Oatmeal Stout Yooper's Oatmeal Stout

[Oldskewl]

Thanks for your feedback! I was afraid it would get too roasty. 8% range makes for a nice stout. I may give this a try.

 

[rkhanso]

I think this just might be my next brew.
I doubled the batch for my setup (11 gal in the fermenter) and used Brewers Friend. Does the recipe look correct? The numbers seem to come out OK, I think.
I'm going to use RO water to start since my tap water sucks. Should I shoot for the same water profile that Yooper posted - Ca: 84, Mg: 26, Na 9, SO4 45, Cl 62, HCO3 228. If so, I'm not sure how much of what to add to the water. I'll have to try and figure that out.

Thanks for looking.

 

[KonservativeJay]

I am brewing this right as the fourth brew on my new BIAB setup. This is my first time brewing a stout and I am rather excited for it [emoji2]. Sadly I just realized that I forgot the 2ozs of chocolate [emoji53]. Oh well, it should still be good [emoji482]

 

[Pyg]

Looking to give this a go. Could questions for possible tweets:

1-what are other British ale years that can be substituted? Windsor? Notty?

2-Black barley is the same as roasted barley?

3-thoughts I’m adding some cocoa nibs to secondary?

4-is this a good base for aging in oak/whiskey

5-is this recipe perfect and any tweaks do not improve it?

 

[HopSong]

I've brewed this as is a number of times and love it. IMO, this beer improves with age.. even longer age. I've brewed a 5g batch, bottled half and kegged half. The keg goes fast after it's aged about 6 weeks.. but, the bottled version I drink one per month until it hits one year. Then it also goes fast. Again, IMO, it improves with age.

 

[Pyg]

LHBS didn’t have chocolate malt
So they gave me crystal 80.
Only 2 oz, so hope doesn’t make a huge difference!

Also trying imperial yeast A10.

 

[jlflorance]

I finally got around to brewing this. Brew day went well; hit all my numbers, volumes, etc. Fermented at 65 for three days with WLP002 and increased a few degrees every couple of days till I hit 70 and stayed there for two weeks for a total of three weeks then bottled. At bottling it smelled amazingly like chocolate milk. I opened one last night after a week and a half in the bottle just to check as I am impatient, and immediately notice diacetyl in the taste but not the aroma. Anyone experience this? I am hoping it is due to the yeast fermenting the added sugar and that they will clean it up, but figured I would throw it out there for any thoughts.

 

[rkhanso]

A co-worker and I made this yesterday. Doubled the recipe and split the batch. Ended at 1.053 OG.
It was my first try at a yeast starter (I made two) and for some reason didn't have a lot of yeast in mine. His is bubbling away. I'm going to have to buy another packet of yeast and add it to my fermenter.

After waiting another day, my batch started bubbling through the airlock. But a day later than my co-worker's. I hope I have enough yeast so it doesn't cause problems.
I'm finding that brewing is pretty forgiving though.

 

[Yooper]

Looking to give this a go. Could questions for possible tweets:

1-what are other British ale years that can be substituted? Windsor? Notty?

2-Black barley is the same as roasted barley?

3-thoughts I’m adding some cocoa nibs to secondary?

4-is this a good base for aging in oak/whiskey

5-is this recipe perfect and any tweaks do not improve it?

I just saw this- so I imagine it's way too late to give advice now, but just in case someone else wants to know-

1. I like Wyeast 1335 because it's clean and enhances the malt flavor, but I love Wyeast 1450 (Denny's favorite) because it gives a wonderful mouthfeel and balance without being underattenuated. Definitely not Windsor, as it would finish at a too-high FG, and maybe notty but I've never used notty with it.

2. No. Black barley is unmalted and very dark- more like a coffee roast than roasted barley has.

3. I don't know- I don't like chocolate and never tried it.

4. Yes! One of the members here sent me a couple that he aged in bourbon/oak and it was fantastic.

5. I've found that I like it best 'as is'.

 

[Pyg]

I just saw this- so I imagine it's way too late to give advice now, but just in case someone else wants to know-

1. I like Wyeast 1335 because it's clean and enhances the malt flavor, but I love Wyeast 1450 (Denny's favorite) because it gives a wonderful mouthfeel and balance without being underattenuated. Definitely not Windsor, as it would finish at a too-high FG, and maybe notty but I've never used notty with it.

2. No. Black barley is unmalted and very dark- more like a coffee roast than roasted barley has.

3. I don't know- I don't like chocolate and never tried it.

4. Yes! One of the members here sent me a couple that he aged in bourbon/oak and it was fantastic.

5. I've found that I like it best 'as is'.

Thanks for response.

I ended up using imperial A-10 Darkeness for yeast.

I am going to split the batch into gallons:
Original
Oak/whiskey
Chocolate

 

[cheesebach]

I just saw this- so I imagine it's way too late to give advice now, but just in case someone else wants to know-

1. I like Wyeast 1335 because it's clean and enhances the malt flavor, but I love Wyeast 1450 (Denny's favorite) because it gives a wonderful mouthfeel and balance without being underattenuated. Definitely not Windsor, as it would finish at a too-high FG, and maybe notty but I've never used notty with it.

2. No. Black barley is unmalted and very dark- more like a coffee roast than roasted barley has.

3. I don't know- I don't like chocolate and never tried it.

4. Yes! One of the members here sent me a couple that he aged in bourbon/oak and it was fantastic.

5. I've found that I like it best 'as is'.

Are you sure about #2? Both black barley and roasted barley are unmalted AFAIK. I believe “Black Barley” is just the name Breiss gives their roasted barley product, since they also have a “light” roasted barley. The roasted barley from Crisp has a comparable Lovibond to the Breiss Black Barley and would probably be a direct substitute. According to the Breiss website (the only producer of a product called “black barley” that I know of), the only difference between the two is the color - the other characteristics are basically identical according to the product page:

http://www.brewingwithbriess.com/Products/Roasted_Barley.htm

 

[Pyg]

.

 

[Pyg]

SG 1.068
FG. 1.014

Has a nice flavor.
So I split into 2 container. Kept 1 gallon As Is!
4 gallon got 4 oz chocolate nibs (sterilized in whiskey).
Now has a smooth taste, but a dry chocolate.
Need to sweeten out a bit, but how?

 

[JLeuck64]

I finally got around to brewing this. Brew day went well; hit all my numbers, volumes, etc. Fermented at 65 for three days with WLP002 and increased a few degrees every couple of days till I hit 70 and stayed there for two weeks for a total of three weeks then bottled. At bottling it smelled amazingly like chocolate milk. I opened one last night after a week and a half in the bottle just to check as I am impatient, and immediately notice diacetyl in the taste but not the aroma. Anyone experience this? I am hoping it is due to the yeast fermenting the added sugar and that they will clean it up, but figured I would throw it out there for any thoughts.

Hey there, this is one of "those" beers that REALLY needs to age in the bottle before it's ready to drink in my experience. Wait at least a month before opening the first bottle...

(seriously, I drank a lot of green batches before I realized if I just would have waited to crack open that first bottle...)

 

[jlflorance]

Hey there, this is one of "those" beers that REALLY needs to age in the bottle before it's ready to drink in my experience. Wait at least a month before opening the first bottle...

(seriously, I drank a lot of green batches before I realized if I just would have waited to crack open that first bottle...)

Thank you for the response. I normally do wait. On the couple of occasions where I have opened one early, they have definitely been green, but I have never experienced the diacetyl. Hence, the panic. Hopefully it is not an infection.

 

[schematix]

Hey there, this is one of "those" beers that REALLY needs to age in the bottle before it's ready to drink in my experience. Wait at least a month before opening the first bottle...

(seriously, I drank a lot of green batches before I realized if I just would have waited to crack open that first bottle...)

Interesting. I find this to be one of the few beers that can go grain to glass in less than 10 days. But i have a feeling process has a lot to do with it...

 

[JLeuck64]

Interesting. I find this to be one of the few beers that can go grain to glass in less than 10 days. But i have a feeling process has a lot to do with it...

Shenanigans...

 

[schematix]

Shenanigans...

Really not that hard to get it ready in 10 days if you try.

Primary 2-4 days (this is a modest gravity ale, and ales are done usually in 2-4 days if you pitch properly)
Spund in keg 2-3 days (naturally carbonated)
Cold condition at 30F 3-4 days

I've made this both standard and low oxygen. The low oxygen one tasted smoother and cleaner right off the bat. Maybe some of the aging people say is necessary has to do with waiting out oxidation off flavors. Not sure, just giving my experience.

It's delicious at the 10 day mark for me though.

 

[cheesebach]

Really not that hard to get it ready in 10 days if you try.

Primary 2-4 days (this is a modest gravity ale, and ales are done usually in 2-4 days if you pitch properly)
Spund in keg 2-3 days (naturally carbonated)
Cold condition at 30F 3-4 days

I've made this both standard and low oxygen. The low oxygen one tasted smoother and cleaner right off the bat. Maybe some of the aging people say is necessary has to do with waiting out oxidation off flavors. Not sure, just giving my experience.

It's delicious at the 10 day mark for me though.

I agree with this mostly, but my experience has been that it can take awhile for the WY1450 to settle out. I haven't tried cold crashing at 30F though, so it's possible that would help with that. The first time I made this, I wasn't in any hurry, so I just let it condition at serving temp for 2 weeks until it was ready. The most recent time, I needed it ready quicker for competition, so I added gelatin to the primary and bottled the carbonated (spunded) beer from the serving keg at 13 days after brew day. It went into the serving keg on day 12, and I didn't notice much of any change in the remainder of the beer during the time it was on tap, which was 5-6 weeks.

 

[rkhanso]

Just bottled today. A co-worker and I split 10 gallons. I bottled 53 12-oz bottles worth. Ended at 1.016 FG. Right on the nose.
I'll give it a week and try one. I've read where it's better after bottle conditioning for a month.
My friend has kegging equipment and got 5 gal in is keg.

 

[rkhanso]

Wow is this beer good!
I'll definitely be making this again in the future.

 

[Epos7]

I brewed this almost exactly a year ago, and it was awesome. I am making a second batch in two days. Using Wyeast 1968 again.

First time around I collected 11 gallons in my fermenters, and with the following grain bill, I hit an OG of 1.050 and fermented down to 1.019 for an ABV of 4.2%. That's 63% attenuation on the 1968, though I've had it go much higher on a pale ale.

14.5 lb 2-Row
2 lb flaked oats
24 oz Briess chocolate malt
24 oz Victory malt
1 lb black barley
1 lb crystal 80
1 lb flaked barley

This time around I tweaked the grain bill, adding 1.5 lb 2-row and a little extra chocolate and Victory malt to use up what I have on hand. Shooting for a little higher OG, and I aim to ferment at a higher temperature to try and coax some more attenuation out of the 1968. I really enjoyed my first batch but I think somewhere around 4.5% to 5.0% would be ideal.

16 lb 2-Row
2 lb flaked oats
24.9 oz Briess chocolate malt
24.7 oz Victory malt
1 lb black barley
1 lb crystal 80
1 lb flaked barley

Last time around I used 5g gypsum and 8.5g CaCl and I plan to stick with that.

4oz of 3.8% AA Willamette this time around. 4oz of 4.8% AA last time. I'm debating adding a pinch of something else to compensate as the 4oz of Willamette is all I have on hand.

This was one of my better beers the first time I made it, so I'm excited to see if I can make some small improvements.

Oh yeah, and this year it will be kegged! Unlike last year when I had no kegging equipment, it should be ready for Christmas!

 

[Epos7]

I packaged today. Ended up at 5.1 brix on the hydro - 1.020. That's 62% attenuation, so right around where the 1968 was last time. ABV 4.7%.

I pitched at 70F, took it down to 66F the next day, 68F the day after that, 69F two days later, and finally 70F to finish out. Brewed on the 1st, packaged on the 16th, although I think I could have packaged a couple days ago.

I did end up adding a pinch of extra hops to bump the IBU slightly. I used 0.5oz Loral at 40 minutes.

 

[JLeuck64]

I brewed another imperialized version of this recipe back around Thanksgiving, see my posts #1348 and #1350 for my first attempt this summer. This time I used the Brewtarget software to scale up the recipe to net a 7gal batch and hit a solid 8%ABV, which I am enjoying as I type...

 

[Oldskewl]

I brewed another imperialized version of this recipe back around Thanksgiving, see my posts #1348 and #1350 for my first attempt this summer. This time I used the Brewtarget software to scale up the recipe to net a 7gal batch and hit a solid 8%ABV, which I am enjoying as I type...

Can you share your recipe? I'm just curious to see how you scaled it up. I was afraid to just double the whole recipe as doubling the specialty malts would be overpowering. Too roasty & chocolatley.

 

[JLeuck64]

Can you share your recipe? I'm just curious to see how you scaled it up. I was afraid to just double the whole recipe as doubling the specialty malts would be overpowering. Too roasty & chocolatley.

Sure thing,
It's in the attached pdf. I wouldn't be afraid of scaling this recipe at all. As long as you increase the malts by the same amount (50%, 100% or whatever amount across the board it will keep the grain bill consistent with the original.) Using some sort of brewing software and loading in the original recipe helps to have a baseline to compare against when scaling any recipe. The added plus to using a software program is that you can build to suit your equipment, which I did, and I could play around with the IBU's. My expectation was for a reasonable outcome the first time and the brewing software took away a lot of guess work for me. Please don't assume this version will give you similar results if you tried to brew just 5gal, this version is for a 7gal net in the fermentor. ( ;

 

[Beer-lord]

I'm planning on brewing this wonderfully enjoyed stout very soon. I noticed the link mentioned here for more info and saw the suggested water profile. I do use RO water (BIAB) but can't even come close to the HCO3 amount of 228 while keeping everything else in balance.
For those who've brewed this and are pleased with it, would you mind sharing your water profiles with me?
I usually do a few stouts a year and keep the water salts simple and am pleased with my results but am hoping to hit this one out the park the first try.
Here's what the suggested profile was on the link I mentioned:
Water
Ca: 84
Mg: 26
Na 9
SO4 45
Cl 62
HCO3 228

 

[Mothman]

I'm not a water chem expert by any means, but don't worry about matching the bicarbonate, it's not important to the profile. Only add bicarbonate if you are trying to counteract a too-low pH.

 

[Beer-lord]

Brewed this up today and pretty much hit all the numbers but my ph was too low so I did need to add some baking soda.
It's a nice, thick type wort and smells divine. No doubt it'll be a winner.

 

[Matthew McArthur]

I brewed this just after Christmas.... I used regular choc malt instead of pale and used "Darkness" from Imperial for the yeast. Turned out fantastic and is one of my favorites.