Sweet Stout Left Hand Milk Stout Clone

Hernando said:

So I really would like to brew this for my next batch. As I only have 3 batches under my belt and have not gone AG yet or never done a BIAB, does the extract/steeping recipe on pg 5 look okay? What changes would be made to that recipe (if any)? Or does anyone have a good extract recipe for this beer?

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Here's what I did... as a partial mash (https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/easy-partial-mash-brewing-pics-75231/). It was really easy and didn't require any more equipment.

1 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US
3.6 lbs Light DME (3 lbs of it was late addition)
1 lbs Roasted Barley
12.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L
12.0 oz Chocolate Malt
12.0 oz Munich Malt
10.0 oz Barley, Flaked
8.0 oz Oats, Flaked
0.30 oz Magnum [14.10 %] (60 min) Hops
0.80 oz Goldings, East Kent [6.10 %] (10 min) Hops
1 lbs Milk Sugar (Lactose)
1 Pkgs SafAle S-04

I partial mashed the pale malt and all the other grains in ~2 gals of water (1.5 qt/lb of grain) at 152-154 degrees (used my oven at 175 with mash in the pot to keep the mash at that temp), "Teabag" sparged into another pot with ~1 gal of water. Added everything together in the brew kettle, boiled as above with the lactose at 10 mins. Ice bath cooled, topped off to 5 gals with an OG of 1.064 and its actively fermenting at 64 degrees. BrewR estimated my OG at 1.065, IBU 25 and 42 SRM. So I don't think I'm too far off from the original recipe.

Just follow the directions in the partial mash tutorial above. Not too much more difficult than just extract with steeping grains (this is only my 6th or 7th brew BTW).

I was wondering why you had the 1 lb of 2 row, but forgot that Munich needs to be mashed, so you need the enzymes from the 2 row to help it convert.
I didn't do that when I did my extract batch.

I'm using the method from the Jamil Show for brewing
7, 6, 5.5, 5
7+ish gallons post boil
Boil for an hour to leave 6 gallons. Check my OG using the refrac.
Transfer 5.5 to my fermentor leaving 1/2 gallon of break material behind.
End up with 5 going to the keg/bottles leaving 1/2 gallon of junk behind.

haygood said:

I was wondering why you had the 1 lb of 2 row, but forgot that Munich needs to be mashed, so you need the enzymes from the 2 row to help it convert.
I didn't do that when I did my extract batch.

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You're absolutely right. The diastatic potential of 12 oz of Munich was not enough to convert the rest of the grains. So I added the lb of 2 row. It got me to about 5 lbs+ of grain which is the limit of my pot.

Will let you know in a few weeks how it turned out.

haygood said:

What yeast are ya'll using?
I've use US05 and US04 with good results.
I just brewed a Lagunitas Censored Copper Ale clone using WLP002 and I'm considering using some of the cake for the Left Hand.
It had very little activity in my blow off bucket, but it's already down to the FG.

Here's my entries at Brewmasters, both All Grain and Extract. I've done them both and they are FINE. Looks like the same one above.

http://www.brewmasterswarehouse.com...outlaw-brewers-left-hand-milk-stout-all-grain

http://www.brewmasterswarehouse.com...s-outlaw-brewers-left-hand-milk-stout-extract

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I think 05 would be fine. I used Windsor yeast and the early results are fine, but a little sweet (1.027 AFTER a second packet of Windsor). Was aiming for the 1.022-024 range.

Brewing this one today!

just kegged hit 1.062 and ended 1.014

Too sweet! My version just could not get below 1.027. After three weeks it is well carbed with a fine head. But, it's just too damn sweet to drink on a volume scale. I guess it would be good with some dark chocolate for desert.

R2-D2 said:

Too sweet! My version just could not get below 1.027. After three weeks it is well carbed with a fine head. But, it's just too damn sweet to drink on a volume scale. I guess it would be good with some dark chocolate for desert.

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It's a milk stout. It's supposed to be sweet. It's not a session beer either.

Yes, I'm surprised at the 1.014 mentioned above. The point of using unfermentable sugars is to get a sweet beer. I found the sweetness to balance out the bitterness of the roasted barley. I personally prefer a dryer beer myself, so it may be a matter of taste.

sudsmcgee said:

It's a milk stout. It's supposed to be sweet. It's not a session beer either.

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I also hit 1.026 with my partial mash version above. Although I don't feel its too sweet. Granted I wouldn't want to drink more than one or two of them.

tmm0f5 said:

I also hit 1.026 with my partial mash version above. Although I don't feel its too sweet. Granted I wouldn't want to drink more than one or two of them.

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I will say other than the sweetness a side-by-side comparison with the Left Hand Milk Stout was nearly spot on. Will revisit the tasting in a month or so.

yeah I dunno if the original used a starter, but i had a very nice healthy yeast starter, and let it go for about 15 days to achieve the 1.014. also I used the wyeast american ale smack packs in my starter, not the safeales

I'm planning to let this one sit in the bottles for a couple months but decided to sneak a taste last night - it's only been in the bottle for five weeks, but WOW! It's amazing already.

This beer is out-freakin'-standing! A must brew for anyone loving LH Milk Stout. By the way, mine finished at 1.027 (24 days in primary) as I see some of the others also did. Body is just right I wouldn't want it any more dry.

Great beer!

Brewed this as my first AG batch and so far it tastes and smells amazing, after a week in the primary its at 1.017 i was a little low on the target OG i ended at 1.056. Not bad considering my mash temps werent quite hit.

if you had a total 5 gal batch, how much of the boil did you lose if you started with over 6 gal due to heat and absorption from the grains versus amount of sparge water used?

owentp said:

if you had a total 5 gal batch, how much of the boil did you lose if you started with over 6 gal due to heat and absorption from the grains versus amount of sparge water used?

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I probably start with over 8 gallons of dechlorinated water. Depending on the amount of grain, I probably lose a gallon+ to the grains. I sparge until I reach the 7 gallon mark in my kettle. On a 60 minute boil, I will generally boil off 1.5 gallons of water but you can only really tell once the wort cools because wort expands as the temp rises. I'll then siphon the wort from the kettle to my bucket fermenter leaving anywhere from 1/4 - 1/2 gallon of the sludge behind (hops, loose grains, etc.). So, I will end up with around 5.0 gallons in the bucket. Sometimes it's a bit more and sometimes a bit less. If you have a yeast starter, that adds a bit more to the volume as well.

R2-D2 said:

I will say other than the sweetness a side-by-side comparison with the Left Hand Milk Stout was nearly spot on. Will revisit the tasting in a month or so.

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I finally got around to bottling this... sat in Primary for about 5-6 weeks. This tastes fantastic, certainly not too sweet to my tastes. Of course its not going to be a stout that you down a ton of them.

Can't wait for it to carb up.

This is probably my all time favorite beer. I can't wait to give this recipe a try!

I brewed this about a month ago and haven't gotten around to kegging, but had a few of these at a bar on a business trip and compared to the samples it is pretty much spot on. Can't wait to hook this up to my new nitro set up. Great Recipe!

love lhms and love this recipe. I have batch #4 of this fermenting right now (and an imperial version on oak). i dropped the lactose down to .75# and i add some cold steeped coffee to it. been messing around a touch with some of the grains and temps to sweeten it more on its own. the coffee i use is boyer's (denver), their bolder boulder blend is a dark roast with some chocolate notes that blend quite well with this recipe. i get sad every time i float one of these kegs. love the caramel colored head on the pour.

b

going to be brewing this soon. i flipped through a few pages of this and noticed you suggested a couple changes along the way. is the recipe on the first page updated to your liking? thanks for the recipe

made this today. hit my SG exactly. i did lower the roasted barley to 10 ounces and also used wlp004. will post results in a few weeks!

Well I just placed my grain order for this. I will be BIAB and just realized that I might have combined the Lactose with the main ingredients

My question: Can I assume that this will burn off in the boil with no ill effects?

Looking for help here
Thanks
Archie

The lactose should be in it's own little bag. Add to the last 10 or 15 min of the boil.

I meant to post this awhile ago. Made this recipe in November using the brew in a bag method. Only differences were an extra 1/2 lb of 2-row, an extra 4 oz of chocolate, and mashed for 80 minutes. Ended up with 81% efficiency. It turned out great. Did a blind test with my dad and brother and we couldn't identify a difference between the clone and the real thing. Awesome recipe.

Its finally ready! Partial mash as listed above, 5 weeks in primary and 3 bottle conditioning.

It is only slightly toasty with a back end sweetness. Great head and dark as the night is black! Definitely would brew this again!

Just finished up this recipe and have a little concern. My post-chill sample had a strong 'green' taste amongst the soft dark malt and minute chocolate. I am hoping that settles out. I plan on tossing in some cocoa nibs towards the end of ferm.

OG - 1.0547

Could have done better on the mash, but hey thats my highest efficiency yet.

I brewed this yesterday. First AG BIAB. All went well. Very excited Hit the OG 1.060 target. Did a starter, went down this morning to visit her and she's bubbling away already. Now I wait

Anyone know if you can buy milk sugar at grocery stores?

Lactose milk sugar is in a powder form. With that said I think you can only get that from your lbs or online.

Checked Fred Meyer, they didn't have it, so had to get it at LHBS. Draining first runnings right now!

I brewed this a few weeks ago. Cracked my first bottle open tonight...

Absolutely phenomenal

Brewed last night... Can't wait for the first bottles

Love the lhms, going to be doing this next. Thanks for the recipe.

I took 1st place in the session stout category with this recipe in the Great Northern BrewHaHa. Great recipe and lots of compliments.

I tapped this over the weekend on my new nitro tap. This beer is fantastic. It has nice hints of coffee and chocolate flavors. I highly recommend this beer!

Whats everyones final gravity? My OG was 1.055. It has been in ferm for 10 days with moderate activity for the first 48 hours. Since then, my gravity readings have consistently read in at 1.030.

Looks like the last time I did it, I got a 1.015 SG.

http://www.haygoods.net/brewing/sessions/08-28-2011_Milk_Stout_AG.htm

Started 1.064 and finished at 1.027. Good beer. If you mashed on the higher end of the temperature, it may not dry out as much.