# Sweet oatmeal stout



## Elmer (Dec 6, 2015)

Should have called it "not so sweet stout" decided to reduce lactose after posting

1¼# Roasted Barley, 
1# Flaked Oats,
1# 2 row 
8 oz Chocolate, 
8 oz Crystal 60

3.3# Amber LME, 
3# Amber DME

1½ oz Northern Brewer hop (12.8 AAU) (60 min)
½ oz Kent Goldings pellets (2.3 AAU) (15 min) of boil.
½ oz Kent Goldings pellets (5 min)
2 oz lactose

Notty Ale yeast





Mashing the grains for an hour to up the ABV from 5%


Sg 1.062


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## olusteebus (Dec 7, 2015)

gonna be good


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## Elmer (Dec 29, 2015)

Added 2 oz of lactose and primed to 2.1 level.


An yes that is a Goose Island Bourbon County Stout tucked away in the corner

Also put 1 gallon on 2 oz of whiskey and 2 oz of oak


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## BernardSmith (Dec 30, 2015)

Hiya Elmer, Looks incredible. 
Is there a reason to use both LME and DME or is that simply because that is what you had to hand? And in the end was it 5% or was it higher? I would have thought that this might settle down to about 6.5 or even higher before you added the whisky


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## Elmer (Dec 30, 2015)

BernardSmith said:


> Hiya Elmer, Looks incredible.
> Is there a reason to use both LME and DME or is that simply because that is what you had to hand? And in the end was it 5% or was it higher? I would have thought that this might settle down to about 6.5 or even higher before you added the whisky




It had the potential to hit 6.5%, but petered out at 5.5 after 3 weeks in primary.
As far as DME & Lme, it is my understanding that they both offer different points for alcohol ,
But I could be wrong.
But mostly my LHBS suggested it.


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## BernardSmith (Dec 30, 2015)

Yeah, I think the DME pound for pound will have a higher gravity than LME because the LME also includes water. I think DME provides 45 points of gravity per pound per gallon and LME provides 38 points...


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## Elmer (Dec 31, 2015)

I have been told:

1 lb grain = .75 lb LME = .6 lb DME



so lb DME x 0.75/0.6 = lb LME

If I could go all grain I would.


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## BernardSmith (Dec 31, 2015)

But I bet you COULD go all grain. There is nothing holy or magical about 5 or 6 gallon batches .. you just need to reduce your batch size to 1 or 2 gallons... (Mr Beer kegs hold 2.5 gallons and my bucket holds a good 2 gallons ). There are a couple - perhaps more - good books that focus on 1 gallon batches (uses about 2.5 lbs of grain) and with 2.5 lbs of grain you are talking about 1.25 qts of water per lb of grain for the mash and I might sparge (or not*) and bring the total for a 60 minute boil to about 1.5 - 1.75 gallons, so your kettle only needs to hold about 3 gallons ( to avoid boil-overs) and boiling 2 gallons of water can be done indoors even on an electric stove. 
Downside is that you get only 8 bottles form a one gallon batch... Upside is that you can brew more frequently and make a greater variety if that is your shtick or experiment more with ingredients that you might be loathe to waste on a 5 gallon batch (I recently made a gallon of chestnut & honey stout (I call it phat, not stout) and I was willing to "waste" a pound or so chestnuts if the beer would have been too astringent because of the tannins... but I would not have wanted to have made 5 gallons of astringent beer (with about 6 or 7 lbs of roasted chestnuts given the price of chestnuts). 
* with smaller volumes I don't know that you NEED to sparge. I typically do but I have made batches without sparging and I was able to reach my target SGs with no problem BECAUSE - I think - I am using smaller volumes of water..


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## ceeaton (Jan 1, 2016)

I ordered a wine kit on Wednesday, but with the holiday it won't get here until Monday or Tuesday, so I have nothing better to do than make a beer (oh darn). I'm pre-boiling my water but will probably wait until tomorrow to attempt this since I'm not sure I have enough propane to complete the batch.

So this recipe evolved when I read Elmer's thread and started looking at what I had in inventory. I don't have quite the ingredients I need, so I made substitutions on my end where necessary. Also, my finishing gravity is going to be much lower (maybe 1.048 - 1.052), which doesn't bother me, I've made a Guinness clone that I put on tap which is as low SG wise but very flavorful. 

5 lbs Maris Otter Pale Malt
1.5 lbs Roasted Barley
1 lbs Wheat Malt
1 lbs Flaked Oats
8 oz Chocolate Malt
4 oz Black Patent Malt
4 oz 80L Crystal Malt
4 oz 60L Crystal Malt
2 oz Maltodextrin
1 oz Chinook (12.7%) leaf - 60 min - 39.9 IBUs
1 oz Fuggle (3.9%) leaf - 10 min - 4.4 IBUs

5.25 gallon batch

Will do a temperature step mash with a rest at 125*F for a few minutes, then aim for 152-154*F mash temp, then transfer to a beverage cooler until conversion is complete (I usually go 75 minutes). Mash out to 165*F and lauter/sparge with 165*F RO water (I have a zap-a-tap type lauter tun). I boil for 15 minutes (until I see protein flakes forming in solution) then add kettle hops and begin my timer. I have an immersion wort chiller that usually gets me down to 70-80*F within 30 minutes.

I use the Maltodextrin since I'm lactose intollerant. I also save some of the spent grains and add separately to a liter or two of the boiled/cooled wort and let a nasty sour wild ferment start up. I eventually strain and boil and add back when I keg the batch. Adds a nice sour note and comes pretty close to Guinness on tap (other than the lack of NO2 to serve).


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## ceeaton (Jan 2, 2016)

Finished the batch this afternoon, beginning SG was 1.057, but with as dry as it was the final volume was 4.75 gallons. If I added water to make the batch 5.25 gallons as I originally aimed for, the SG would be 1.052. 

Leaving it at 4.75 gallons and will taste and assess the body when finished. If it can handle a little watering down, fine, I'll add it. But the reduced volume presents no issues when kegging it since it will be in a CO2 environment at that point.

Also haven't added the Maltodextrine yet. Will see if it is really needed later in the process.


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## Elmer (Jan 10, 2016)

1week in bottle (opening to use in a stew) Needs to carb more.
Has the a bit of dry hoppiness followed by a slight sweet taste


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## Elmer (Jan 16, 2016)

2 weeks in bottle
The lactose adds a smoothness and cuts out a little of the bite.
The earthiness is at the backend.
Good when it warms up a bit


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