Stout Concoction - The result!

Or less hops.

In can't imagine porridge oats tasting anything like roasted barley, unless maybe the oats were roasted. But it's your beer!

 

Oats will give a different mouthfeel than flaked barley, but they'll both increase fullness of body. You're far more likely to find stouts made with oats in that role in the US.

I second @VikeMan suggestion of using less hops.

 

An option if you think the character that you don't want is coming from the chocolate malt is to cold steep them separate from the main mash, my experience has been positive when I use that process for taking the edge off of roasted malts.

I'm surprised that you got to "very bitter" with that quantity of crystal hops, but that may be process related. I generally use more than that to achieve balance in this style. What was your starting and ending gravity?

A perfect stout is whatever you like best, if you have thoughts on what you would want to change that will yield better answers, otherwise you will end up with a perfect stout for someone else. Examples can be a longer lasting finish, more chocolate character, better roasted aroma, etc.

 

Based on the alpha acid content I typically see with crystal hops, I do not thing 40 g of hops is the source of the bitterness problem you are noticing. If anything, this beer seems lightly hopped or under-hopped. The grain ratios look reasonable to me, 70% maris otter, 20 % oats, and 10% chocolate, but the chocolate could be the problem. Different brands may be kilned differently, so it is easy to imagine you prefer the roast character of some chocolate malts to others. If the issue is the roast character, a little crystal malt sweetness might help.

 

Another source of perceived bitterness could be the water you're using, if it is high in sulfate and low in chloride and/or carbonate

I don't know too much about minerals in water, but I know that high sulfate will lead to a more pronounced bitterness, and that carbonate will negate some of the acridness of highly kilned malts. Chloride just sorta rounds things out. Someone with more knowledge can correct me, but I think that's the nutshell that I bothered to learn.

 

Not bad! You may be a closet water nerd.

 

Just cause I know it, doesn't mean I do anything about it. I don't even filter my water anymore, just hit it with camden and boil it before using. Figure that takes care of any chlorine/chloramines in it. Haven't made enough batches at the new house to notice any trends, but the few I've done have been pretty good so far. Maybe one day, I'll get to that, but I have bigger fish to fry for the time being.

 

Was the chocolate what you wanted, or do you think that needs adjusted? In this case roasted flavor intensity. If you liked that amount of the chocolate malt, water is going to be somewhere around 2 L (or quarts if you prefer). You will probably be okay to assume 250 g to liter/quart of water to start. Just make sure to dechlorinate.

Also, I would recommend not changing too much from batch to batch if this is a recipe you’re trying to perfect. Without a lot of experience, it will be impossible to know what variable did what, or you’ll just have a completely different beer altogether.