you just add more Victory or Crystal?

With:
Original Gravity: 1.052
Final Gravity: 1.016

Should come out a little short of 5% and yes to your answer, I would up the base grain or just drop a 1# of DME into it.

 

[Newsman]

With:
Original Gravity: 1.052
Final Gravity: 1.016

Should come out a little short of 5% and yes to your answer, I would up the base grain or just drop a 1# of DME into it.

Thanks. That's what I was thinking. Not necessarily wanting an "imperial" stout, but something a little stronger...8% or so would be nice.

 

[TAK]

Hi, Yooper.. just found this thread. Looks like this is about 4.3% ABV -- a good "session" stout. That about sum it up? If someone wanted to bump this up, would you just add more Victory or Crystal?

You would bump up with more Maris Otter, or other base malt. Victory and crystal aren't base malts and don't have any diastatic power.

 

[Newsman]

You would bump up with more Maris Otter, or other base malt. Victory and crystal aren't base malts and don't have any diastatic power.

OK. Sounds good. I'm not where I can brew anything else right now... my fermentation chamber has a Dunkel that's been brewing just over a week. I snuck a peek at it this morning and it looks like it's done -- what krauzen there was is gone, so I propped the freezer lid up a little with a rolled up towel to let it warm up a bit so the yeasties will have a chance to finish cleaning up over the next week.
Then I might look into making Yoopers Chocolate Oatmeal Stout.

 

[Newsman]

By the way, I have several pounds of generic "base malt" that our home brew club gave me for a group project (brew something...doesn't have to be with these ingredients, but brew 5 gallons of something... ) I was told it's similar to 2-row. Would that work in place of the Marris Otter?

 

[TAK]

By the way, I have several pounds of generic "base malt" that our home brew club gave me for a group project (brew something...doesn't have to be with these ingredients, but brew 5 gallons of something... ) I was told it's similar to 2-row. Would that work in place of the Marris Otter?

That'll work. Side by side with an all Marris Otter base, the MO will have more character, but assuming you have at least the 7lbs of MO that's in the original recipe, some of that character will still be there.

With that said, I'd definitely recomend brewing this one as is, it's a great recipe. If you do step the gravity up, I might only go to 6.0-6.5% ABV, rather than all the way up to 8%.

 

[Gear101]

With that said, I'd definitely recomend brewing this one as is, it's a great recipe. If you do step the gravity up, I might only go to 6.0-6.5% ABV, rather than all the way up to 8%.

I would agree with that, stand alone it makes good beer. Every time I go over 8% ABV, well it just takes a lot long to finish, which really does not make it worth my time. I like brewing beers around the 5 to 6 range, most of them finish in two weeks, easily.

 

[Newsman]

I would agree with that, stand alone it makes good beer. Every time I go over 8% ABV, well it just takes a lot long to finish, which really does not make it worth my time. I like brewing beers around the 5 to 6 range, most of them finish in two weeks, easily.

Yeah, that was my intent... just to make a slightly stronger stout... not "imperial" just slightly stronger...

 

[Ty_Deschaine]

Hey guys, Just wanted to chime in. I brewed this a little while back. I accidentally subbed The Pale Chocolate Malt for a much darker Chocolate (wanna say somewhere around 300 SRM) Came out a bit more bitter than i was hoping, but still very drinkable. The real kicker though is the lack of mouth feel. It has a very light mouth feel, almost like a Dark Ale. I brewed a Oatmeal a few years back that had such a full body feel, i want to say i added Lactose to that batch. I was hoping for a bit smoother on the palate. Any advise to improve this next round? There also is a weak head with hardly any retention. Its been on gas for maybe 2 weeks (10psi). Would bumping it up to a higher PSI help with building a head? Any advise would be appreciated! Thanks.

 

[TAK]

Hey guys, Just wanted to chime in. I brewed this a little while back. I accidentally subbed The Pale Chocolate Malt for a much darker Chocolate (wanna say somewhere around 300 SRM) Came out a bit more bitter than i was hoping, but still very drinkable. The real kicker though is the lack of mouth feel. It has a very light mouth feel, almost like a Dark Ale. I brewed a Oatmeal a few years back that had such a full body feel, i want to say i added Lactose to that batch. I was hoping for a bit smoother on the palate. Any advise to improve this next round? There also is a weak head with hardly any retention. Its been on gas for maybe 2 weeks (10psi). Would bumping it up to a higher PSI help with building a head? Any advise would be appreciated! Thanks.

I'm not sure about the mouthfeel; what was your OG and FG?

Mine also had bad head retention, and I even pushed it through a stout faucet. It gets a nice head out of the faucet, but it goes away after a minute. However, I'm convinced that's due to a processing issue, not anything like an ingredient issue. I've been researching a lot, and am finding that head is comprised of many one-use-only proteins. I've been aerating with a paint mixer, and I'm sure that's the culprit of my head retention issue. When I aerate and it foams, that's the single use I get out of the proteins, and they're not left over after fermentation for the head. I've ordered parts for an O2 setup, hoping that'll help.

 

[trapae]

I also brewed this recently and it came out very thin with bad head retention. Like above it is on nitro and good head out of tap but died almost immediately. Tastes like a coffee thin dry stout. Very good but I was hoping for a more complex creamy brew. Weird thing is, final gravity was 1.019, which I thought would give it more mouthfeel? I used blackprinz500 instead of black barley, and used wlp007.

 

[Yooper]

Hey guys, Just wanted to chime in. I brewed this a little while back. I accidentally subbed The Pale Chocolate Malt for a much darker Chocolate (wanna say somewhere around 300 SRM) Came out a bit more bitter than i was hoping, but still very drinkable. The real kicker though is the lack of mouth feel. It has a very light mouth feel, almost like a Dark Ale. I brewed a Oatmeal a few years back that had such a full body feel, i want to say i added Lactose to that batch. I was hoping for a bit smoother on the palate. Any advise to improve this next round? There also is a weak head with hardly any retention. Its been on gas for maybe 2 weeks (10psi). Would bumping it up to a higher PSI help with building a head? Any advise would be appreciated! Thanks.

This beer generally has awesome head retention, due to the flaked barley and crystal malts. Mine is very smooth and rich, and not bitter or harsh. I can't imagine why it would be so different, if the recipe was followed exactly. The flaked barley means a dense persistent head.

 

[Yooper]

I'm not sure about the mouthfeel; what was your OG and FG?

Mine also had bad head retention, and I even pushed it through a stout faucet. It gets a nice head out of the faucet, but it goes away after a minute. However, I'm convinced that's due to a processing issue, not anything like an ingredient issue. I've been researching a lot, and am finding that head is comprised of many one-use-only proteins. I've been aerating with a paint mixer, and I'm sure that's the culprit of my head retention issue. When I aerate and it foams, that's the single use I get out of the proteins, and they're not left over after fermentation for the head. I've ordered parts for an O2 setup, hoping that'll help.

I have heard that things like shaking the keg to burst carb up a beer can destroy those head retention proteins, but I haven't done side-by-side comparisons to see if that is true. (I'm not a shaker). I know that things like an extended protein rest (or for some malts, any protein rest) will destroy head later on.

 

[TAK]

I have heard that things like shaking the keg to burst carb up a beer can destroy those head retention proteins, but I haven't done side-by-side comparisons to see if that is true. (I'm not a shaker). I know that things like an extended protein rest (or for some malts, any protein rest) will destroy head later on.

I've also heard that extended protein rests hurt head retention. From my understanding, especially with well modified malt, too long of a protein rest will produce head forming proteins at the expense of head retention proteins. So, you may get a beer that forms great head, but it doesn't stick around.

It's funny, I also don't shake to accelerate force carbonation for the same reason, but it never occurred to me that messy aeration was to the same detriment.

 

[Ty_Deschaine]

I'm not sure about the mouthfeel; what was your OG and FG?



Mine also had bad head retention, and I even pushed it through a stout faucet. It gets a nice head out of the faucet, but it goes away after a minute. However, I'm convinced that's due to a processing issue, not anything like an ingredient issue. I've been researching a lot, and am finding that head is comprised of many one-use-only proteins. I've been aerating with a paint mixer, and I'm sure that's the culprit of my head retention issue. When I aerate and it foams, that's the single use I get out of the proteins, and they're not left over after fermentation for the head. I've ordered parts for an O2 setup, hoping that'll help.

I unfortunately can't find my notes.... Bummed. I do know that I was surprised at how well it finished out. I'm thinking the problem had to have been a low mash temp.

Is there any need for a protein rest with this beer? I'm thinking ill just shoot for a single infusion at 158F. Any thoughts?