I am planning an upcoming brew and a just looking to get a little bit of feedback on the recipe and malts to employ to find the right flavors I’m looking for. The recipe is a quasi American Brown ale/ Oatmeal stout. The batch size is for 5 gallons. I know all my brewhouse specifications/calculations. The malt bill is as follows-
Maris otter - 5.5 lbs - 52% - Good for rich malt base + good lautering
Victory - 1 lbs - 10% - Nice light toasty aromatic with some color influence
Caramel 60 - 1 lb - 10% - Solid caramel and toasty flavors
Caramel 120 - .66 lbs - 6% - Building that strong caramel, red fruit deep sweetness
Chocolate - .33 lbs - 3% - Nice dark color, Chocolate flavors, little bit of roastiness
Flaked Oats - 2 lbs - 19% - Clean, no color, silky
Hops:
Cascade - .5oz 75 min
Cascade - .5oz 30 min
25 IBUs
The flavors I’m looking for are just a light to medium bodied American brown ale. I want a nice dark color. The body doesn’t need to be to caramel like but more chocolate emphasized. I also will be using the silkiness of the flaked oats.I am debating weather I want all that caramel 60 and 120 and just might opt for a little less and maybe some debittered dark malts.
I’d drop the crystal malts down to 10%. Especially with all those oats, you’ll have more than enough body and mouthfeel. I’m glad you felt the need to express why you picked all those grains also, everything seems to make perfect sense for what you described. I used just about 20% flaked oat for an oatmeal stout before and had some lautering issues. Nothing terrible, but some rice hulls might not be a bad idea depending on how confident you are with your system.
I’m no expert but I would cut the crystal down and the oats as well. A pound total of crystal and a pound of oats and I would up the morris.
The only input I have is to watch your use of Caramel 120. My experience with it is that it lends a dried fruit flavor to the beer when used in moderation, and an acrid, burnt raisin flavor when used too heavily. I used it with a heavy hand on a Russian Imperial Stout, and even with a ton of roasted malt, the burnt raisin still comes through.
For a 5 gal batch, I’d start with 4oz max and up it from there. Also look at Caramel 80 or 90, I’ve never used them but I’d imagine they are a little milder.
If your lookin for that American brown angle you have in your post, might wanna bitter with something else and thow all those cascades in at the end of the boil.
I like to use 1/2 pound Briess chocolate. It’s lighter in color than the British chocolate, so you can use a little more for a nice nuttiness.
I would definitely drop the % of crystal and oats. Currently, they comprise 35% of your grain bill, which will give you an very dextrin rich, less fermentable, full bodied beer. I wouldn’t exceed 10% of each. Then increase the MO to get your target OG.
What yeast are you planning to use? That will make a difference too in terms of flavor profile and attenuation.
I think I am going to make a few changes.
Maris otter - 6 lbs - 70% - Good for rich malt base + good lautering
Victory - .75 lbs - 9% - Nice light toasty aromatic with some color influence
Caramel 60 - .25 lb - 3% - Solid caramel and toasty flavors
Chocolate - .5 lbs - 6% - Nice dark color, Chocolate flavors, little bit of roastiness
Flaked Oats - 1 lbs - 12% - Clean, no color, silky
I cut the Caramel 120 to avoid raisin flavors. I am still going to keep the cascade bitter addition cause I am considering this more of a oatmeal stout and want to stay away from too bitter of an American brown ale. Malt is my showcase. I also took out some oats to hopefully be worry free on lautering and still have enough oat presence. I bumped up the maris otter to stay at a good gravity of 1.049. Still like the victory and C60 for some initial and lighter caramel flavors. I bumped up the chocolate to make it pronounced but hopefully shy of any acidic harshness. The changes I have made hopefully will give me a little bit dryer beer which I am shooting for. I will be using WLP001, it will have good attenuation and be clean enough to let the malt shine. The flavor of the beer I am shooting for has that chocolate focus, good silkiness, very aromatic malts, and little bitterness. Keep any and all suggestions coming, they are much appreciated.
