Oatmeal Stout, Clones, and Dreams

Last night, after getting off work at 8 pm, I found a bottle of Satan's last batch of Brother Spuds Oatmeal Stout. The first thing I said after the first sip was, "Ooo. . ." I was so moved that I took a photo of the beer and emailed Satan with that sentiment.

Satan has been working on this recipe for years. Tweaking an ounce of grain here, increasing hop additions times a minute there. He started out trying to clone Anderson Valley Brewing's Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout. Frankly, I think Barney Flats is nature's most perfect beer. It has a silky mouthfeel, with a nutty flavor that hits at the back sides of my tongue, and makes me feel glad to be alive. At Oktoberfest at the beginning of the month, I tried Summit Brewing's Oatmeal Stout. I got the same feeling from that beer.

Satan is very close to his goal. And that brings up the whole issue if it is possible to actually clone a beer. Can I--as a mediocre homebrewer with improvised equipment, a different procedure and different grains--actually clone a beer? As much as I like The Jamil Show on the the brewing network, I have to say no. I might get close. Very close, in fact. But it won't be the same beer.

Yes, I'm splitting hairs, but I have a blog and I can do that.

Anyway, that first Brother Spuds was so good, I opened another. Then another. Then another! I went to bed and slept the sleep of the righteous. A heavy sleep with vivid dreams of Penn & Teller on tour using a school bus is the one I remember the most. But there were other equally bizarre dreams.

It must have been the oats.

Brother Spuds Oatmeal Stout Tasting Notes

Back in November, Satan and I made Brother Spuds and Peppercorn Rye Bock. In January, I returned to Midland and brought home 8 bottles of Brother Spuds and almost a case of Peppercorn Rye Bock.

Brother Spuds Oatmeal Stout

Appearance (0-3): Pours up inky black with a thick brown head that dissipates quickly, leaving no lace behind. 2 points

Aroma (0-4): Slightly sweet oat aroma, some bitter roast aroma. 3 points

Taste: Hop/malt balance (0-4): Starts off with a slightly sweet malt flavor, hint of oatmeal cookie about midway through and a bit of roast in the finish. I did not detect hops. This reminds me of Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout, which was Satan's target beer. 4 points
Aftertaste (0-3): Hop bitterness and roast bitterness mingle subtly in the finish at the back of the throat. Leaves a sugary coating on my lips.3 points
Mouthfeel (0-3): Silky and creamy mouthfeel with a slight carbonation tingle. Very nice! 3 points

Overall Impression (0-3): This is very close to Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout. Low carbonation and all. Naturally, the judges will hate the low carbonation. But this is an excellent beer. And I got to stir the mash! 3 points

Total: 18 points.

You can be sure this is going to Nationals again!

Brother Spuds Scores

In March, Brother Spuds scored a 35 out of 50 at the Bluebonnet Brew-Off. At Nationals is scored 21 out of 50.

The Brother Spuds scores still floor me. Either everyone else's was really, really good, or, at least, the first five in our flight were. Or we sent a bad bottle. It's a real head scratcher.

One judge said it was smoky with plastic flavors. He also detected hints of fruitiness.A second judge found apple notes in the aroma. He found the beer too dry. By the way these two judges disagreed on whether or not the beer was creamy. A third judge didn't notice any fruit flavors, but thought the beer was overcarbonated which "could indicate an infection."

Satan is coming Memorial Day, and we plan to sit down and sample these beers with all the score sheet is front of us.

UPDATE 1: Satan was not happy with this post. Here's what he wrote me:

My dear cousin....Satan speaking; I believe you have a slight typo...my Brother Spuds Oatmeal Stout scored a 40.5 in the first round and a 38.5 in the final...not a paltry 35. Please update your site as not to belittle my superb stout brewing abilities!

Sincerely,

Satan (esq.)

I stand corrected.

UPDATE 2: I hang out on the Beer Network Forums and several folks have reported similar experiences. Beers that won local contests got beat up at Nationals.

I'm glad we never entered the dunkelweiss anywhere else.

Brother Spuds Oatmeal Stout

I went out to Midland over the weekend, with an obligatory stop at Eola, to help Satan brew his infamous Oatmeal Stout.

Brother Spuds Oatmeal Stout

7 lbs Marris Otter malt
1.13 lbs roasted barley malt
1 lb red wheat malt
0.5 lb Crystal 15L
0.5 lb Crystal 80L
1.13 lb flaked oats
1 lb flaked barley
1.2 oz leaf Yakima Golding hops/90 minutes
0.8 oz leaf Yakima Golding hops/15 minutes
White Labs WLP002 English Ale Yeast

We did a step mash, doing a 50 minutes rest at 148F, then taking it up to 158F for 2 hours. After the sparge, we did a two hour boil.

This is the recipe that got Satan to the second round of Nationals a couple of years ago.