Lawrence Brewers Guild

Hi All - I am hoping that someone can offer some advice. I am fairly new to all grain and am about to do my third batch which will be an Oatmeal Stout. I am following a recipe in John Palmer's book, Mill Run Stout. He mentions that you can add a 1lb of instant oats to the mash but to do a 20 minute beta glucan rest @ 110 degrees to make lautering easier. I have yet to do a multi-step mash with different temperatures so this is going to be a learning experience for me.

My total mash strike water is 4.1 gallons. I assume that I can do it all in my mash lauter tun (5 gallon round igloo) doing a stiffer mash with a partial amount at 116 degrees but I am not sure how much of the strike water I should use. Also, I am not sure what the remainder of the strike water should be heated to so that I can get up to 154 degrees with the second infusion. Lastly, I am not certain if my mash should be 60 minutes total (110 for 20 minutes and 154 for 40 minutes) or if I should do the 20 minute rest and then a 60 minute mash at the higher temperature.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks!

Don

Just go get some Quick Oats. Don't mill them. Add them to the top of your mash after you already doughed in the rest of your malt bill if your worried about sticky lautering. Since Quick Oats are steam rolled, they are already pregelanitized. Don't worry about a step mash. A single infusion mash works just fine. JP is talking about Old Fashioned oats than have not been pregelanatized hence the glucan rest.

When you say Quick Oats can I assume you are referring to something like Quaker Instant oats that cook in 1 minute?

Thanks!

Don

kingdona wrote:When you say Quick Oats can I assume you are referring to something like Quaker Instant oats that cook in 1 minute?

Thanks!

Don

Yes. There are cheaper brands other than Quaker that are the exact same thing. Again, Ive used false bottoms in coolers like yours, assuming you are using a FB, without any lautering problems. If your really worried, add the oats to the top of the grist and use 170* sparge water. I don't foresee a problem.

I don't have enough experience yet to be worried about lautering problems, LOL. Actually my mash lautering tun does not use a false bottom. It has a stainless steel braid. I also gather from JP's recipe that a beta glucan rest might make sparging easier, not that it would make sparging impossible or anything.

I will follow your advice and add a pound of instant oats to the top of the rest of the grist once I have it going.

Thanks so much for your help!

Don

Flaked Oats are just about the same as Quick Oats, pregelatinized as Andy said so no protien rest needed (as long as your other grains are highly modified).

I have some flaked oats and can bring some out to the grain pickup if you like so you can compare the two. Just let me know how much you need and meet us at the dock on Saturday if you like.

I always grind my flaked oats/wheat/barley in my grain mill...as a wise man once said "Ford or Chevy...it is just a preference"

If you are worried about a suck sparge, you could add a pound of rice hulls to a 5 gallon batch in your mash...very cheap insurance (I can bring some of these as well...let me know).
You can also wrap you screen with cheese cloth...but I have had mixed results with this.

With an oatmeal stout, you should be ok.

Just my $0.02

Jason

If you live in Lawrence, The Merc carries Flaked Oats, Wheat, and Barley. But I'm sure these cost more than the Quaker Instant Oats at the grocery store.

Blktre wrote:If you live in Lawrence, The Merc carries Flaked Oats, Wheat, and Barley. But I'm sure these cost more than the Quaker Instant Oats at the grocery store.

They also carry Flaked Rye.

Just as a follow up, I made the Oatmeal stout Sunday evening. I did the mash with all of my other grains and then worked in a pound of quaker instant oats (already had them in my cupboard ) and it all worked out fine. I did not have any issues with my sparge that I could really tell.

Jason, thanks for the offer of the oats. I will not be around Saturday and I am too new to know where the dock is I am very interested in the grain buy I heard about at the meeting I attended though. I do have a few questions about how it works, how you should store the grain you buy, best way to mill it (I currently do not have a grain mill), etc.

Thanks again for the help on all of this everyone.

Don

The grain buys will be be posted and Rob does a great job of organizing and publishing the rules.

Once a new buy is started, the first post will have all the instructions. Find the grain you want and post your order. Once a pallet is full (about 44 bags), Rob will close the order and get an invoice. Cut a check to LBG for your share and show up on grain pickup day. Just that easy.

Storage...lots of different ways. I use Home Depot orange buckets for my base grains. They are cheap (less than $3) and have a rubber gasket in the lid to give a nice tight seal.
Wife labeling grain from last buy....


Grain Storage in basement...constant temperature and humidity about 64F



Milling...most brew shops will crush your grain for $0.10 per pound. There are lots of LBG members who have grain mills, so just ask until you get your own. If you want to drive to Lenexa, you are welcome to use mine. If all grain is your thing, a grain mill/crusher is a worth while investment. I think I paid $99 for my mill, $20 for the motor, $20 in hardware and the wood was free (old entertainment center). For starters, a grain crusher, a 5 gallon pail and a drill are all you really need to get started.

Grain mill




Again, many members have built their own (some more "wobbly" than others) and there are all kinds of plans on the internet. Just ask around.

Look forward to tasting some of your brew at the next meeting.

Jason

PS...opps sorry for hijacking the thread.

Hey Bill...How about those nice BIG pictures....

Jdl973 wrote:(some more "wobbly" than others)

You just keep on poking him with a stick... don't ya?

Jdl973 wrote:Hey Bill...How about those nice BIG pictures....

I'm fine with all the pictures, its the BBS that should take them down to thumbnails. Too bad ours doesn't, right Sean? Right?

lol... now who's poking someone with a stick?

As Jason mentioned, the Home Depot buckets with a rubber gasket work well for storage. Generally, I've read you can keep grain anywhere from 6 months to 2 yrs. The more roasted it is (Higher lovibond) the longer it will store.

Read the current Grain Buy 2010-C thread and it's related thread, Splits for 2010-C to the basics of the buys. Any other questions, ask for me at the LBG meetings and I can answer your questions.

You just keep on poking him with a stick... don't ya?

Hey now, its the original grain mill. Even JP uses one. And the best part, it was FREE! And when those guys that have the other kind of mill, you can brag when you have milled grain that is in the ton(s) range. Till then, you got nothin'

Remember Bill "he who lives in glass houses" or something like that...

Andy we love Mr. Wobbly...I just wish my fly-wheel was THAT big...

I don't know much about wobblin', and mine has done a ton of grain