Oatmeal
Oatmeal has early roots in brewing as well; oatmeal beers were brewed for a short time in the 1500s, but quickly died out due to the overpowering bitter taste of primarily using oatmeal in the grain bill. Oatmeal made a comeback when Scottish brewer James Maclay produced an “oatmalt” stout in 1895. In the early 1900s, oatmeal was used as an adjunct, but in very low quantities and sometimes less than 1 percent of the grain bill.
Today, this cereal grain is becoming almost paramount in English-style oatmeal stouts enjoyed by craft beer fans. Oats add smooth, rich, enjoyable textures to a stout. This is due to the starches, proteins and gums in the oats that have a tendency to thicken up the mouthfeel of the beer.