Milk Stout/Lactose and lactose intolerance

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SpanishCastleAle

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Several questions.

Is Oatmeal Stout a milk stout? Or is that purely up to the brew master?
How much lactose in a typical 5 gal. batch of Milk Stout?
Is this an amount that makes lactose intolerance an issue? I'm not really lactose intolerant I don't think...but my stomach doesn't like too much milk either.
When measuring gravity...the lactose will show up throughout the whole process...even after fermentation. Is that correct? If so, then can I just subtract out the lactose-gravity-contribution from my readings and then treat the 'adjusted' gravity like a normal brew?

Any help appreciated.
 
Several questions.

Is Oatmeal Stout a milk stout? Or is that purely up to the brew master?
How much lactose in a typical 5 gal. batch of Milk Stout?
Is this an amount that makes lactose intolerance an issue? I'm not really lactose intolerant I don't think...but my stomach doesn't like too much milk either.
When measuring gravity...the lactose will show up throughout the whole process...even after fermentation. Is that correct? If so, then can I just subtract out the lactose-gravity-contribution from my readings and then treat the 'adjusted' gravity like a normal brew?

Any help appreciated.

1) It's up to the brewmaster. It's only a milk stout if you add lactose.

2) Most people will use 8 oz to 1 lb for 5 gallons

3) I would think that if you are severely allergic, it is best to not drink a milk stout.

4) An easy way around this is to add the lactose with your priming sugar at bottling, and take your grav reading before adding it in.
 
Thanks kev.

I'm still researching but I did find one source that said that regular milk has a lactose content of about 50g/qt.

EDIT: Oh yea, I keg but I suppose I could still add it as late as possible. As long as I get a good pre-boil gravity reading I think I'll be OK.
 
I would agree with kev on the abstaining from the Lactose. Although a rough calculation (for 8 oz in 5 gallons) yields around 2.8 grams of lactose per 8 fl oz of beer, which is roughly 1/4 the amount in an 8 oz cup of milk.
 
Thanks guys. I think I'm gonna try my first attempt without lactose and just see how it goes. Then I'll do another in the near future with lactose and compare.

Thanks for the amount of lactose info zoebisch. I can eat cheese and ice cream and stuff...it's just full glasses of milk PLUS all the cheese/ice cream/yogurt/etc. that upsets my stomach a little. It looks like 1/2# in 5 gal. wouldn't be too bad. Just maybe not with pizza.;)
 
Eat some yogurt first, if you have problems. It contains bacterial cultures that are able to digest the lactose for you, so no problems when you consume lactose. Can't remember how long the benefits last, but I think it's around 2 days.

Needs to be real yogurt with live/active cultures, though. Frozen yogurt won't work.

For more info, watch the Good Eats episode "Good Milk Gone Bad", season 6 episode 4. Or just search around, I guess...
 
I do try to eat a cup of yogurt once a week. I knew it was...good eats.:D

How did I miss that episode? It's the only cooking show I like...I like the etymology/history/science/trivia he gives about the subject food. It's a bit too 'Sesame Street' at times but hey...I grew up watching Sesame Street.:)
 
You could try replacing lactose with a combination of maltodextrin (or a more dextrinous mash) for body and splenda for not fermentable sweetness.

Sounds like you have a reasonable level of lactose tolerance though so might as well brew it with lactose and try one when you have time to sit on the toilet for a while if you need to. If it causes you problems, I'll drink it.
 
Good idea remilard. However, I make a concious effort to not eat any artificial sweeteners. I know...it's pretty much impossible to avoid artificial sweeteners and/or HFCS and/or margarine (or other 'fats' that are more closely related to plastic than food) but that's one reason I try to avoid them...so I can at least limit the intake a bit. But that's a damn good idea though.:)
 
You know... If you calculate the lactose content in a 12oz bottle, and have some lactose lying around, you could dissolve it into an equal volume of water/some other beer and see if it causes... problems... If not, you should be fine.
 
You know... If you calculate the lactose content in a 12oz bottle, and have some lactose lying around, you could dissolve it into an equal volume of water/some other beer and see if it causes... problems... If not, you should be fine.

It's a little over 3 grams. ^^
 
You can be lactose intolerance and eat a certain amount with no symptoms.

There are lactose free products like cow's milk, cheese, ice cream etc on the market.

So you could switch to those and use your daily lactose allowance drinking more important stuff like milk stout. :D

You can also buy lactase tablets which some people have reported eases the symptoms. I haven't tried them yet.
 
:off:

Hmm... that could be a bit difficult to measure...

I highly recommend homebrewers (and anyone interested in cooking) to pick up a kitchen scale capable of resolving in 0.1 gram. It is probably one of the most invaluable tools in my kitchen.
 
You can be lactose intolerance and eat a certain amount with no symptoms.
Yea...and I'm not totally lactose intolerant I don't think. I eat lots of cheese and put real cream in my coffee and eat ice cream and yogurt and never think about it.

When I started the thread I didn't know if a pint of Milk Stout had the equivalent lactose of:
A) 1/4 pint of milk
B) 1 pint of milk
C) 4 pints of milk

Since it appears to be most likely closer to 1/4 pint of milk I'm not gonna worry about it. And at those levels I'm not really gonna worry about what it does regarding hangovers?:drunk: So now I'm just left with: Do I think it makes it taste better? As it should be.:D
 
Here's the lactose trivia I can offer;

I'm not lactose intolerant, nor is my father. We thought we were for a few years though, because we're allergic to penicillin. Turns out dairy farmers were treating some cows with the antibiotic for a while, and it ended up in our milk.
 
I make a milk stout w/ 1/2 cup Lactose will be upping to 3/4 next time.

I have also made an oatmeal stout... Doesn't need any lactose. Body is thick enough. Had a nice grainy sweetness, adding lactose would have been too much body & sweetness.
 
I make a milk stout w/ 1/2 cup Lactose will be upping to 3/4 next time.

I have also made an oatmeal stout... Doesn't need any lactose. Body is thick enough. Had a nice grainy sweetness, adding lactose would have been too much body & sweetness.
I never did add any lactose to my Oatmeal Stout and I agree...it doesn't need any. I still haven't used that lactose I bought way back when I made this thread.
 
I'm in the same boat. I like milk stouts but they make me fart like a primary fermenter. The reason you can eat cheese and cream is that most of the lactose in milk is in the whey, which is separated from the fat which cream, butter, and cheeses are made from. I have been drinking lactaid milk and suffer no issues. Cheese is one of my favorite food groups right behind Beer. Skim milk is the worst.
 
Great thread here... got some friends and family who are lactose sensitive and am making an Imperial Chocolate Stout at ~8.00 ABV with 10 oz of cocoa powder that will likely need some balancing.

Figured on doing a tertiary after racking over some raspberries, and will probably add 4.0 oz of lactose and a vanilla bean in some rum then. I can check it at bottling time and add some more lactose if needed.

If anyone has any advice in this area, would be much appreciated!
 
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