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Is my batch ruined?

kw642

Master Brewer
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I was brewing 5 gallons of oatmeal stout (extract kit) last weekend when a neighbour decided he wanted to ?help?.  The recipe calls for 3lbs of dark dry DME, but my helper dumped in a pound of amber from a brown ale kit.  I measured out 2 lbs of the dark dry and added it, unsure if it could be salvaged at that point.  Everything else went according to plan.  Does this batch have a chance?
 
It will be different than intended but fine. Once primary fermentation subsides, taste a small sample.

Mark
 
Thanks Mark!  I really did not want to abandon it, but I needed to hear from someone else that the sky is actually not falling.
 
Yeah, I get that. Many of my best beers had a less than perfect brewday. Just take notes for next time so that error doesn't occur again. For example, pre-measure your fermentables prior to brewing. Especially if you have help.  :)

The biggest difference in the beer will be color. Amber malt is usually a mix of base, caramel and munich malts so expect more caramel and more maillard driven maltiness.

Dark DME is a mixture of base, a bit darker caramel malt and black malt. You'll get a bit more darkened caramel (less sweet) and some roasty notes from using this.

You can expect to get more of an amber style than a brown or porter. Don't be afraid to re-categorize your beer. If it tastes good, take notes for next time....RDWAHAH (relax...don't worry...and have a homebrew).

Cheers,

Mark
 
Some of my favorite beers have been "kitchen sink" beers. Ones that i've brewed with whatever was leftover from the previous few brew-days.

I started taking notes on these beers several years ago when i made one after a long brew day (started at noon, finished brewing at 4am) It was just some leftovers from the first 3 batches we brewed that day, and some other miscellaneous things, and I had no idea what was in it as we were pretty well inebriated and exhausted. Turned out to be one of my favorite beers of all time.
 
There is a small craft brewery near me that was trying to make a certain style on their pilot system. It didn't turn out how they intended at all. But instead of abandoning it they let people try it. Lo and behold it was a hit so they gave it a new name and it became their flagship beer.

Adding a pound of amber DME instead of the dark will only affect the color a bit. Don't even think of abandoning a beer over such a small miss step.
 
I appreciate the feedback.  I sampled it after fermentation and I can't say I loved it, but I bottled it anyway and will give it another go in 2 weeks.  At the very least, I learned a lot!
 
Well, the oatmeal stout is now ready to drink and although it's nothing like oatmeal stout, it's surprisingly palatable.  In fact, it's really growing on me - kind of a brown ale character but hard to categorize.  Glad you guys convinced me to stick with it. 
 
give it a few more weeks, I don't often bottle carb any more, but if i recall, beers really don't mature for 4 weeks.

I do remember always wanting to drink it after a week, and then 9 days, and then another tomorrow, just so i could see how it was doing ;)

before i knew it, i was on the last 6 pack of a beer that finally matured to a great beer after drinking two cases of mediocre beer.
 
Yep, it's totally FUBAR. Once you have it bottled and conditioned send it to me and I'll dispose of it in an eco friendly manner.
 
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