Sorry-another Oatmeal Stout recipe..

[iandiggs]

Hello All,

Could you please help me with my first Oatmeal Stout recipe. I want something with a bit of sweetness with the roastiness and smooth and creamy:

Maris Otter 4000g
Munich malt 400g
Caramalt 150g
Rolled Oats 400g (baked first)
Flaked Barley 250g
Roasted Barley 280g
Choc Malt 170g

(also have some amber ale in reserve)

I have Fuggles hops which I'm not sure to add once throughout the boil or divide into 2 with a later addition for more hop taste/aroma (but not sure if the hop taste/aroma aspect goes with a stout anyway). Not sure of hop amount(s) and/or times yet. Looking for an IBU of low 30's?

I have S-33 yeast (per a recommendation on another thread (vs S-04)) but have Mauribrew ale 514 yeast and wilko Gervin english ale yeast if opinion points me away form s-33 (and if either of them go with an oatmeal stout recipe).
Any feedback very much appreciated!!
Regards,
Ian

[weiht]

Recipe looks solid most parts except u may consider increasing more crystal malt, possibly at least 5% up to 10% depending on how big the OG and how much sweetness u are looking for. I also would go with darker crystals from 75L onwards, in a beer this dark u arent gonna get much flavour from caramalt 15L.

Roast malts looks good, stick with 8-10%. If u can get 500L roasted/black barley (Unmalted) then go for it, killer stout. Fuggles at 60min and 15-20mins from end is ok, its better if u have willamette at 15-20mins from end

Bump up the chlorides .

[seymour]

+1 what weiht said.

Further, we never apologize for oatmeal stout recipes in this house.

One quibble I'm surprised no one else has brought up yet, some people will insist with all your medium caramelized, brown, melanoidy, Munich and Chocolate malts, you're most likely brewing a Porter as opposed to a true Stout. But hell, they're all delicious big brown English ales to me, so carry on. Brew what you like to drink, and you'll like drinking this beer.

Some interesting thoughts here: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=53536&p=578796#p578796

[iandiggs]

Thanks for your reply. i do want to keep it as a stout rather than a porter if possible. Could i up the roasted barley for the colour and consistancy without making it too bitter/roasty? Maybe throw loads in at sparge?

[seymour]

Yes, but the beer won't be nearly as good and complex as your existing recipe.

If you must, here's a classic Oatmeal Stout recipe (ironically, it still contains some crystal):

Blackstone Oatmeal Stout
An excellent commercial beer recipe by brewmaster Dave Miller.

This Stout is big!
OG 1059 (14.75 P)
IBU 28

Yield 5 US gallons

All Grain Version
73.8% = 9.875 lbs = 4.5 kg, 2 Row malt
11.2% = 1.5 lbs = .68 kg, Flaked Oats
7.5% = 1 lb = .45 kg, Crystal malt 60°L
7.5% = 1 lb = .45 kg, Roasted Barley

MASH for 60 min at 150°F/65.5°C. Dave brews with fairly neutral water (under 75 ppm total alkalinity) and no adjustments are made to this brews mash pH.

Extract version
Substitute the 2 row malt 6 pounds XL Malt Extract Syrup AND 2 oz. XL DME
Or 5 pounds XL Dried Malt Extract

in boil pot, steep specialty grains in water at 150°F/65.5°C for 30 min. Remove grain, then add malt extract, fill kettle to 6 US gallons and bring to a boil. Look for a target gravity of 1.049 (12.29 P)

HOPS – Total boil time is 60 min
Northern Brewer – 1 1/5 oz for 45 min. for IBU 28

YEAST –
Cool wort as quickly as possible and pitch Wyeast 1056 American Ale or 1084 Irish Ale Yeast to make a more authentic style but Dave brews with Wyeast 1056 American Ale at the brewery.

FERMENT –
at 68°F/20°C until signs of fermentation are complete. Rack to secondary carboy and age 2-3 weeks and then bottle or keg.

[iandiggs]

What an absolute NIGHTMARE to sparge......

[seymour]

What an absolute NIGHTMARE to sparge......

I'm confused. Are you saying that because you're having a frustrating brewday, or simply by reading the recipe? I always include oats, which some people say cause too much gumminess and stuck sparges, but I've never had any trouble. I do sometimes include rice hull for that reason, but not always.

[iandiggs]

...sorry, i meant frustrating brewday, due to the sparge. Never used oats before. However, made up time because of simplicity of hop schedule (no steep).
What is rice hull? (Sorry, still a bit of a novice...)

[seymour]

From wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_hulls
"Rice hulls (or rice husks) are the hard protecting coverings of grains of rice. In addition to protecting rice during the growing season, rice hulls can be put to use as building material, fertilizer, insulation material, or fuel...Rice hulls can be used in brewing beer to increase the lautering ability of a mash."
These are commonly sold in US homebrew shops, but it sounds like they're harder to find over there. Another thread discussed oat hulls as an alternative, though. The idea is just to stir-in some organic mass to break-up the chunks, but that doesn't add any aroma/flavors of its own.