OK to add addtional steeping to fermenter?

[Andy]

I am about a week into primary fermentation of Jamil's oatmeal stout recipe for a friend who says he would prefer it to be bigger and roastier than it is now. The only thing I can think of to increase roastiness is to perform another steep with the same grains in the correct ratio, allow it to cool, then add it to the primary or put it into a secondary and rack the beer from the the primary on top of it to mix it in thoroughly. Does anyone have any experience doing something like this or have any concerns over such an addition?

Though I have never added a steep to the fermenter before I think it will work out fine as it will be fully pasteurized, have very few fermentable sugars...I have done similar things many times with spices, fruit, chocolate, etc with great success. Though not ideal, I can foresee no real problem with adding cooled steep water to the fermenter but I have never heard or read of anyone who has actually done it. All comments, concern, questions are greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[roger456]

fermentation doesn't strip roastiness. If you want a bigger, more roasty brew, scale the recipe up to hit the OG you are looking for.

[Andy]

fermentation doesn't strip roastiness. If you want a bigger, more roasty brew, scale the recipe up to hit the OG you are looking for.

Right, that would have been ideal. But for this particular batch, I'm trying to retroactively increase roastiness in the secondary to suit his taste prior to bottling. He says he likes big, roasty stouts and I let him choose his recipe from Jamil's book. I was a bit surprised when he chose the oatmeal stout as they are not quite as roasty as his description of what he likes...I mentioned that they were a little more subdued and suggested an American or Russian Imperial stout but he wanted to do oatmeal. So now, upon tasting it a week into primary fermentation, he would like it bigger and more roasty. Rather than tell him it's too late I am thinking of adding a second steeping. Any feedback on that?

[BDawg]

I'd Bring it all the way up to boil before chilling and adding to the fermenter.
Do not aerate.

This will drive off all oxygen and leave zero doubt that you've killed any bacteria on the grains.


HTH-

[Andy]

I'd Bring it all the way up to boil before chilling and adding to the fermenter.
Do not aerate.

This will drive off all oxygen and leave zero doubt that you've killed any bacteria on the grains.


HTH-

Probably a good idea. So probably best to steep as normal for a half hour or so, remove grains prior to boiling to prevent extracting undesirable astringency, etc, then raise steep liquid to a boil, allow to cool, and add to fermenter. Anyone else with any suggestions?

[BrewTa2]

Nope, that'll work.

[Brew Engineer]

Let us know if you succeed with this!

I'd be interested to hear your results.

[Andy]

Let us know if you succeed with this!

I'd be interested to hear your results.

Well, I added a second partial mash using the same specialty grains in the same quantities as per JZs oatmeal stout recipe, racked the beer on top of it, and let it sit for another week or so. I tasted it at bottling and got a little surprise...rather than increasing the level of roastiness I just pushed the current roastiness a little more to the forefront. I guess I should have thought of that...same partial mash recipe = same level of roast. If I were to do it again I would chose the specialty grains for a bigger stout if I wanted bigger roastiness. As it is, it tastes great (almost identical, in fact), is still balanced, and is probably a better oatmeal stout than if I had really ramped up the roastiness as intended.

Anywhoo, though it is obviously not ideal, so far I would say the addition of a second partial mash or steeping is an extrememly viable option for those who find themselves in a similar position of wanting to tweak their specialty grain flavor prior to bottling. The process is as simple as can be and is versatile enough for small, moderate, and large adjustments. I have experienced absolutely no problems whatsoever to this point. It may even preserve some of the specialty grain flavors and aromatics that are normally lost during vigorous primary fermentation gas blowoff in the same way adding fruit, spices, potions, teas, extracts, etc to the secondary vs primary does...though possibly at the expense of some blending and mellowing of grain flavors that may occur during primary. We'll see the true results once it's ready to drink in a couple of weeks. I'll be sure to update then.