Style Of The Week 19/03/08 - Oatmeal Stout

[Moculta Masher]

With winter approaching (even if the weather's not cooling down much here at least), a brewer's thoughts turn to dark beers. One dark style that's perfect for a winter's night is Oatmeal Stout, BJCP style 13C. It's not a beer that's widely available commercially here, but the home brew versions I've tried have been delicious.

Some links
The Jamil Show on Oatmeal Stout
BYO article
Big AHB thread on OS

So any information on Grains? Hops? Yeast? Partial mash options? Conditioning time? Any commercial examples you've tried? Let us all know all you know about this beer so we can all brew better beer.
:chug:

I have All Grained this one five times now. Needs alot of careful conditioning time as the oats extend the ferment. My recipes are much the same. However, I am now experimenting with one that has had a little bit of finely ground dark toasted oak added at the flavour and aroma ends of the boil.
I am trying to add a little bit more character. Should'nt be a disapointment. Bottling this one soon...
Moculta Masher.
:icon_chickcheers:

 

[NeilArge]

Great to see you (us) Barossans keeping things going!
I've made about half a dozen OS - all as partial mashes. While I quite liked them, I found that the ones I made had a slightly unpleasant sour taste - a bit cloying on the tongue. I don't have my recipe book here so can't give specs but has anyon else had this problem and, more importantly, how do you solve it? I have to admit though, you've all got me inspired to have another crack, this time at an AG version.

Cheers

ToG

 

[Stubbie]

Found out when I pulled the oats out of the cupboard that SWMBO had used some recently so wasn't at the 10% addition I would have liked:

In my last OS attempt, a partial, I used 250g of flaked oats and thought the result was barely noticeable. But then I suspect that last brew had a greater quantity of dark malts than this latest AG version - if that is indeed a factor? S'pose I'll never know for sure because who knows exactly what goes into kits? But that's the motivation for upping the flaked oats to 600g ie. 10%.

Good to see you've got that in. What style would be complete without a bit of ahhhh wellll ummmmm ..... biscuity.... laugh.gif

:huh: Now that you do mention it, sure does appear quite frequently. I'll play the newb card in my defence. Who knows whether much biscuity flavour will end up in the OS? One thing's for sure; by the time the flaked oats began to golden up, the aroma in the kitchen was marvellous. Biscuity and Nutty is a spot on description. Even my wife said that the house smelled like someone was baking oatmeal biscuits. If any of that flavour ends up in the brew, by whatever chance, then bring it on I reckon.

Cheers

 

[Stuster]

Now that you do mention it, sure does appear quite frequently. I'll play the newb card in my defence.

It's just what Jamil's big thing with a number of styles, but it certainly sounds like a good idea for this style. I agree about the toasted oats. Smell marvellous. :icon_drool2:

 

[lobo]

hi all, i dont know about the etuqiute(spelling) on these threads, but i would like to post my recipe of this style, which i intend to brew in the next month.

this will be my 2nd ag attempt, currently setting up for ag. i dont know how to post straight from promash, so here it is longhand.

3kg jwm trad ale 51.3%
1.5 wyermann munich 2 25.6%
.5 flaked oats 8.5%
.3 wheat malt 5.1%
.3 jwm choc malt 5.1%
.25 jwm roast barley 4.3%

wye challanger 30g @60min, 10g @30mins

ibu 38.5, og 1065
i have one guinness clone longneck with the 'guinness' wyeast. or i was thinking nottingham, flocs well and i keg and only have 2 kegs, so this one wont age.

any thoughts/comments would be great.

cheers

Lobo

 

[SJW]

Here is the recipe I used on Saturday:

77% IMC Pale Malt
8% Uncle Toby's Quick Oats
6% Pale Choc Malt
5% Roast Barley
4% Dark English Crystal

Mash at 68 for 60min to 1.050
60min boil

NZ Goldings flowers at 60min to 30 IBUs

Wyeast 1469 from slurry at 19 deg for 2 weeks

No flaked Barley Scott?

 

[goatherder]

No flaked Barley Scott?

Nope, no flaked barley. It's one of those ingredients I haven't got around to using yet. Why do you ask?

 

[SJW]

Nope, no flaked barley. It's one of those ingredients I haven't got around to using yet. Why do you ask?

I just though that FB was a must for body in any stout.

:icon_offtopic: a little, well it started out a Oatmeal Stout then I realised I had 500g of Flaked Barley so I up'ed the IBU's and made it an FES. What do u think? Also in an Oatmeal Stout would the Oatmeal make up for the Flaked Barley not being in it or would u have both?

This is my Stout recipe, it's always pretty close to this but this time I will use Black malt instead of RB.

Stout
Foreign Extra Stout


Type: All Grain
Date: 21/04/2010
Batch Size: 25.00 L
Brewer: Stephen Wright
Boil Size: 32.05 L Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 75 min Equipment: Keg Beer
Taste Rating(out of 50): 0.0 Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00
Taste Notes:

Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU
5000.00 gm Pale Malt, Ale (Barrett Burston) (5.9 EBC) Grain 76.92 %
500.00 gm Barley, Flaked (Thomas Fawcett) (3.9 EBC) Grain 7.69 %
400.00 gm Chocolate Malt (Thomas Fawcett) (1000.8 EBC) Grain 6.15 %
350.00 gm Black Malt (Thomas Fawcett) (1300.2 EBC) Grain 5.38 %
250.00 gm Crystal Malt - Dark (Thomas Fawcett) (350.0 EBC) Grain 3.85 %
75.00 gm Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] (60 min) Hops 35.4 IBU
0.50 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min) Misc
11.00 gm PH 5.2 Stabilizer (Mash 60.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs American Ale (DCL #US-05) Yeast-Ale



Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.060 SG
Measured Original Gravity: 0.000 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.014 SG Measured Final Gravity: 0.000 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 6.00 % Actual Alcohol by Vol: 0.00 %
Bitterness: 35.4 IBU Calories: 0 cal/l
Est Color: 97.6 EBC Color: Color


Mash Profile

Mash Name: Single Infusion, Medium Body Total Grain Weight: 6500.00 gm
Sparge Water: 13.56 L Grain Temperature: 15.0 C
Sparge Temperature: 75.6 C TunTemperature: 15.0 C
Adjust Temp for Equipment: TRUE Mash PH: 5.4 PH

Single Infusion, Medium Body Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 15.00 L of water at 76.7 C 68.0 C
10 min Mash Out Add 10.00 L of water at 90.0 C 76.0 C

 

[goatherder]

I just though that FB was a must for body in any stout.

:icon_offtopic: a little, well it started out a Oatmeal Stout then I realised I had 500g of Flaked Barley so I up'ed the IBU's and made it an FES. What do u think? Also in an Oatmeal Stout would the Oatmeal make up for the Flaked Barley not being in it or would u have both?

This is my Stout recipe, it's always pretty close to this but this time I will use Black malt instead of RB.

Now I follow you. I'm not sure about the FB - I'm sure plenty have used it for that, I haven't given it a try. The oats gives a silky type mouthfeel, very nice and smooth drinking. I don't see why you couldn't use both but in my experience the oats work OK by themselves in the style. I like the look of your recipe, should be a great winter warmer.

 

[SJW]

Thanks, I might go with a yeat that throws a feew more esters, maybe Nottingham or a Wyeast?

 

[edoeven]

heres the recipe I formulated for an OS after reading up this thread and a few others- will see how it turns out in a week or so cant wait hehe

4.50 kg Pale Malt, Ale (Barrett Burston) (3.0 SRM) Grain 72.00 %
0.60 kg Flaked Oats (2.0 SRM) Grain 9.60 % (homebrand quick oats)
0.35 kg Crystal Malt - 60L (Thomas Fawcett) (60.0 SRM) Grain 5.60 %
0.30 kg Roasted Barley (Joe White) (710.0 SRM) Grain 4.80 %
0.25 kg Carafa III (Weyermann) (525.0 SRM) Grain 4.00 %
0.20 kg Crystal (Joe White) (72.0 SRM) Grain 3.20 %
0.05 kg Black Malt (Thomas Fawcett) (660.0 SRM) Grain 0.80 %
30.00 gm Green Bullet [11.00 %] (60 min) Hops 32.8 IBU
20.00 gm Green Bullet [11.00 %] (10 min) Hops 7.9 IBU

23L batch @ 72%eff

mashed@67-68 single infusion-batch sparge
fermenting with us-05 (not the best for the style I guess, but I had a yeast cake sitting around to use)

 

[drsmurto]

After drooling my way thru this thread and the 10 page thread linked in the 1st post i realised what i need to brew. I have 1kg of flaked oats in the freezer that i bought from a health food store so am unsure as to whether i need to do a beta-glucan rest first?

Anyway, here's the recipe - not sure on yeast to use. 1028, 1275, 1469 or 1084

25L, OG 1.058, EBC 84, IBU 42

4.75 kg Pale Malt, Traditional Ale (Joe White) (5.9 EBC) Grain 71.43 %
0.75 kg Munich I (Weyermann) (14.0 EBC) Grain 11.28 %
0.50 kg Oats, Flaked (2.0 EBC) Grain 7.52 %
0.30 kg Chocolate Malt (886.5 EBC) Grain 4.51 %
0.20 kg Roasted Barley (Joe White) (1398.7 EBC) Grain 3.01 %
0.15 kg Black Malt (Thomas Fawcett) (1300.2 EBC) Grain 2.26 %
10.00 gm Green Bullet [13.50 %] (60 min) Hops 13.0 IBU
20.00 gm Newport [11.00 %] (60 min) Hops 21.2 IBU
15.00 gm Styrian Goldings [4.70 %] (20 min) Hops 3.8 IBU
15.00 gm Fuggles [5.40 %] (20 min) Hops 4.3 IBU

Mishmash of hops as they are open and i need to use them up.

I will have 1028 and 1007 yeast cakes available in the next few weeks or the yeast listed above.

Bit of help from the oatmeal stout gurus please? Also, should i toast the oats for the extra buscuity/nutty flavour or maybe add some amber to an already overcomplicated grain bill? <_<

Cheers
DrSmurto

 

[Stubbie]

Hey Dr S,

Some feedback on my own version. It pours and tastes super silky smooth. I don't think the 600g of flaked oats went overboard at all. In all honesty I haven't brewed enough with toasted/untoasted flaked oats to draw a conclusion either way on what is the better option. However, I can say that I very much like the result. The few commerical OS samples I've tried just dont compare with the the toast and biscuit flavours. I don't think you'll be disappointed if you toast the flaked oats. Perhaps you may be swayed by the fact that there's no crystal in your recipe? (not that I'm suggesting you necessarily need it).

One point worth considering. I'm not one for going overboard with roasted barley and overdoing the roastiness. However, my version came out quite mild in roastiness terms, something I put down to the hefty dose of flaked oats. If I were to give my recipe another go, I'd probably up the roasted barley from 250g to 350g. Or, perhaps the 200g RB plus 150g Black in your recipe may be the way to go?

Cheers.

 

[drsmurto]

Thanks for the update on your OS stubbie. Beginning to think there were no fans of OS.....

Think i will toast them, the idea of biscuity/nutty flavour in a stout has me wishing i wasnt at work and its only just gone 10am......

Cheers
DrSmurto

 

[tim_mortensen]

Hi Dr S,

Just made this OS which was well received at our club tasting this week. It is based on Jamil's recipe.

Toasting the oats is definitely a good idea. Really gives a nice oatmeal cookie flavour to the beer, and helps provide the complexity between the sweetness and the roasty flavours which this style requires. However, I may have toasted them a bit too long, as the beer did not have quite have enough of the oily mouthfeel that the oats provide.

Next time I will try toasting about 75% of them, and adding the rest untoasted. I did a single infusion mash with no mash out, but did find a slow sparge, and resorted to rice hulls. So a rest is probably a good idea.

23L, Effic = 73%, OG 1.058, FG 1.018, ABV 5.2%

Fermentables:
4.26 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter 72.24 %
0.50 kg Oats, Flaked 8.48 %
0.34 kg Brown Malt (Bairds) 5.77 %
0.34 kg Chocolate Malt 5.77 %
0.23 kg Medium Crystal Malt (Bairds) 3.90 %
0.23 kg Roasted Barley 3.85 %

Hops:
75.00 gm Fuggles 4.80 % (60 min boil) 38.2 IBU

Yeast:
Coopers Sparkling Ale, Starter 1000 ml, pitched at high krausen and fermented between 17 18C.

Miscellaneous:
7.00 gm Calcium Carbonate (In mash and sparge)

Notes:
Toast oats in oven at 149C until they begin to slightly colour and get a cookie flavour/aroma. This took about 90 min in my oven, which was perhaps a bit long, as what they gained in flavour and aroma, they lost in the oily mouthfeel flavour.

Mash:
Single Infusion mash for 90 min at 67C, at 3L/kg. Dropped to 64C after 45min. Added 2L boiling water back to 67C. No mash out (though resulted in a slow run-off, has to add some rice hulls).

Cheers,
Tim

 

[drsmurto]

Hmmmmm. Was thinking maybe of doing a 50/50 spilt of toasted/untoasted. Hedging my bets? :huh:

Think i need to get the 1469 yeast on the stir plate tonight to inspire me.

I now have 5 OS recipes in beersmith and my mashed up version of all of them...... damn you all!

 

[Tim F]

We're brewing up a double batch of oatmeal stout tomorrow! Heres the plan:

Anticipated OG:		  1.050	Plato:			 12.40

Anticipated EBC:		 157.6

Anticipated IBU:		  29.0



Grain/Extract/Sugar

  %	 Amount	 Name						  Origin		Potential EBC

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 69.0	 6.00 kg.  Pale Ale Malt (2-row)		 Australia	  1.037	  5

  9.8	 0.85 kg.  Chocolate Malt				Great Britain  1.034   1258

  8.6	 0.75 kg.  Roasted Barley				Great Britain  1.029   1523

  6.9	 0.60 kg.  Crystal 150L				  Great Britain  1.033	160

  5.7	 0.50 kg.  Flaked Oats				   America		1.033	  5



Hops



 Amount	 Name							  Form	Alpha  IBU  Boil Time

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 37.00 g.	 Willamette						Whole	7.10  23.1  60 min.

 15.00 g.	 Willamette						Whole	7.10   3.2  20 min.

 12.00 g.	 Cascade						   Pellet   5.75   2.2  20 min.

  5.00 g.	 Willamette						Whole	7.10   0.5  1 min.





Yeast

-----

Wyeast 1728 Scottish Ale

I'm still fiddling with the hops a bit. Going to use a couple of ounces of Williamette flowers, and a bit of cascade at 20 minutes for something different. I still don't know what temperature will work best for the 1728 but maybe 17-18C?

 

[Stuster]

That's a fair amount of dark malts there, Tim. I'd say you could cut back a bit on the choc and RB and still get plenty of roastiness. I think the Cascade will be ok if you want to experiment. With that yeast, it's a really hardy beast and it will keep chugging along at down to 13C.

 

[Tim F]

And I actually already cut the dark malts back a bit from the recipe I copied that from! Too late to make further changes now as it's already crushed, so fingers crossed it'll come out ok. Thanks for the tip re yeast!

 

[edoeven]

the recipe I posted above turned out quite well, pretty happy with it
next time I might go with slightly more RB, oats, & choc, slightly less crystal, less late hops.

damn tasty drop regardless!