When you mean to make one thing but make something else

Curious.

Well I just popped my test bottle of oatmeal stout. It's carbed, could maybe use a little more time in the bottle, but the head is already nice, and carbonation is at least adequate for a stout. Another 5-7 days in the bottle should be about right.

Truthfully tho, if you handed me this beer I would think it to be a milk stout, not an oatmeal stout. It's waaaay sweeter than I envisioned, and less roasty. Hmmm. Not sure what happened there, but this is a classic milk stout and nothing like an oatmeal stout.

this was the recipe:

10 lbs maris otter
1 lb crystal 60
0.5 lb crystal 120
1 lb chocolate malt
0.5 lb roasted barley
2 lb oatmeal
3 oz serebrianka hops (2.3% AA) at 60
5 oz serebrianka hops (2.3% AA) at 15

OG 1.065
SRM 36
ABV 6.7
IBU 35

Bitterness is spot-on where I wanted it, which is surprisingly UN-bitter, despite what looks like WAY WAY WAY too many hops (serebrianka are especially weak hops, and leave a very delicate flavor). There's not a lot of hoppiness, not that I wanted a real hoppy stout anyway.

I am thinking more roasted barley next time, and maybe adjust the crystal malts (type and ratio)? Maybe a touch of coffee malt? Do tell if you think you see what's up.

For "classic" oatmeal stout I am thinking Schlafly or Breckenridge breweries oatmeal stouts.

I was shooting for something that was the classic oatmeal stout: thick and rich, not too sweet but not Irish stout dry either, chocolatey and light coffee notes. And despite two pounds of oatmeal, I still think it could be thicker. This isn't what I was shooting for.

Luckily, it seems that for an oatmeal stout I've made a fairly tasty milk stout, which is certainly better than having made drainpour ale.

 

mash was about 153-154, so not unreasonably high. yeast was US-05 because I forgot the stinkin' starter of Irish ale yeast I had made up. Now I need to make something else with Irish ale yeast, lol.

Whether I hit or missed the style, I'm not sure. Truthfully, I've only ever had a few oatmeal stouts, and I usually only have about one selection, so maybe my idea of the style is based on too small a sample size, who knows. Also, Schlafly oatmeal stout (and coffee stout, which is the same oatmeal stout with coffee added), and Breckenridge oatmeal stouts are the ones I am mostly familiar with. Breckenridge is very thick, chewy, not very sweet (but not Irish stout dry tho), and has a significant bitter/roast barley/black patent component. The Schlafly ones (which I no longer get, btw) are more neutral, having a thick body, and a more balanced and light-handed flavor profile. I guess I want something between those two choices. Or close enough, if it turns out to be tasty beer!

I'm sure the head will continue to improve with age. At an inch already, it's not going to fall short on appearances. And like I said, it'll be plenty drinkable, just not what I expected. Really tho, what I want most of the time is tasty beer, and I think this one will meet that requirement just fine.

You know right few people other than me are likely to to drink very many of these for a while, so maybe I'll just make it again immediately, after we tweak the recipe a bit. I've got the fresh hop smash fermenting, a few of the citra bomb left, and a 2 gallon batch of experimental stuff too. The 2nd iteration of this oatmeal stout will probably need more mouthfeel and less sweetness, TBD in a week or so. Screw it, I'll just make more stout!

So things we could do different: Black patent malt, Adjust or eliminate the crystal malts, perhaps ditch the chocolate malt in favor of a black patent and roasted barley combo? Also, I did not toast the oatmeal, how would I go about doing that?

So perhaps something like this, subject to editing and revision:

10.5 lbs maris otter
0.75 lb roasted barley
0.5 lb black patent malt
0.5 lb crystal 120 (or none?)
2 lb toasted oatmeal

any ideas?

 

ok then, keep the chocolate malt.

10.5 lbs maris otter
1 lb chocolate malt
0.75 lb roasted barley
0.5 lb black patent malt
0.5 lb crystal 120 (or none?)
2 lb toasted oatmeal

actually that seems better because I had removed a full pound of crystal but only added 3/4 lb of grains in its place, and that was all either black patent or roasted barley. The beer will be fine if the OG is slightly different than the first batch.

 

Well now on day 14, they're tasting slightly more like oatmeal stout, but essentially I've come to terms with the fact that I made a fairly good, but not stellar milk stout. It was a tad young on the first test bottle, and the sweetness has died down just a little, so there must have been just a smidge of priming sugar left on the first bottle. But it still lacks roastiness and has more than the desired amount of sweetness, and could use more body (the body ain't bad, but it's not as chewy as I like my oatmeal stouts). Really as a sweet stout it wouldn't be bad at all, but probably should have gotten more of the sweetness from lactose than crystal malts, and even for a milk stout could use a smidge more body.

The best part tho is that despite the fact that my vision did not equal my product, it's still tasty beer, and I am still going to drink it and share it. Other people have enjoyed it as well, so the most important part of making beer has been satisfied in full.

 

I am aware of the raisiny taste that can come from 120. I don't think it's overly raisiny, just overly sweet. Less crystal for future oatmeal stouts!