All Grain Recipe: #25 McQuaker's Oatmeal Stout

My first oatmeal stout, based on Jamil's Brewing Classic Styles recipe.

The resulting beer was unusually acidic and overcarbonated, even though I only carbed it to 2.0 volumes with corn sugar. I suspect that it wasn't fully attenuated, and may have finished attenuating in the bottle.

My wife loved it, and it tasted pretty damn good to me, even with the flaws.

I also sent it in to the Northern California Homebrew Festival competition, where it received a 27/50, with the following taste notes:


Aroma:
* Med fruity esters + med phenolics gives odd aroma like cola.
* Strong pear ester, some caramel. Light a weizenbock. Roasty notes as it warms.


Appearance:
* Dark, dark brown in color, opaque. Tall brown head, fine bubbles. Mouss-y w good retention.
* Rocky head, creamy dark brown, clear, med persistent creamy head, low CO2 (low???? later he says lots of CO2)

Flavor
* Malt sweetness, roasted notes (coffee+milk). Fruity esters, slight tartness. Low hop bitterness leaves the balance a little sweet. Roasted acid finish.
* Moderately sweet with caramel, not very roasty. Sharp fruity ester, finishes slightly dry. Slightly tart. Slightly oxidized? (no way)


Mouthfeel:
* Medium body, lighter due to carbonation. Slight creaminess but comes off as watery. Higher acidity in the finish.
* Med-full body, not as creamy as expected. Medium carbonic bite, tingly. Slightly dry, not huge or chewy.


Overall:
* An interesting beer that's difficult to describe. Hard to say the acidity is due to infection - it's almost like star san. My guess is that you lost temp control during fermentation, finishing and storage, which gave a bunch of esters. Maybe an older extract batch?
* It seemed like the fermentation wasn't clean enough, esters were too strong and reminiscent of wheat beers. Body was slightly low.

Recipes are after the break.



Here's my version of the recipe, followed by the original 6 gallon recipe.

McQuaker's Oatmeal Stout

Oatmeal Stout

Type: All Grain	Date: 8/14/2011
Batch Size (fermenter): 12.000 qt	Brewer:
Boil Size: 17.693 qt	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 90 min	Equipment: Brew Pot, Full Boil All Grain (5 Gallon, High Efficiency)
End of Boil Volume 12.481 qt	Brewhouse Efficiency: 80.00 %
Final Bottling Volume: 8.750 qt	Est Mash Efficiency 80.0 %
Fermentation: My Aging Profile	Taste Rating(out of 50): 27.0
Ingredients
Ingredients Amt Name Type # %/IBU 5.00 g Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 mins) Water Agent 1 - 1.00 tbsp PH 5.2 Stabilizer (Mash 60.0 mins) Water Agent 2 - 4 lbs 4.0 oz Pale Malt, Maris Otter (2.5 SRM) Grain 3 70.8 % 8.0 oz Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM) Grain 4 8.3 % 6.0 oz Chocolate Malt (UK) (450.0 SRM) Grain 5 6.3 % 6.0 oz Victory Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 6 6.3 % 4.0 oz Black Roasted Barley (500.0 SRM) Grain 7 4.2 % 4.0 oz Crystal/Caramel Malt - British 70/80L (75.0 SRM) Grain 8 4.2 % 10.00 Items FermCap-S (Boil 90.0 mins) Other 9 - 16.00 g Northern Brewer (US) [8.00 %] - Boil 53.0 min Hop 10 36.0 IBUs 0.50 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 10.0 mins) Fining 11 - 0.25 tsp Wyeast Nutrient Blend (Boil 10.0 mins) Other 12 - 1.0 pkg English Ale (White Labs #WLP002) [35.00 ml] Yeast 13 - 0.50 tsp Gelatin (Secondary 1.0 weeks) Fining 14 -
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.058 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.060 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.015 SG	Measured Final Gravity: 1.014 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.7 %	Actual Alcohol by Vol: 6.1 %
Bitterness: 30.3 IBUs	Calories: 201.6 kcal/12oz
Est Color: 37.7 SRM
Mash Profile
Mash Name: Single Infusion, Medium Body	Total Grain Weight: 6 lbs
Sparge Water: 11.453 qt	Grain Temperature: 76.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F	Tun Temperature: 159.8 F
Adjust Temp for Equipment: TRUE	Mash PH: 5.20
Mash Steps Name Description Step Temperature Step Time Mash In Add 9.000 qt of water at 159.8 F 151.0 F 90 min
Sparge Step: Fly sparge with 11.453 qt water at 168.0 F
Mash Notes: Simple single infusion mash for use with most modern well modified grains (about 95% of the time).
Carbonation and Storage
Carbonation Type: Bottle	Volumes of CO2: 2.0
Pressure/Weight: 41.60 g	Carbonation Used: Bottle with 41.60 g Corn Sugar
Keg/Bottling Temperature: 78.0 F	Age for: 28.00 days
Fermentation: My Aging Profile	Storage Temperature: 70.0 F
Notes
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McQuaker's Oatmeal Stout

Oatmeal Stout

Type: All Grain	Date: 4/13/2011
Batch Size (fermenter): 24.000 qt	Brewer: Jamil Zainasheff
Boil Size: 28.571 qt	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 60 min	Equipment: Brew Pot (6+gal) and Igloo/Gott Cooler (5 Gal)
End of Boil Volume 26.000 qt	Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Final Bottling Volume: 24.000 qt	Est Mash Efficiency 72.9 %
Fermentation: My Aging Profile	Taste Rating(out of 50): 0.0
Taste Notes:
Ingredients
Ingredients Amt Name Type # %/IBU 9 lbs 6.4 oz Pale Malt, Maris Otter (2.5 SRM) Grain 1 72.9 % 1 lbs Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM) Grain 2 7.8 % 12.0 oz Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 3 5.8 % 12.0 oz Victory Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 4 5.8 % 8.0 oz Black Roasted Barley (500.0 SRM) Grain 5 3.9 % 8.0 oz Crystal/Caramel Malt - 75L (75.0 SRM) Grain 6 3.9 % 51.00 g Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 7 35.4 IBUs 1.0 pkg English Ale (White Labs #WLP002) [35.00 ml] Yeast 8 -
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.054 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.055 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.014 SG	Measured Final Gravity: 1.016 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.3 %	Actual Alcohol by Vol: 5.1 %
Bitterness: 27.8 IBUs	Calories: 185.2 kcal/12oz
Est Color: 33.9 SRM
Mash Profile
Mash Name: Single Infusion, Medium Body	Total Grain Weight: 12 lbs 14.4 oz
Sparge Water: 16.149 qt	Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F	Tun Temperature: 72.0 F
Adjust Temp for Equipment: TRUE	Mash PH: 5.20
Mash Steps Name Description Step Temperature Step Time Mash In Add 19.356 qt of water at 162.9 F 151.0 F 90 min
Sparge Step: Fly sparge with 16.149 qt water at 168.0 F
Mash Notes: Simple single infusion mash for use with most modern well modified grains (about 95% of the time).
Carbonation and Storage
Carbonation Type: Bottle	Volumes of CO2: 2.0
Pressure/Weight: 106.24 g	Carbonation Used: Bottle with 106.24 g Corn Sugar
Keg/Bottling Temperature: 70.0 F	Age for: 28.00 days
Fermentation: My Aging Profile	Storage Temperature: 70.0 F
Notes
Yeast options are White Labs WLP006, Wyeast 1099 or Safale S-04.
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