Biscuit Brown

[Martin Kernick]

Right, here's my adapted version:

I didn't have the exact ingredients in, so I've missed out the oat malt and therefore upped the base malt and changed this from golden promise to maris otter. I was a little worried that all the adjunct might need more time to be converted by the amylases, so I upped the mash time from 60 to 70mins. It probably wasn't necessary.

I toasted my oats the day before brewing. I used a tray that was the same size as an oven shelf which meant they were just under 1cm deep. I started with 22 mins at 150C (fan) but when I took them out to stir them around a bit, they were clearly developing no colour at all. So, for the second 22 mins I upped the temperature to 180C. The oats started to go a little golden but, to my eyes, still needed a little more, so I gave them a further 10 mins. The final effect was that they were a couple of shades darker and a very light gold colour.

Grain Bill

Maris Otter Malt (Crisp) 2.895kg 60.2%
Toasted Porridge Oats (Sainsbury's) 1.034kg 21.5%
Wheat Malt (Worcester Hop Shop) 0.362kg 7.5%
Brown Malt (Simpsons) 0.310kg 6.5%
Amber Malt (Crisp) 0.207kg 4.3%

Hops

60 min Target 22g (11% AA)
0 min Target 10g

IBU = 27

Yeast

Lallemand Nottingham 11g

Water

Mash 15.68L
Sparge 16.01L

All those oats do make the mash a little prone to setting, I didn't have any rice hulls, but my grain was just cracked with little flour and so I got away with it. Sparging did take a considerable time. In the end I had a calculated mash efficiency of 88% - higher than I expected. My OG was therefore high:

OG 1.049
Brewed for 4 days (probably finished after 3 but I was away).
FG 1.016

ABV 4.9%

I'm cold crashing it as I write. I've already tasted it and it definitely is biscuity. About the right bitterness and colour too. So far I'm pleased with this. I'll post some pics and more tasting info when it's cleared and conditioned properly.

Oh, and my wonderful son has done the pump clip already.

 

[Martin Kernick]

OK, I've just drawn some off through the spigot on the fermenter. It isn't clear yet, so I'll be leaving it sitting in the fermenter for a bit longer. Here are my tasting notes.

Pehaps a shade darker than Newcastle Brown (as I remember it).

Not strongly aromatic, but an aroma of coffee and only the faintest hop aroma.

Tastes of a mixture of digestive biscuits and Tia Maria, a residual sweetness balanced by a bitter finish.

Mouth feel is silky as you would expect from the oats. There's the merest hint of astringency from the roasted grains which is pleasant.

This is a beer with a flavour quite unlike any other I've brewed. I'm enjoying it immensely and just hoping that the large quantity of oats isn't going to give it a permanent haze. If I can get it to fall bright it will become a fixture in the Hopspider (that's what I call my brewery) repertoire.

 

[stubrewworx]

OK, I've just drawn some off through the spigot on the fermenter. It isn't clear yet, so I'll be leaving it sitting in the fermenter for a bit longer. Here are my tasting notes.

Pehaps a shade darker than Newcastle Brown (as I remember it).

Not strongly aromatic, but an aroma of coffee and only the faintest hop aroma.

Tastes of a mixture of digestive biscuits and Tia Maria, a residual sweetness balanced by a bitter finish.

Mouth feel is silky as you would expect from the oats. There's the merest hint of astringency from the roasted grains which is pleasant.

This is a beer with a flavour quite unlike any other I've brewed. I'm enjoying it immensely and just hoping that the large quantity of oats isn't going to give it a permanent haze. If I can get it to fall bright it will become a fixture in the Hopspider (that's what I call my brewery) repertoire.

How did this turn out in the end?