Oatmeal Stout..

[Clint]

Hello all,
I'm contemplating tomorrow's brew day...was sure it was going to be dry stout a la GH. Done it a couple of times with very acceptable results and have all the necessary standing by..but ..across the page is the oatmeal stout which sounds right up my cul-de-sac...Recipe asks for 250g rolled oats...I got enough porridge oats as used in some IPAS..ok? Also there's a 39g of challenger at boil start for bittering and 16g @ 7%AAU,at turn off,but if my records are right I only have around 50g @ 6%AAU. There's another addition of Golding,16g,at turn off which I got. What could I sub the challenger with please?
Cheers
Clint

 

[Hoppyland]

I don't use oats as an adjunct very often - but I'd be tempted to cut back a quite bit on the porridge oats, as they will be a lot more more refined than rolled oats (no husk etc). I couldn't give you a factor (you could try an online search), but I'd be tempted to try somewhere in the 150-180g range as a trial.
As for the hops, personally I wouldn't worry that much. But, if you want to hit the bitterness of the recipe then try putting your recipe into Brewer's Friend or similar. Personally, I would probably up the Challenger a bit to, say, 45g, if your Challenger's AA is a bit low. This will leave you only 5g for the flameout addition, but I wouldn't worry. Simply pop in another 10-15g Goldings at flameout. (I'm guessing that you have plenty of Goldings). Assuming that you chill, this will result in no significant difference in bitterness, and the flavour will be pretty similar.

 

[Dutto]

I usually toast rolled oats and can recommend it for a stout on the basis that toasting it gives quite a "nutty" flavour and the oats themselves improve a low ABV mouthfeel.

All I do is stick the oats in a wok and keep stirring it over a low heat until it turns a nice medium dark brown.

Be gentle with the toasting though. Oats are one of those funny items that can go from "white and bland" to "black and bitter" within seconds; and they will keep toasting even after they are taken off the heat if they aren't kept stirred.

Enjoy.

 

[Clint]

Hmmm..thanks,could I roast my smart price oats?

 

[Dutto]

I only buy Lidl so don't know; but if there aren't any additives (e.g.powdered milk) then I don't see why not.

PS I've also toasted oatmeal as well as the rolled oats from Lidl.

 

[cushyno]

What about First Gold or EKG to make up the flame out hops? Or sub them in for half the bittering hops? Northdown or Northern Brewer may work too. The AA% of both is similar to Challenger according to the table in GH book.

I recently got away with using Summit instead of Admiral for bittering a Brown Ale and it's worked a treat.

 

[alsch890]

Looking at this exact recipe in GH right now. Did you brew this in the end and if so how did it come out?

 

[pilgrimhudd]

Bottled this one from the GH book last night, i used porridge oats. It tasted lovely, quite smoky and with good mouthfeel. I missed what i presumed the OG would have been by quite a bit so i added 300g of diluted brown sugar to the fermenter.

As for hops i'm not experienced enough yet to recommend a substitute yet!

 

[Slid]

You could use just about any English hop in a Stout. It is not a hop forward beer. The hops are mainly for bittering and the late additions are a bit of a nicety, I would suggest.

 

[ACBEV]

My hop scheme for stout is northdown - bittering, fuggles - middle and a smidgin of hersbrucker - late... Just saying... :tinhat:

 

[Sandimas]

I used Northern Brewer in mine, only because that's what I had that needed using up.

Came out OK, only thing I'd change with the recipe is to add some black malt to darken it a bit: mine came out more ruby and my eyes keep telling me it's not a stout.

 

[pilgrimhudd]

I used Northern Brewer in mine, only because that's what I had that needed using up.

Came out OK, only thing I'd change with the recipe is to add some black malt to darken it a bit: mine came out more ruby and my eyes keep telling me it's not a stout.

Yes that is what I was thinking too, quite light for a stout!

 

[Sandimas]

Here's mine, looks quite dark in the picture but you can just about see through it. Came out at 47 EBC, next time I'd aim for 60 EBC.

Edit: after a month in the bottle, this is great! First AG stout I've done, made Coopers Stout kits before, this is another level. Used Northern Brewer bittered to 30 IBU then some EKG for aroma.

Oatmeal Stout

• Sandimas
• Apr 6, 2019