Oat IPA- I am confused

I like Rye as well, and fortunately Westbrook uses it in some their beers. Adds a bit of a sharper edge than barley.

 

Sometimes we over think it. Other Half can call their oat IPAs whatever they want as long as they stay amazing.

 

I think it's partly for marketing reasons, but partly to inform consumers about the emphasis on particular ingredient. Sure, many NEIPAs and other styles contain oats, but if you really want to emphasize that you're using a lot of oats in your beer, then why not call it an "oat IPA"?

In your experience, how would you say flaked oats differ from oat malt in terms of flavor and texture? That's one thing I've been very curious about. I've had NEIPAs with flaked oats and some with oat malt, and I'm just wondering what the distinct appeal of either format is.

"Sticky Grist" would be a ridiculously dope name for a beer.

Woah. That beer must be incredibly thick and chewy. Like a milkshake.

 

I have only homebrewed with Flaked Oats, I have no experience with Oat Malt.

Sorry, I have no way of providing you input here.

Cheers!

 

I'm sorry. My mistake in assuming. I guess I should ask Jean Broillet himself, if it were possible to have a chat with him. Haha.

FWIW, I have heard oat malt is sweeter but is more expensive. However, in my experience, I certainly would say I think oat malt is superior to flaked oats. IPAs with flaked oats have seemed just as creamy and oat-y as to me as ones with malted oats.

 

You managed to avoid all the GNO hype? Congrats on not wasting your time Jack!

 

not another brewing pun that the consumers don't understand. Make it stop!!

 

Ruthless Rye from SN has always been one of my favorites. I really wish they still packaged that beyond mix packs.

 

I feel like it's just an informative thing more than some kind of marketing effort. When I see the word oats, I think of oatmeal - not exactly break-out-my-wallet exciting.

 

Nothing new about oats in IPA. In 1943 about 10% of the grist of Whitbread IPA was flaked oats.

 

Malted Oats is one of my favorite ingredients. I use it in stouts and porters most often, but I have brewed small batches of IPA’s with it. It provides a distinctly grainy oat flavor and while it does provide a slick mouthfeel, it doesn’t seem to do so, pound for pound, as much as Flaked Oats do. I almost always use Flaked Oats in a recipe with Malted Oats to complete the mouthfeel that people expect with oat beers. Oat malt can be a pain to work with, especially when milling due to the small size of the grain.

FWIW, the first “oat ipa” I had was at Good People in Birmingham back in 2013 or 2014. It was simply a good IPA that had Flaked Oats for mouthfeel, so it was still pretty brite, Dry, and bitter, but the slickness helped provide a balance to the dry mouthfeel. I remember being blown away by their beer that day.

 

Weedy, what percentage of the grist was Oat Malt in your IPAs?

What is the highest percentage of Oat Malt that you have ever used in any of your beers? In your personal opinion is there a limit to how much should be used?

Cheers!

 

I used 10% in my IPA’s. I’ve used 15% in porters and stouts before but the graininess starts to come across as a sort of astringent bitterness at that point. I think that effect was compounded though by the roasted barley. Most people recommend only using up to 10%, but I could see doubling that amount in something like a brown ale where there’s not too much astringency from the other malts.

 

Thanks for the feedback! Interesting. I know some breweries (particularly Tired Hands) prefer oat malt, but I've found that most of the IPAs brewed with oats I've liked best used flaked oats.

Also, for whatever reasons, oats in IPAs (stouts, too, but harder to detect compared to pale malts) smell and taste really nutty to me, like peanuts. Maybe it's just because of the high-protein grainy quality. If a beer smells like peanuts to me that I know isn't actually a peanut (butter) beer, I immediately know there are oats in it.

P.S. Your experience with Good People sounds like my experience with Lagunitas Bitter Oats, which was my introduction to oats in hoppy beer. That beer was dank and definitely West Coast in nature, but it was extremely thick and creamy. I wish they would brew that beer again. I loved it .

 

I have had many Tired Hands hoppy beers that were brewed with Oat Malt but I did not smell "peanuts" in any of those beers. It is always interesting how differing palates perceive things differently.

Cheers!