Sunday, August 18, 2013

Chile Vanilla Oatmeal Stout

Finally, another brew day!  I decided to do an oatmeal stout with a twist.  I discovered some Turkish Chile called Urfa. Rich chile flavor with a little smokiness, moderate heat, and cocoa notes.  I built my recipe for the stout based on the chile flavor profile.  I opted to use only chocolate malts, instead of roasted barley to bring more chocolate/cocoa flavor to the brew to enhance the chile.  I don't want the chile to overpower, so I went light to start.  The chiles provided a little more bitterness and with the IBU's at 29-30, the brew is slightly bitter.  When it comes time to bottle, I will prime with vanilla sugar for balance and to enhance the chocolate/cocoa flavor and aroma. 
Brew day statistics:  OG projected: 1.058, OG actual: 1.064.  4.5 gallons into the fermenter.  Mashbill: Gambrinus ESB Pale, Weyermann Dark Wheat, Weyermann Carawheat, Briess Chocolate, Weyermann Chocolate Wheat, flaked oats, and flaked barley.  I opted for a flavor neutral yeast so I chose Fermentis US-05.  With the use of flaked grains and a mash temperature of 157, the unfermentable sugars should provide a big, smooth mouthfeel.  I'll be bottling in two weeks.
CHEERS!