First stout

I got this recipe off of beersmith.com and am brewing tomorrow:

1 lbs Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM)
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM)
1 lbs Extra Light Dry Extract (3.0 SRM)
6 lbs Dark Liquid Extract (17.5 SRM)
2.0 oz Pearle [7.8%] - Boil 60 min
1.00 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 15 min)
0.5 oz Pearle [7.8%] - Boil 5 min
2.00 tbsp Malto-Dextrine (Boil 5 min)
2.00 cup Oats (Boil 0 min)
1 pkgs Irish Ale (Wyeast Labs #1084)

I have done a lot of research and am unclear what to do with the oats. Have never brewed anything other than extract brews. If I am supposed to do a partial mash (which I've never done) how do I do that with this recipe?
Would really love that smooth silky feel that oats provide just don't know what to do. Appartently steeping won't do the trick so i need to know what to do with what I have.

Thanks in advance

STLRAB said:

I got this recipe off of beersmith.com and am brewing tomorrow:

1 lbs Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM)
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM)
1 lbs Extra Light Dry Extract (3.0 SRM)
6 lbs Dark Liquid Extract (17.5 SRM)
2.0 oz Pearle [7.8%] - Boil 60 min
1.00 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 15 min)
0.5 oz Pearle [7.8%] - Boil 5 min
2.00 tbsp Malto-Dextrine (Boil 5 min)
2.00 cup Oats (Boil 0 min)
1 pkgs Irish Ale (Wyeast Labs #1084)

I have done a lot of research and am unclear what to do with the oats. Have never brewed anything other than extract brews. If I am supposed to do a partial mash (which I've never done) how do I do that with this recipe?
Would really love that smooth silky feel that oats provide just don't know what to do. Appartently steeping won't do the trick so i need to know what to do with what I have.

Thanks in advance

Click to expand...

Just add your oats with the roasted barley and mash. Its essentially just like steeping other than you are holding for 30min-60min at a temperature around 155.

Pardon my ignorance, I have only 6 brews under my belt. Isn't holding that at 155 for 30 - 60 min. called steeping? Maybe that's why I never understood what partial mash actually means. If you could maybe clarify the difference between the two I wouldn't sound like such an idiot, and it may turn the light bulb on in my head.

STLRAB said:

Pardon my ignorance, I have only 6 brews under my belt. Isn't holding that at 155 for 30 - 60 min. called steeping? Maybe that's why I never understood what partial mash actually means. If you could maybe clarify the difference between the two I wouldn't sound like such an idiot, and it may turn the light bulb on in my head.

Click to expand...

You're not a dummy!
When you steep you soak your grain(s) at temps 'somewhere' in the 130-160 temp range for anywhere from 10 minutes to 1/2 hour.
A partial mash is a little more controlled. If you don't have a good thermometer, get one. Keep your temp as close as you can stay to 150-155 for 30-60 minutes. Then guess what? You just mashed! The controlled temps activate the enzymes in your grain to convert startch to sugar.
If you haven't already, get a copy of John Palmer's ' How to Brew'. There's also an online version. There is a good section on mashing.
Now.... having said all this, I took a look at your posted recipe. You don't have any grains in there with diastatic power( = with enzymes available to make the conversion), so mashing the roasted barley, the crystal malt and the oats won't do anything different than steeping would. But, you can practice. It won't hurt to keep track of the temps and steep for a little longer time. If you wanted to truly partial mash, you would add 1/2 lb or more of something like 2-row barley, which has excess diastatic power. I mostly do partial mashes now, with an occasional all grain. The PM adds an extra complexity and freshness to the extract. All part of the learning process.
Sorry for the longwinded answer......
Oh, one more thing- I don't know why the recipe has the oats listed as adding to the boil. I would think that would just increase the cloudiness of your brew, and not give you any benefit. Basically it would be like boiling up some oatmeal and dumping it in your wort. I would add the oats to the rest of your grains in the steep/mash.

JimRausch - Thank you very much for your 'longwinded answer'! That was exactly what I was looking for. With the two being fairly similar I guess I didn't understand the difference until now. I am going to go to Friar Tuck tomorrow and get some 2-row and officially do my first PM. I'm pretty excited about adding the complexity to this brew for I am a very big stout fan and plan on moving up to bigger stouts in the future.

Here is another question for you. Would you mash in one pot and boil hops in another pot and then combine the two at flame out? Or would you mash then add hops to that and start boil? Also, do you add the extracts in the beginning of the boil or do you add at flame out? I like to add extracts while boiling since it seems to help dissolve powder but not real sure what the proper way to do this is, if it matters at all. Thanks again for the info!!

Another dumb question. Is 2-row barley same as 2-row crystal malt? Only found Briess Flaked Barley on brewmasters.com

STLRAB said:

JimRausch - Thank you very much for your 'longwinded answer'! That was exactly what I was looking for. With the two being fairly similar I guess I didn't understand the difference until now. I am going to go to Friar Tuck tomorrow and get some 2-row and officially do my first PM. I'm pretty excited about adding the complexity to this brew for I am a very big stout fan and plan on moving up to bigger stouts in the future.

Here is another question for you. Would you mash in one pot and boil hops in another pot and then combine the two at flame out? Or would you mash then add hops to that and start boil? Also, do you add the extracts in the beginning of the boil or do you add at flame out? I like to add extracts while boiling since it seems to help dissolve powder but not real sure what the proper way to do this is, if it matters at all. Thanks again for the info!!

Click to expand...

OK you can forget these questions, I was pretty drunk and wasn't really thinking clearly.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/easy-partial-mash-brewing-pics-75231/

This is a good how-to on partial mash brewing. It can also be expanded to accommodate stovetop all-grain brewing.