My Oatmeal Stout wins 1st place at 2011 Upper Mississippi Mashout!!

I was uber happy to read the Upper Mississippi Mashout Blog, that I placed first in the Oatmeal Stout category (Category 13). I had made an Oatmeal Stout back in 2008 and submitted to the competition then, it was awarded 2nd place. The judges gave me some good feedback, which helped me reformulate my recipe and make changes for this version. I switched out some heavily roasted grains for some debittered and also substituted in some Franco-Belges coffee malt. The handling of the oats made a big change as well. I toasted some oats in the oven before adding them to the mash, while also adding some oats that weren't toasted. I think this combination added some great oatmeal complexity.
The beer turned out really great. It was definitely my best beer yet. I plan on submitting the beer to the National Homebrew Competition and see how it turns out. I think my next homebrew is going to use this recipe, but make it into a version of Founders Breakfast Stout, while adding some Cacao nibs in the secondary fermenter.

Full 2011 Upper Mississippi Mashout Results by Category