Our Oatmeal Stout recipe is for a very dark, full-bodied, malty ale with smooth roasty and oatmeal flavour. The style was first created in England in the nineteen fifties, but in the next decades its popularity dropped. Luckily a few breweries resurrected the style, and many craft breweries have it in their assortment today.
| Original gravity | 1045 – 1065 |
| Final gravity | 1010 – 1018 |
| Colour EBC | 43 – 79 |
| Colour Lovibond | 17 – 30 |
| IBU | 25 – 40 |
| ABV % | 4.2 – 5.9 |
Grain bill
| Variety | Quantity | Quantity | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swaen© Ale | 3.4 kg | 7.5 lb | 64% |
| Flaked Oat | 0.5 kg | 1.1 lb | 9% |
| Gold Swaen© Munich Light | 0.3 kg | 0.66 lb | 6% |
| Black Swaen© Barley | 0.3 kg | 0.66 lb | 6% |
| Black Swaen© Chocolate Wheat | 0.2 kg | 0.44 lb | 4% |
| Black Swaen© Black Extra | 0.1 kg | 0.22 lb | 2% |
The base of your grist should be an Ale style malt, but you can add some darker base malt too. Oats bring the smooth creaminess and can be added in malted or flaked form. For the colour and roasty flavour you need a blend of specialty malts, dominated by black varieties. Mid-colour caramel malts impart a nutty flavour and some sweetness, while the black ones contributes to the complex mouthfeel. A single step mash at the higher end (above 70 ⁰C / 178 ⁰F) should work well.
Hops
| Variety | Quantity | Quantity | Duration | Alpha acid | IBU |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Challenger | 28 g | 1 oz | 60 min. | 7.5% | 25 |
| Fuggle | 28 g | 1 oz | 30 min. | 4.9% | 6 |
Hops need to be primarily for bittering, but feel free to add some for aroma too. Use traditional English varieties without any fruity or citrusy aroma.
Yeast
We recommend to use low attenuating English-style ale yeast for this Oatmeal Stout recipe and ferment at 20-22 °C / 68-72 °F.
Dry examples: Fermentis Safale S-04 or Mangrove Jack M36 Liberty Bell Ale.
Liquid examples: Whitelabs WLP002 English Ale or Wyeast 1469 West Yorkshire Ale.
Results
| Batch size | 21 L / 5.5 gallon |
| Efficiency | 75% |
| Original gravity | 1052 |
| Final gravity | 1011 |
| Colour EBC | 75 |
| Colour Lovibond | 29 |
| IBU | 31 |
| ABV % | 5.4 |
| Carbonation | 2 |
| pH | 5.1 |
Appearance
Deep brown colour, with creamy foam.
Taste profile
Sweet maltiness, with notes of chocolate and oat.
Food pairing
Beef dishes and desserts.
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