Can I save my stout before bottling?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Benny Blanco

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2007
Messages
327
Reaction score
1
Location
Rochester, NY
I'm a few days away from bottling my Oatmeal Chocolate Stout. I took a sample and though it does taste good it has that sharp/bitter aftertaste. This being my 2nd batch, I'm pretty sure i steeped in water that was too hot.

I would like this beer to have a subtle sweet side to it. Is there a way I can add a sugar in the secondary or before bottling that will sweeten it up without fermenting it further? Will this clean up some of the aftertaste?
 
You can add some lactose to sweeten it up, but I'll bet that the sharpness will mellow in time if you do nothing.
 
Edit: I should have refreshed before I typed...rdwj beat me to it.

More than likely it will mellow over time. I'm about to do my first stout so I don't have first hand knowledge but it appears that they almost always taste better with age.

You could add lactose (milk sugar) as it won't ferment but I think time is probably your best fix.
 
If you add Fermentable sugar, it will ferment into alcohol, and not add any sweetness. Lactose is an unfermtable, and as rdjw says, will add to the sweetness.
Also, if adding a fermentable, it can result in bottle bombs if bottled too soon.
You can post the recipe/techniques/temps, and we may be able to troubleshoot.

At this point, time will greatly improve your beer by melowing out any flavours.

Cheers.
 
Sounds great guys. I was hoping it was something that would mellow with age. Could it be the 10 oz of cocoa powder I added while boiling? I just put it in the secondary and wow...is a gallon of trub/sediment normal?

l_def41825916f2146503562dbf94add80.jpg


l_6eb78073bded674ce47fe36f122a790b.jpg




Anyway, I was kinda disappointed because I only pulled under 4 1/2 gallons from a 5 1/2 gallon batch.

I'm guessing I add the lactose to my bottling bucket? So, where does one go about buying lactose anyway? Can't say that it's ever been on my shopping list..
 
Ok, really..does anyone know where to get lactose locally and if I should add to bottling or secondary?


...anyone?
 
Benny Blanco said:
Sounds great guys. I was hoping it was something that would mellow with age. Could it be the 10 oz of cocoa powder I added while boiling? I just put it in the secondary and wow...is a gallon of trub/sediment normal?

Yes, it makes A LOT of trub when you use the whole can of cocoa.

One thing I've noticed with cocoa is that you have to add lactose to counter the harsh bitterness of the cocoa. I think I used 8 - 10 ounces of lactose with my Chocolate Vanilla Stout. I boiled it up with a couple cups of water, cooled it down, and added it to the bottling bucket.

I'm going to be doing a second tasting tonight and hopefully it will have mellowed a bit more than the first tasting a couple weeks ago.
 
Back
Top