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Coffee Chocolate Oatmeal Stout
This oatmeal stout is inspired by some of the Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout recipes out there. Despite that, this is not a KBS clone recipe, and isn’t really meant to be. I wanted this beer to be smaller in alcohol and have a nice coffee/chocolate balance. Unfortunately the coffee overpowers any chocolate notes from the cacao nibs. While still a good beer it lacks nuance and complexity that a winter warmer like this should have. In the next iteration I intend to find those flavour complexities with increased alcohol, bourbon, and oak.
Notes
- Color is jet black. Cannot see through it at all.
- Tan head that sticks around as lacing but it doesn’t pour as thick as I’d like.
- Bittering mostly comes from the coffee but also the chocolate malt (I think).
- Color is too dark, try getting rid of the chocolate malt entirely for a nice deep ruby when put to the light.
- Not getting much from the cacao, the coffee completely overpowers it.
Recipe
| Style: | Oatmeal Stout |
| Batch Size: | 6.0 gal |
| Boil Time: | 60 min |
| Mash Efficiency: | 65% |
| OG | FG | ABV | IBU | SRM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.060 | 1.012 | 6.3% | 28 | 40 |
| Yeast | |
|---|---|
| Imperial Kaiser | 1.0 pkg |
| Fermentables | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pale Malt | 6 kg | (75.5%) |
| Oats Flaked | 0.6 kg | (7.5%) |
| Roasted Barley | 0.5 kg | (6.3%) |
| Chocolate Malt | 0.5 kg | (6.3%) |
| Carafa special II | 0.25 kg | (3.1%) |
| Rice hulls | 0.1 kg | (1.3%) |
| Hops | ||
|---|---|---|
| Columbus (CTZ) | 15 g | 60 min |
| Willamette | 14 g | 15 min |
| Willamette | 14 g | 0 min |
| Extras | |
|---|---|
| Whirlfloc | 0.5 each |
| Yeast Nutrient | 1 tsp |
| Coffee | 700 ml |
| Cocao Nibs | 200 g |
Mash at 65C for 60 minutes. Mash out at 76C for 10 minutes. 60 minute boil. Ferment at 68F for 2 weeks. Cold condition in keg at 36F for two weeks.
Dilution Summary
Due to the coffee and cocao tincture, I applied a dilution equation to come up with the final abv. Equation as follows: adjustedABV = (X * beerABV) + (Y * tinctureABV) + (Z * coffeeABV) / (X + Y + Z) where X = beer volume, Y = tincture volume, and Z = coffee volume. Final adjusted abv is 6.4%.
Adding the Coffee
To add the coffee, I created 700 ml of brewed coffee from my Aeropress and added directly to the keg before racking on top of it. To ensure it was sanitized I re-heat in the microwave until 180F. I used fresh beans from a local roaster here in Vancouver called Forecast coffee. This method imparted a smooth coffee aroma and flavour but was stronger than I expected. Next go-around I’m going to decrease the amount of brewed coffee to 250 ml. The malt bill is also contributing coffee flavours and together those flavours dominate the beer.
Adding the Cacao Nibs
I made a vodka tincture with 200g cacao nibs in a mason jar and let that sit for 7 days before adding directly to the keg and racking on top of it. Final tincture yield was 125 ml. The tincture aroma was strong but once added to the beer, I had a hard time picking it out over the coffee. I also feel like I can taste the vodka and bourbon would have been a far better choice to carry those chocolate flavours over vanilla and oak.
Changes
- Use bourbon instead of vodka for tincture.
- Cut coffee to 250 ml of brewed medium roast.
- Stronger bittering charge.
- Use 100g cacao nibs in bourbon.
- Use oak chips soaked in bourbon as well to access vanilla and get more depth of flavour.
- Bump up abv by a percentage point with sugar.