Sweet Stout Left Hand Milk Stout Clone
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Another update, just pulled the first pint. It’s sweet but very good. I’m thinking of maybe adding some bourbon to this in the keg. How does 8oz sound to start off with?
Not sure on the amount but I'd be interested in doing that as well. I recently finished my last bottle of this, brewed back in the fall. It was good right out of the shoot, but tasted even better as it aged. The last bottle, 8 months old, was the best.
LoneTreeFarms
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I used about 8 oz in a coconut stout that I made a while back. Couldn’t taste it but knew it was there.
christophereatworld
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Had a couple of issues with the original recipe. All probably my own fault.
First off, my BIAB efficiency was terrible, which I attribute to poorly milled 2-row, which led to me having to top up with DME.
Secondly, it's only fermented down to about 1.030. First time using lactose, but it's still a solid 8 points above what I'd hoped to achieve.
It tastes pretty good still, but it's the first all-grain recipe I feel I failed with.
First off, my BIAB efficiency was terrible, which I attribute to poorly milled 2-row, which led to me having to top up with DME.
Secondly, it's only fermented down to about 1.030. First time using lactose, but it's still a solid 8 points above what I'd hoped to achieve.
It tastes pretty good still, but it's the first all-grain recipe I feel I failed with.
Lactose being unfermentable will lead to a higher then expected FG
I just brewed 5 gallons of this this on Sunday, second time brewing it. First time was a 1.25 gallon test batch. This time I actually overshot my estimated OG a bit - est: 1.061, mine came in at 1.066. It's bubbling away in the fermenter right now. I'll be kegging this batch but the first time I bottled it. I will say it tasted quite good at first but only improved as it aged. The last bottle I opened tasted the best, it was in the bottle around 5 months by that time. Hopefully yours will taste even better as it ages as well.
christophereatworld
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Yeah, I figured that might be the case. Still hoped to get a little closer to the 1.022 the OP achieved. I've given the carboy a jostle and given the yeast a good talking to, so I'll see where we end up.
What temp did you mash at?
Is your thermometer accurate at those temps?
Did you heat the kettle during the mash?
Used a hydrometer for your gravity reading?
What yeast did you use? Made a starter?
christophereatworld
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Mashed at 152
Thermometer hasn't let us down before
No kettle heating during the mash
Used a hydrometer for all gravity readings
Used rehydrated S-05
Lack of aeration/oxygenation perhaps?
Fermentis now claims (their) dry yeasts don't need rehydration or aeration/oxygenation.
Maybe your poor mash efficiency has something to do with it. Such as beta amylase not getting a good grip on it.
Even if the crush is fairly coarse, given enough time with good periodic stirring should yield decent efficiency.
It may just be a fluke, only looking for a possible cause.
crusader1612
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I Hit 1.024 with this recipe generally, However I do drop the amount of Lactose down slight (Metric 400g instead of 450g).
also try using something better than US-05. Sadly while this yeast has been a good pioneers of neutral strains, there are now better options available in both dry and liquid forms.
also try using something better than US-05. Sadly while this yeast has been a good pioneers of neutral strains, there are now better options available in both dry and liquid forms.
christophereatworld
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Lack of aeration/oxygenation perhaps?
Fermentis now claims (their) dry yeasts don't need rehydration or aeration/oxygenation.
Maybe your poor mash efficiency has something to do with it. Such as beta amylase not getting a good grip on it.
Even if the crush is fairly coarse, given enough time with good periodic stirring should yield decent efficiency.
It may just be a fluke, only looking for a possible cause.
Really appreciate your insight. Thanks!
LoneTreeFarms
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You could always try to roust the yeast by setting the bucket/carbon in the sink with some warm/hotter water. I’ve done that before after lagering in the garage.
When brewing this last weekend I used distilled water and the Beersmith 3 "Black Full" profile. Not sure how it'll turn out since it's my first time modifying water. The previous time I brewed this recipe I just used spring water.
Thanks, keep us updated!When brewing this last weekend I used distilled water and the Beersmith 3 "Black Full" profile. Not sure how it'll turn out since it's my first time modifying water. The previous time I brewed this recipe I just used spring water.
This may be a silly question, but the recipe says the batch size is 5gal and the preboil size is 6.13gal. Is the 5gal the amount after boil, after fermentation, or after packaging? I’m guessing it’s after boil and the 1.13 gallons lost are due to boiling?
Good guess, you are correct. 5 gallons into the fermenter.
Thanks! So the packaged amount would be like ~4.75 gallons assuming ~0.25 gallons trub loss?
Soulshine2
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so
Sounds about right. I tend to make my batches a little larger on the malts and preboil end to compensate for the boil off and trub losses along the way. So far so good. I end up with 51-53 12 oz bottles fairly consistently on an otherwise 5 gallon batch.
Correct again.
I've actually got 6.25 gallons of this in my fermenter right now that I'll be racking to a keg, on top of some Apex toasted coconut flavoring.
Second time making it. Last year I brewed a scaled down 1.25 gallon batch, (no coconut, yielding 12 bottles), and tried a bottle every few weeks. I found the longer it was bottled the better it tasted. My last bottle, at ~ 5 or 6 months tasted the best. It's a really good recipe.
I've actually got 6.25 gallons of this in my fermenter right now that I'll be racking to a keg, on top of some Apex toasted coconut flavoring.
Second time making it. Last year I brewed a scaled down 1.25 gallon batch, (no coconut, yielding 12 bottles), and tried a bottle every few weeks. I found the longer it was bottled the better it tasted. My last bottle, at ~ 5 or 6 months tasted the best. It's a really good recipe.
Soulshine2
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Im waiting for my Lactose to be delivered ,thursday i think the tracking said .Wife ordered it the other day for me. I picked up a 1 lb bag of Breiss 2 row chocolate dark malts yesterday to toss in the mash too. Im hoping by maybe Friday I'll be brewing .
I'm getting ready to brew this and I added the recipe into Brewers Friend and made a few small tweaks and also worked on a water profile. How does this look? Any major issues? I used pricelessbrew's BIAB calculator to figure out my volumes. I don't know what my efficiency will be but I want to use this batch to figure some stuff out with my setup. Thanks!
EDIT: Also, when I plugged the exact same parameters into Bru'n Water, I got a higher expected pH. I believe that's typical from what I've read.
EDIT: Also, when I plugged the exact same parameters into Bru'n Water, I got a higher expected pH. I believe that's typical from what I've read.
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Kegged this yesterday. Racked on top of 2 1/2 TBS of Apex Toasted Coconut flavoring and I hope that wasn't too much. The entire kitchen smelled of coconut.
The pre-coconut sample tasted very good, though a bit sweeter than I'd hoped. My FG, 1.030, was higher than predicted, and quite a bit higher than the last time I made this (1.018). My efficiencies were quite good so I'm thinking the higher FG came from a combination of the lactose and mash temperature. I did begin the mash at 152° and didn't check it again until the hour was up. Thinking maybe the Blichmann burner retained enough heat to raise the mash temperature too far past 152° Something for me to look closer at on my next brew day.
I chilled it for 48 hrs and did a quick carb last night and poured a sample glass. Carbonation still needs to round out a bit but damn, it tasted good. Like a Mounds bar only better. Really nice chocolate flavor and the coconut takes it to the next level.
Not sure I can answer your question yet since it's only been in the keg for three days. But the early returns look (taste) very promising though. I do remember being more and more impressed with the bottled batch the longer it aged. This one tastes pretty damn good right out of the shoot. Maybe the coconut is influencing my impression, who knows. Good luck tomorrow.
Here's my first full pour.
Just finished brewing, and came in way under gravity(1.053) . It was the first time brewing on a new system(Anvil foundry) , and I think a combination of things went wrong. Crush was too fine and I was having trouble keeping the recirculation pump going, and I think I started with a little too much water . We'll see how it turns out
Clarke Nicholson
Happy Brewer
I’ve brewed this 3 times and it’s still one of my favorites.
Brewed this exactly as original yesterday. Got an OG of 1.064. My conversion efficiency calculated about 93%. Tested a full time re-circulation pump on my M&B for first time. Happy about it. Wort tasted very good. I'm sure it will be great. Thanks to OP for sharing ;-)
Kegged it today. OMG!! This is definitely the best stout I have made and it is still uncarbed!. I agree better than LHMS. Not only that. I have visited over 80 breweries during last two years and I think this is at the top of many stouts I have tried. Thank you thank you OP for sharing this recipe! I think I'm brewing it again this weekend to fill up that fermenter. Maybe I'll add coffee to it. If you are on the fence on this brew just do it!
If you are on the fence on this brew just do it!
Kegged it today. OMG!! This is definitely the best stout I have made and it is still uncarbed!. I agree better than LHMS. Not only that. I have visited over 80 breweries during last two years and I think this is at the top of many stouts I have tried. Thank you thank you OP for sharing this recipe! I think I'm brewing it again this weekend to fill up that fermenter. Maybe I'll add coffee to it.
It is good, isn't it?
Just had a glass of my coconut version earlier.
Shenanigans
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Wow wow wow! Having my first glass now. This stout is amazing. Haven’t even started and I think I’ll buy the ingredients for my second batch.
You have convinced me guys
I'm going to give this a shot sometime soon.
Just need to decide on the right water profile.
Sippingainteasy
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I’m not quite sure how it happened but instead of making 10 gallons I doubled everything on the 5 gallon recipe and made a really big 5 gallon batch. Will this basically be a imperial stout? OG is 1.092 the sample tasted good. Also any suggestions on how long to leave in fermenter I’ve never made anything this big?
I've never made this beer, but I've got a different RIS in primary right now (OG 1.087). I'd say your definitely in Imperial territory, but that OG is a bit deceiving because of the Lactose. If I had to guess, I'd say you'll end up around 8%.
A few suggestions based on my experience...
Pitch the right amount of yeast.
Make sure you give it plenty of O2. I always give mine a healthy dose of oxygen when I pitch the yeast (by shaking the bucket) and then again about 12 hours later. The second one is probably optional (unless you skipped the first).
I always use yeast nutrient for big beers. Not sure it's necessary but I've never had any fermentations quit early so I continue to do it.
Control fermentation temps to the best of your ability, especially during the first week. Slowly raise temps during the second week. I use a homemade swamp cooler that works. decently well. This will prevent hot alcohols and other unwanted problems that arise from fermenting without making any effort to control temps.
Use a blow off tube just in case.
Leave it in primary for two to three weeks, until it finishes. Then bottle/keg and leave it alone for as long as you can because it will most likely continue to improve with age. I'd say three months minimum and probably more like four. Of course "check it" to see how it's going but if you doubled all of the hops and all of the dark grains, it's probably going to need time for the bitterness to mellow.
Report back on how it all goes, I'm curious.
A few suggestions based on my experience...
Pitch the right amount of yeast.
Make sure you give it plenty of O2. I always give mine a healthy dose of oxygen when I pitch the yeast (by shaking the bucket) and then again about 12 hours later. The second one is probably optional (unless you skipped the first).
I always use yeast nutrient for big beers. Not sure it's necessary but I've never had any fermentations quit early so I continue to do it.
Control fermentation temps to the best of your ability, especially during the first week. Slowly raise temps during the second week. I use a homemade swamp cooler that works. decently well. This will prevent hot alcohols and other unwanted problems that arise from fermenting without making any effort to control temps.
Use a blow off tube just in case.
Leave it in primary for two to three weeks, until it finishes. Then bottle/keg and leave it alone for as long as you can because it will most likely continue to improve with age. I'd say three months minimum and probably more like four. Of course "check it" to see how it's going but if you doubled all of the hops and all of the dark grains, it's probably going to need time for the bitterness to mellow.
Report back on how it all goes, I'm curious.
I hope to brew this one soon. Also interested in making a sort of "Double LHMS".
Anyone have any success scaling this up to something a bit bigger? I'm thinking 7-8%ABV would be nice. I've seen a few people mention it.
In terms of recipe development, is it generally better to increase only base grains and leave the dark/caramel grains alone, scale everything proportionally, or something in between?
I'd love to hear your thoughts and experience!
Anyone have any success scaling this up to something a bit bigger? I'm thinking 7-8%ABV would be nice. I've seen a few people mention it.
In terms of recipe development, is it generally better to increase only base grains and leave the dark/caramel grains alone, scale everything proportionally, or something in between?
I'd love to hear your thoughts and experience!
