It’s wintertime, so it’s stout time.  I was looking for something simple, but when the homebrew shop was out of flaked Barley, needed to be a little creative.

Brewer’s Notes

This recipe is based off of the Blackwell Stout in Clone Brews, with equal parts Quaker oats replacing the flaked barley.

The brew was uneventful, mash was 150F +- 7F.  Did not capture how much water was added.  The final SRM was a little lighter than I expected, more of a dark brown instead of black.  Taste is malt-forward with some roast at end.  Very mild and not heavy.  Some stone fruit. Very drinkable as-in. Possibly some tobacco on finish and cereal.

OG:1.054 @ 73F, target 1.051
FG: 1.017@ 65F, target 1.013

Fermenting Notes

Primary

Target Temperature range: 70F
Average: 71.14F
Standard Deviation: 2.27

oatmeal_brown_primary

12.16.2014 – 1.018 @ 66F – Racked to secondary.  Aroma is a bit harsh, rubbery?  Flavor is reasonably well balanced, not strong.  Thin body, which should fill out with time.  Light brown color, still too sweet. I’m hoping it continues to dry out in secondary and intensify.  Should be a nice base beer for other additions, perhaps a belgian yeast?

Secondary

Target Temperature range: 70F
Average: 69.99F
Standard Deviation: 0.20

oatmeal_brown_secondary

12.23.2014 – 1.017 @ 65F – Racked to keg.  Set at 14psi for 2.1 Vols CO2. Flavor is becoming a little more full, but still very light.  Roast, caramel notes, very drinkable. Some harshness on finish, acetone?  Want to make again with more body.

Tasting Notes

1.16.2015 – Poured at homebrew club. Feedback was positive.  The beer needs additional layering to be really interesting, but it is fairly drinkable as-is.

5.7.2015 – There is about a gallon of this left, having been moved in and out of the fridge for a while.  It’s not bad, but aging hasn’t helped any.  Drinkable, don’t need to make again, unless there is more to it.

Recipe