Hi everyone, Recently ordered the Oatmeal Stout kit from Brooklyn Brew Shop and will be trying it out later this week. have done a fair amount of research on home brewing and bought all the recommended equipment, but still would appreciate any tips anyone has, especially if you've used the kit before. I'm planning to make an oatmeal cookie variation with a stick of cinnamon and a tablespoon or so of raisins (both sitting in some rum currently) tossed into the hop boil towards the end. May also add a stick of rum soaked cinnamon to the fermenter a few days before bottling-thoughts on that? I also ordered the ingredients from BBS for their Afternoon Wheat, and will be trying a variant with peach rings (soft peach candy) to flavor. I once had a sour kettle with peach rings soaked in it in Colorado Springs that was delicious. I know this will be a bit different, but still want to try it out. My plan is to add those to the fermenter for the last few days as well. Anyone have any experience using candy or adding things similar that could offer tips to help me end up with the best beer I can? I'm a little unsure how much of the actual candy to use. I've seen people say that Peach doesn't come through very strongly, but I also understand that a little goes a long way when it comes to adding things to beer. Thanks in advance, and excited to be apart of the BeerAdvocate community
I'd say to stick with the instructions and then tweet it for a re-brew. Also, read www.howtobrew.com in its entirety. Also, I'll tell you this about those little kits: if it ain't worth brewing at least a case worth, it ain't worth brewing. Your time is valuable, and it isn't that much more of an investment in time to brew the standard 5 gallon batch.
I think my end game will be to eventually upgrade to a bigger kit. Right now I'm living in an apartment and am trying to save some space, and also don't see myself finishing a 5 gallon batch too quickly. I'm more interested in learning the ropes and working out some tweaks to recipes that I like before I expand. But you make a good point for sure. I think the kits can be a good segway into larger scaled brewing. I will definitely check out that website for any tips
Welcome to the BA site, gmartinobrew, and to this great hobby of homebrewing. It sounds like you've done some homework to be able to create some variant ideas for the recipe kits that you'll be brewing. I have not brewed either kit to provide any specific tips, however, I'll offer a general tip: since you are new at this hobby, plan, plan and then plan again your brew day. It is almost always an overwhelming experience the first couple of times, and since you are adding variants to your process, you're adding more potential confusion. I'll agree with @MrOH that you should read HowToBrew.com if you haven't already. It's a great book. It's free to read online (first edition), or only around $15 to purchase the 4th edition hard copy so that you have something to highlight, write notes, etc. You can also do a search of this forum using 'newbie' or 'tips' in the thread topic to find old threads that will be helpful to read some tips for a new homebrewer. Edit: which state do you live in? If it's Michigan, look for a can of OCP (Oatmeal Cream Pie) from Pigeon Hill Brewing. It would be a taste guide for what you want in your oatmeal cookie beer.
Some night this week I will certainly look over that site, I looked it over briefly and it looks helpful. To answer your question, I am located in Upstate NY, but that sounds delicious. We do have some pretty good stores that import from all over the country, so I will have to keep an eye out for it
I've never used a BBS kit, but a stick of cinnamon is almost certainly way too much for a gallon of beer. Unfortunately I can't give you more specific guidance, since I've never used cinnamon, but... what about not adding any of the cinnamon itself and just adding the cinnamon-infused rum to taste when you bottle?
Hmm. That is certainly an option. BBS's kit itself mentions adding a stick of cinnamon to the end of the hop boil, I was going to add another to the fermenter since I personally enjoy it. But maybe you are on to something. Adding cinnamon-infused rum when I bottle could be a better idea. I'll have to give it a smell when it's time and see what makes the most sense. I could always just rack onto the cinnamon stick and that might mute the flavor a little more too
I hope someone else chimes in who has experience brewing with cinnamon. The impression I've picked up over the years is that a little goes a long way, and a one gallon batch is tiny. I would have thought that if you were using powdered cinnamon, something like 1/8 teaspoon might be the right amount. A cinnamon stick seems like a lot more than that, but I don't really know. (I mean obviously it's more cinnamon, but I guess the surface area might be lower...)
Regarding the raisins, if you just toss them in at the end of the boil all you'll get are grapes floating in or sitting at the bottom of your kettle. Drain the rum off of them, puree them in a blender or just chop them up (it's not that much), and add them at least mid-way in the boil. As to the cinnamon, I think the first addition is fine but I'd question anything rum-soaked post kettle. Cinnamon, for whatever reason, can just be grated into the finished beer (no fear of bacteria), but you can't do that if it's wet. But I'd only use a few grates on a micro grater, nothing more, and by a few I mean three or less. And it's the closest you can get to bottling on that, don't let it rest in there.
No idea on raisins. Cinnamon in stick form I'd use half a stick the last 10 min of boil, or 1 stick for a week in secondary or the primary. Powdered cinnamon releases the taste/scent fast. I use 1 level teaspoon in a 5+ gallon batch in the secondary, so go easy. This is a super site with lots of great brewers helping out. Welcome
Thanks for the idea on the raisins, that makes a lot more sense and the recipe doesn't mention it. For the cinnamon I think I will add it for the last 5-10 minutes in the boil, and figure out what to do with more later. I may add a stick for several days in the primary (not using a secondary) as you mention Gorm Brewhouse. Nero, you mention not "letting it rest in there"-were you referring to racking onto it when I bottle? I'm undecided whether I'll let it sit in the fermenter or if I'll just let do that when I bottle
No, concerning the cinnamon I suggested you grate it with a micro grater and add it right in not long before you bottle because as GormBrewhouse has suggested "Powdered cinnamon releases the taste/scent fast. I use 1 level teaspoon in a 5+ gallon batch in the secondary, so go easy". But thinking about it now, if you're not used to using grated cinnamon you'd probably better stick with just tossing the whole stick in. That'll be easier, and it'll give you a softer cinnamon character. Good luck!
Another thing I forgot to add: the recipe mentions adding 1/4 cup of brown sugar at 30 mins into the boil. I'm considering using a bit less, and adding it with 10-15 mins remaining instead. Probably about 1/8 cup or so, maybe a bit more, of dark brown sugar. Thoughts?
Going to answer your question in two parts, a little specific advice about brown sugar and then some big-picture advice about brewing. You should feel free to skip part 2, it's got no immediate practical information. I include it because we get BBS questions from time to time and it always seems like a shame to me. 1. I don't think it matters when you add the brown sugar as long as it gets fully dissolved. I suppose it might affect hop extraction a little bit, but I doubt you'd notice. The sweetness in the brown sugar is going to disappear when the yeast ferment it, and you will be left with a dry molasses taste. Some people like it, just don't expect it to sweeten your beer. Also, personally I've never brewed with brown sugar, but my understanding is that a little molasses goes a long way. (Brown sugar is just white sugar + molasses, one way or another.) Unfortunately I realize that's not very helpful as it's not quantitative at all. 2. There's nothing wrong with Brooklyn Brew Shop as a business. As far as I know, they don't lie or sell shoddy ingredients or anything. (Though I understand their instructions are crappy, and they once tried to sell me a Thanksgiving beer kit, like, maybe 5 days before Thanksgiving.) But it's important to understand the business they're in. They sell kits to people who either don't brew beer as a hobby, or who are just starting and don't know any better. Probably their ideal customer is someone who is getting married and needs to get gifts for the groomsmen. Hey, guys, you all like beer, right? How fun would it be to make beer! But their business model doesn't really involve leading people to become better brewers. They're not good for experimentation with recipe design. They're not good for learning new techniques. This makes sense, given their business model. They operate largely outside the homebrewing ecosystem. I would guess that they have a lot fewer repeat customers than any major homebrew retailer or local homebrew store. They don't need them! They can sell 10 kits at once to a prospective bride who couldn't possibly tell a good kit from a bad kit. And I mean, more power to them. It's a fine niche they've carved out for themselves. But if you want to become a better brewer, they're not the horse for you. Anyway, what I'm saying is, you should brew this kit, and the peach one, and you should have fun with them, but if you're serious about brewing as a hobby, you should move on from BBS pretty quickly. Get John Palmer's How to Brew, read a few Mad Fermentationist posts, check out his recipe page, join a homebrew club. BBS is leading you up a blind alley.
To reference what you said about the instructions, you're not incorrect in that they're not great, but there are a few very helpful videos and articles from others that make them easy to figure out. I appreciate your honesty about BBS, and luckily what you describe is what I see for myself anyway. In my eyes BBS provides an easy to learn foundation for the basics and process of brewing, and eventually I'm planning to move on to using my own recipes/ingredients picked up from my local homebrew store. In the meantime, I'm happy to learn and experiment a little from something that will make it easy for me to do so. I feel as though blindly purchasing a couple 5 or 6 gallon carboys and trying to figure things out on my own would not go nearly as well as a beginners kit. And to be even more honest-say I find home brewing is not for me? Thank goodness I would not have spent hundreds or thousands on bigger, fancier equipment. I'm looking forward to brewing these two batches, and doing them well, before attempting something more difficult and larger. I hope to someday get much more into this after I've dipped my toes into the water (beer?)
Yeah this is the right way to think about it. I also hate to see people jump in with two feet and buy expensive equipment right out of the gate. It's a tricky problem. Best approach in my view is to brew with a friend who already brews or, if you don't have one, check out a club. (A club is a good idea either way, actually.) But that's not doable for everyone and small starter kits can be a good option. For prospective brewers who might stumble on this thread in the future: check out options from MoreBeer or other homebrew retailers.
