BrewDey
Well-Known Member
I've got a sweet stout on deck and have a lb. of lactose for it. Is there any particular time in the boil that it should be added?
lactose
- Thread starter BrewDey
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
Most of the time I think lactose is added at bottling/kegging. It's not going to help the fermentation process, so there's no need for it in the boil.
I add my lactose with just 10 minutes in the boil. But when I'm racking to a bottling bucket or keg, I taste and add more if I think it needs it. I boil and cool it first though.BrewDey said:
I'm going to be doing a Young's Double Chocolate Stout AG clone this weekend. The BYO recipe calls for adding all sugars, including lactose, at 15 min before the end of the boil.
If you add it during the boil, don't forget a pound of unfermentables boosts the FG 9 points. When you add doesn't matter, it's just easier to dissolve it during the boil.
[I also think that's a lot of lactose, but I find it sweeter than most people.]
[I also think that's a lot of lactose, but I find it sweeter than most people.]
BrewDey
Well-Known Member
david_42 said:
This one is going to be a precursor to a chocolate-banana experiment...I wanted to do a regular sweet stout before I get too crazy (never one one before). I'm thinking I'll ultimately want it to be pretty sweet if the chocolate flavors are going to be pronounced...we'll see how it goes!
If you add it in the boil and it finishes sweeter than you'd like, you have little control at that point. Let it ferment out and age completely and then taste it. Does it need to be sweeter? Add dissolved lactose (boiled for a couple minutes) to taste.
Ridge Runner
Well-Known Member
I brewed a sweet stout about two mos ago. I added 1lb lactose when I added my extract at the beginning of the boil. A bit sweet, but still a great brew. Might try
.75lb next time. Best of luck on your brew !
.75lb next time. Best of luck on your brew !
Ok, so ridge runner just confirmed my point. There's no benefit to adding it to the boil but there is a benefit to waiting just to make sure you don't end up too sweet. Even if you bottle, you can taste the beer after it ferments out and decide if you want it sweeter and by how much.
I have 4 oz. of lactose that came with an Oatmeal Cream Stout that is fermenting now. I think the package says '4 oz lactose - unfermentable - add to priming sugar before bottling'. However, I'm going to keg and force carbonate the stout. Has anyone added lactose when kegging? if so, how/when did you do it?
