Blue Collar Beer Review #7: Stubborn Agnes Rude Boy Oatmeal Brown

  The masses have been patiently waiting and the moment is here.  In ways this brew turned out just as I had hoped, and in many others, much differently.  This beer is full of surprises. Age seems to have been my friend with this brew turning it from 'meh..not too bad' to a subtly complex, surprisingly mild and drinkable beer that I'm quite proud of.  Within the first 2-4 weeks in bottle, there was a noticeable tang, some described as metallic, others medicinal.  I've found that now that's all been cleared away and the blandness I first observed has opened up to surprise with more flavor.
  This really says something about how fresh beer really needs to be.  Most people insist that beer must be fresh to truly experience as it was meant to be, that aging really does nothing for it but allow the flavor compounds to degrade.  Rude Boy is proof of the opposite.  While I agree, most hoppy beers are designed to be drunk sooner rather than later, some time can open up other flavors no one knew were possible in a given beer.
   I'm not talking about aging a beer for 18 months, or three years (though that is a very interesting concept, especially with barleywines or Belgian Quads).  A few weeks to a couple months can make all the difference. There are also many that think, especially with homebrewing, that that delay in drinking is required.  There is no hard and fast rule, and it's all subjective.  Rude Boy did better after a minimum of 1 month in the bottle, but was still drinkable after 2 weeks.  Pale ales are usually quite a bit faster to reach maximum drinkability, possibly due to a higher reliance on hops.
   I suppose what I'm getting at is that with beer, time is not always our enemy.  Like with wine, beer deserves patience, deserves to be savored.  Beer is a living entity and deserves to be given an opportunity to bloom into something amazing.

Stubborn Agnes Brewing - Rude Boy Oatmeal Brown
American Brown Ale
5.4% ABV

Appearance:  Rich, dark reddish brown pour with a creamy, off white, robust head. Light-Moderate lacing. Good clarity.

Aroma: Mineral, slight hop aroma with dark malt and a hint of caramel and molasses back up.

Taste: Raisins, caramel, slightly bitter, very slight tang, crisp.  Hops much more subdued than I had anticipated, especially after the large late addition. After some time, as previously stated the tang disappeared and the beer became more flavorful with a distinct, subtle green apple flavor, and more roasted malt flavors playing through with caramel, raisins and molasses more prevalent than before.


Mouthfeel: Medium body, lightly tingling carbonation.  Initially a short palate but it has matured to a long pleasant finish.

Overall: This so far is the best I've produced (the 2nd being my first batch, a Drop Top clone that was delicious), in my opinion.  The main goal was to make a delicious beer that really didn't quite fit in any particular category, that rides the fringes and I think Rude Boy fits this exactly.  The way the flavor opened up, it was very surprising, like drinking a different beer altogether! I definitely slowed down, and took my time with it and I believe it shows. It still needs some polishing, but I like it enough that I want to perfect this recipe.  I think a dose of CaraMunich malt will really do well in Rude Boy, I'll have to pick some more experienced brains for an amount.  I think another small late addition of Columbus, which were used as bittering hops will help move the hops a bit more forward.  This is a delicate operation because I don't want to go overboard with them.  I think it's a good balance, not too bitter, not too sweet.  It isn't heavy, and goes down smoothly and easily.  Despite it's name it's just a good mild, very drinkable beer as is.

Rude Boy Oatmeal Brown: Part 2

   Before I get started on the brief second half of this post I wanted to mention a couple points that I left out in the previous post.

   The first being, that with my larger fermentor, out of habit I added a bit too much top off water which put me at  6 gallons in the fermentor.  Not a problem, it simply lowered the gravity of the beer to 5.4% ABV.  Still far from a session beer so A okay.

   Also, be sure not to forget you've got a jet blast bottle washer attached to the faucet...

It feels nothing like this.

   My original gravity into the fermentor was 1.051 (due to the above mentioned dilution).  Usually, with a gravity above 1.040 it's best to make a yeast starter to make sure the yeast cells don't work themselves to death, literally.  However, the Wyeast Smack Pack is a starter in and of itself.  It produces enough healthy cells to handle anything up to 1.060 which is perfect for Rude Boy.  It was a little slower to get going than I'm used to with my usual yeast tubes from White Labs, but within 24 hours a healthy, thick, if mellow Kräusen (In this context: the thick foam, meringue-like head formed during the initial fermentation stage, pronounced KROY-sen) was formed.

   Within 7 days, the Kräusen had fallen or settled back into the beer and it was time to rack to secondary, and at this time a specific gravity reading was taken.  A very healthy fermentation had brought us down to 1.010 after primary fermentation, that's an apparent attenuation of 79.6%.  Pretty efficient Yeastie Beasties.

   Rude Boy sat in secondary fermentation/clearing/conditioning for 14 days, and then was bottled.  I had planned to put half of the batch into a Party Pig but was unable to find replacement gaskets for my other two nameless Pigs.  It's the first time I've actually bottled a full 5 gallons.  Usually one loses 1/2 a gallon to trub (fermentor sediment), and other amounts between transferring, and gravity testing unless a refractometer is used.

   It's been sitting in bottles for a week, with one more to go, and seems to be carbonating well.  One thing that seems a regular, minor issue in my brews is head formation/retention.  It's a common issue for many homebrewers, especially towards the begining.  However it is improving for me and is purely astetic so I'm not too worried.  Though I have to admit, since I put more work and effort into this brew than any of my others, as well as more time, 5 weeks total from grain to glass, I'd like it to be very good quality.

   The extra care and patience (knock on wood) seems to be paying off.  A preliminary tasting during bottling showed a strong, clean hop aroma as expected from the large 3.2oz Willamette flame out addition.  However the hop flavor plays a definite back seat to the sweet, though not cloying, malt with hints of coffee and chocolate playing through slightly.  It's still got some conditioning to do, but it's the first brew I've done that I actually enjoyed drinking before it was carbed.

     I can't wait to see how it opens up with two weeks in the bottle and some carbonation.  As it stands, it may be the first brew I repeat, regularly.  A Blue Collar review of Rude Boy will be posted next Monday (if I have the patience to wait that long!)  SWMBO even said it would be one she would sit and drink regularly.  High praise for a yet unfinished brew.

Rude Boy Oatmeal Brown Part 1

   I decided to make something a bit different on my most recent brew day, an Oatmeal Brown.  I'd been debating between a few different styles but then this came out of nowhere.  I've never seen, or until recently, heard of a commercial version of an Oatmeal Brown, so it sounded very intriguing.

   In this post I'll share my recipe, and my Brew Day.

Rude Boy Oatmeal Brown

(Mini Mash)

• 2lbs Aromatic Malt (Belgian) (26 SRM)
• 1lbs Pale 2 Row Malt (US, 2.0 SRM)
• 12 oz Medium Crystal Malt (Simpson's) (55 SRM)
• 10.1 oz Golden Naked Oats (Simpson's) (10 SRM)
• 12 oz Special B Malt (155 SRM)
• 4 oz Chocolate Malt (450 SRM)
• 2lbs Light DME (Briess) (4.0 SRM)
• 3lbs, 2.4 oz Golden Light LME (Briess) (4.0 SRM)
• .25 oz Willamette (First Wort - 60 min)
• .75 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) (Boil - 60 min)
• 3.2 oz Willamette (Flame out - 0 min)
• Wyeast 1335 British Ale II yeast

Estimated OG: 1.068, 25.9 IBU's

Not pictured: 1oz whole cone Willamette hops

   For this brew, due to the oats and some of the other grain bill contributors, an actual mash had to be done.  That being the case, I think it's much more appropriate to call this a 'mini-mash' rather than a partial mash.  A whole mash is done, it's just smaller.  This was actually my first real mash and having more space would definitely have been beneficial.  Two kettles make this very easy, and instead of purchasing/building a Mash/Lauter tun, I just used a large grain bag.  For this brew I chose a simple, single infusion mash.

Stir thoroughly to break up clumps and aid conversion.

   For the mash you'll want to strike with 7.72qt of water at 160-162 °F to bring the mash temp to around 152 °F.  It needs to sit at this temp for 60 minutes.  I set my oven on the lowest possible setting, and left the oven door open.  It wasn't perfect, but it was good enough.  When I pulled the mash pot out of the oven, I saw soapy looking bubbles (like oil in water) which is an indication of starch conversion.

   You'll need just over 2.5 gallons of sparge water heated to 168 °F.  I had intended to use a colander resting over my kettle to hold the grain bag while I sparged.  Mine was too small so I used a slotted roasting pan which worked very well.  However, since then I've purchased an adjustable colander from my beloved Ikea.

   At this point, you want to add the first wort hop addition, .25 oz of Willamette and turn the heat up.  Once it reaches a good rolling boil, toss in the .75 oz of Columbus and start your timer.  This is a relatively low maintenance brew, so make sure to have plenty of good craft beer, or better yet, home brew to keep you hydrated during the next hour, Call of Duty: Black Ops helps to keep one occupied as well as cleaning as you go.

First Wort addition.

60 minute addition.

Massive Flame Out addition. 3.2 oz of Willamette pellets and whole cones.

   After cooling, it's time to pitch the yeast.  You'll want to let it warm up to room temp for at least 3 hours, smack it to break open the interior yeast packet (essentially making a starter), and give it a shake.  The package will swell indicating viable yeast (though you don't have to wait for it to swell).  After the wort is cooled, pitch the yeast into your primary where it will sit for 7 days.  I recently acquired a 7 gallon carboy for a new primary fermentor and the extra room really makes a world of difference.

   My next post will continue the journey from primary fermentation, into bottling.