milk stout fg high

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sharkuttack

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hi guys,
recently brewed Jim baumanns milk stout. an all grain morebeer kit. heres the recipe:5.5 gal batch


9.5 lbs 2-row
8 oz caramunich
8 oz special B
8 oz black roasted barley
8 oz black patent

2 oz williamette bittering 60 min
1 oz kent goldings flavor last 15 min

8 oz lactose added last 10 min of boil.
white labs irish ale yeast
1 liter starter 2 days ahead of brew day

i mashed at about 156-157 for 1 hour

estimated og is 1.052-56
estimated ABV% 5.6
my og was 1.057
fermented 10 days at 65-68F which is white labs ideal Irish ale temp
fg came in at 1.024

i have never made a milk stout before. my question is whats up with the high fg? the sample was pretty good. definitely a session-able stout. but that puts me at only 4.3%
do you guys think my mash temp and the lactose could have affected the fg that much? i hope i dont have a stuck fermentation cause i wanna get this sucker bottled.
 
I just finished a milk stout that started at 1.060 og and finished at 1.022 fg. That is exactly what I was shooting for, the lactose is not fermentable so it raises the fg quite a bit.
 
I brew a chocolate mint milk stout, it has an OG of 1.062, it finishes out at 1.020 to 1.022, as the above posts have stated, lactose isnt fermentable so the FG will always be higher.
 
thanks for the response guys, i was just expecting a bit lower fg maybe 1.018 because i had good clean yeast and a liter starter. but hey , it is what it is i guess. 4.3% good session i guess. ill go ahead and bottle it up. by the way if any of you guys havent tried ed worts bavarian hefeweizen recipe i suggest you do, damn its good with my smoked paprika bbq corn ;)
 
Of course the FG is going to be high, you mashed at 156-157F... That's in the 'full bodied' range. The higher the mash temp, the higher the FG. Plus, using lactose didn't help you get a lower FG. If you wanted a lower FG, you could have either mashed lower (154F) or not used the lactose, or both...

Personally, I would have also let it sit on the yeast for at least 2-3 weeks, not just 10 days. I also would not have included the lactose with a mash temp of over 154F.
 
alright its a pretty loose recipe i made but here it goes:

SMOKED BBQ PAPRIKA CORN

based on about 5 pieces of corn, husk and stringy stuff removed

3 big spoonfuls of butter (just your average kitchen spoon)
about 3 spoonfuls of sugar
spoonful of black pepper
spoonful of salt
2 spoonful garlic powder
3 fresh garlic cloves chopped fine by hand
6 spoonful smoked paprika

mix well, rub it on, and grill, be sure to brush more on and turn frequently on the grill. medium-low heat

if you cant find smoked paprika, just paprika will do fine, your gonna grill it anyway
i bet some wood chips on the grill would be even better :)
note: whenever i say spoonful, i really do mean your average kitchen spoonful you eat your cereal with. hell, thats the way it should be right? so crack a homebrew and enjoy
 
Of course the FG is going to be high, you mashed at 156-157F... That's in the 'full bodied' range. The higher the mash temp, the higher the FG. Plus, using lactose didn't help you get a lower FG. If you wanted a lower FG, you could have either mashed lower (154F) or not used the lactose, or both...

Personally, I would have also let it sit on the yeast for at least 2-3 weeks, not just 10 days. I also would not have included the lactose with a mash temp of over 154F.

i hear you man, i haven't bottled yet, i swirled it gently, and im gonna let it sit for a few more days, i realize i over shot my mash temp, so it makes sense that i ended up at 4.3% abv instead of my target 5.5% with the lactose. the sample was pretty damn good ill let you guys know how it turns out in a couple weeks bottled.:mug:
 
yeah i wasn't sure if a few degrees mash temp would make such a change in gravity. i wanna brew this again but hit my target 152 temp and see what the results are. im going through alot of trial and error right now as im new to brewing (3months) but i love it man, and i brew 5 gallons a week consistently and dont plan on stopping. brew on brothers !!
 
I just started brewing in mid November 2010, so not much longer than you... I've made a few batches that I mashed too high, realizing it once the brew hit FG... I'm liking the end results from mashing at, or below 154F... More often, I'm targeting the 150-152F range now.
 
cool, thanks for the knowledge, the couple beers that i have been really satisfied with i kept around 153F with a consistent 68F fermentation or below. ed worts bavarian hefeweizen is fantastic, i cant get enough, ive been drinking it all night. lol i better get to bed i gotta wake up at 4:00AM lol see you later...
 
I will be trying your corn recipe, grilling it over white oak hardwood.

I mash my stout at 150°, relying on the lactose to build the body of the beer, I also like to ferment my stout (and a few of my other beers) at 60° to keep the flavors more malt driven, as opposed to yeast driven.
 
so i talk to the man himself at morebeer (jim baumman)
he told me the lactose messes with the fg and that my ABV% is actually higher than my reading. good to know so im gonna go ahead and bottle it up. cant wait.he also says its a good beer while its young. i believe him cause the sample was excellent.

AZSCOOB you gotta let me know how the corn comes out man that sounds AWESOME and thanks for the fermentation tip thats interesting. this weekend ill be doing a dunkelweizen recipe that deathbrewer hooked me up with. cheers guys
 
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