Lactose in my IPA

I have searched the forums and lactose brings up many results. I could not read them all and many pertained to additions in stouts. I am brewing outside the box today and my question is, "how much is too much" since I have never used lactose sugar before. Going to brew up a 5 gal batch of a Milk IPA along the same profile as FFF Apocalypse Cow, which I have yet to taste. Judging from the reviews on BA and the opinion of a friend, I am flying blind but am confident. Not looking to replicate their beer, just experimenting. I included the recipe if curious. If anyone has experience with lactose, please advise on recommended amount.


#9 MO
#1 Crystal 60
#.5 Honey Malt
1oz magnum 60m
1oz amarill0 20m
1oz amarillo 15m
1oz amarillo 10m
1oz centennial 10m
1oz amarillo 5m
1oz centennial 5m
lactose 4oz-8oz TBD??? 5m
single infusion 156deg
fly sparge to 6.5 gal
WYEAST 1272
target OG 1.058-1.060
target FG 1.014-1.016
2oz amarillo dry hop

Never had the beer you mentioned, but i've used lactose in a number of beers. I'd say go for 4oz, and adjust from there if you like it. With the honey, Caramel, and MO, it'll be a sweet beer, similar enough to the Vanilla Caramel Cream Ale recipe thats on here from Cheesefood.

I haven't tried using lactose in an IPA but I have used it in some very hoppy dark beers and I have found that I need around a pound it to be prominent. Personally, I'd start with 8 oz and adjust from there.

TarheelBrew13 said:

I haven't tried using lactose in an IPA but I have used it in some very hoppy dark beers and I have found that I need around a pound it to be prominent. Personally, I'd start with 8 oz and adjust from there.

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Apocalypse Cow is great, and smooth for 9-10%. If it was my ipa, I would drop the honey malt, if you havent used it before it is pretty sweet even in small doses. I would also reduce the mash temp to around 152. Lactose is non fermentable, so with it and the crystal you will end up with a pretty high FG mashing at 156. Hard to go wrong with those Amarillo additions if you have it.

skeezerpleezer said:

Apocalypse Cow is great, and smooth for 9-10%. If it was my ipa, I would drop the honey malt, if you havent used it before it is pretty sweet even in small doses. I would also reduce the mash temp to around 152. Lactose is non fermentable, so with it and the crystal you will end up with a pretty high FG mashing at 156. Hard to go wrong with those Amarillo additions if you have it.

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Thanks Skeezer, I had to keep the honey malt since it was already crushed and I had asked my LHBS to mill it twice. I had to stir the hell out of it! I did mash in at lower temp per the advice of my LHBS. It was the only advice he could give me regarding using lactose sugar with an IPA. Mash is currently resting for a few more minutes. I deviated some from the recipe since I was going to use Magnum but subbed Sorachi at the last minute. Most everybody here in SoCal is about the hops. I have been considering the idea of a hop heavy IPA with more malt backbone and a sweet but creamy initial taste. Hoping I can turn the SWMBO onto something other than hefeweizen. Yes, been holding onto my stash of amarillo just for a special brew.

SouthBay said:

Never had the beer you mentioned, but i've used lactose in a number of beers. I'd say go for 4oz, and adjust from there if you like it. With the honey, Caramel, and MO, it'll be a sweet beer, similar enough to the Vanilla Caramel Cream Ale recipe thats on here from Cheesefood.

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My thoughts exactly. Can always add more if needed. I'll have to check that recipe. I think wifey would like a dessert beer.

I actually would'nt drop the honey malt from the recipe. I use it often, its more agressive when the beer is young but rounds out after the second "aging week" nicely. I use lactose occasionaly and found I got better results with more than 4oz per 5 gallons, 6 would be safe. One thing with lactose it doesnt age well in the keg after a few months you can notice a distinctive off note.

TarheelBrew13 said:

I haven't tried using lactose in an IPA but I have used it in some very hoppy dark beers and I have found that I need around a pound it to be prominent. Personally, I'd start with 8 oz and adjust from there.

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I am trying to get the SWMBO involved with brewing. With that said, I am anticipating using lactose in a near future brew of a raspberry cream porter since she has a sweet tooth. I think that I may use your advice and go heavy on that one. I will most definately bottle this future batch and condition for several months. May make a good Thanksgiving Day beverage.

HollywoodMX said:

I actually would'nt drop the honey malt from the recipe. I use it often, its more agressive when the beer is young but rounds out after the second "aging week" nicely. I use lactose occasionaly and found I got better results with more than 4oz per 5 gallons, 6 would be safe. One thing with lactose it doesnt age well in the keg after a few months you can notice a distinctive off note.

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If it taste as good as I intend, it may not last a month! So I am torn between 4oz-6oz. I do not want to lose the hop flavor or aroma so I am overloading on the late additions. I have about two hours to make a decision since I want to incorporate the sugar into the boil and avoid adding to secondary or when transferring to keg. I agree, I like honey malt also. Been using it more frequently.

I too really like the honey malt sweetness. I use 0.5 to 1 pound per five gallon batch. With IBUs around 80-100 it's balanced. I haven't had a too sweet beer yet (I get good attenuation).

HollywoodMX said:

I actually would'nt drop the honey malt from the recipe. I use it often, its more agressive when the beer is young but rounds out after the second "aging week" nicely. I use lactose occasionaly and found I got better results with more than 4oz per 5 gallons, 6 would be safe. One thing with lactose it doesnt age well in the keg after a few months you can notice a distinctive off note.

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Just curious, but have you used honey malt with that much crystal in an IPA, and mashed that high? I used 12-14oz in an 10.2% IIPA with no caramel, 149-150 degree mash, and 14oz of hops (5g) and it was still too sweet. It was more like a barley wine--which has aged very well, but wasn't what I was really wanting.

JimTheHick said:

I too really like the honey malt sweetness. I use 0.5 to 1 pound per five gallon batch. With IBUs around 80-100 it's balanced. I haven't had a too sweet beer yet (I get good attenuation).

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EDIT. the most crystal I've ever used with honey malt is 0.5 pounds. This is a good point!

I think the thing to keep in mind is that this isnt a big stout or porter, so there wont be as much competing flavors. Sure, the hops will be there, but they won't drown out the creamy sweetness that lactose gives in the way that roasted malts can.

I still say go with 4 oz. It'll give it some creaminess and body, backed up by the mouthfeel from mashing at that temp. The honey and crystal malts will provide a lot of sweetness. Any more lactose, and you'd be doubling up on sweetness (something similar to a milky honey tea flavor?).

You can always add more, too. But, you'll have a hell of a time getting it back out if you mix in too much and dont like it.

SouthBay said:

You can always add more, too. But, you'll have a hell of a time getting it back out if you mix in too much and dont like it.

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+1 on this. Probably start with 4oz in the boil and after fermentation, taste test it. If it isn't sweet enough for you, you can always add additional lactose by boiling it in a cup or so of H2O and adding it to the fermenter. Taste test again and continue until you have the right balance. It's very much the same procedure you use to prep the corn sugar for priming before bottling. Just don't stir too vigorously when you incorporate the lactose solution, as you don't want to introduce oxygen and cause oxidation of the beer. Good luck!

That recipe looks really sweet to me. With a pound of crystal, the addition of honey malt and a mash temp of 156, it should be pretty cloyingly sweet. I don't know what the target IBU/SG ratio is, but even with enough bittering to balance the SG, it looks very sweet. The lactose will make it more so.

I wouldn't add lactose until getting ready for packaging, as I think the beer will be too sweet as is and the lactose might push it way over the edge. Lactose can be added at any time, but once it's in there you can't take it out!

Yooper said:

That recipe looks really sweet to me. With a pound of crystal, the addition of honey malt and a mash temp of 156, it should be pretty cloyingly sweet. I don't know what the target IBU/SG ratio is, but even with enough bittering to balance the SG, it looks very sweet. The lactose will make it more so.

I wouldn't add lactose until getting ready for packaging, as I think the beer will be too sweet as is and the lactose might push it way over the edge. Lactose can be added at any time, but once it's in there you can't take it out!

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I was looking for a sweeter beer with a distinctive hop presence. I have never used lactose sugar before so I do not know what to expect. Keep in mind that my main reason for this recipe is trying to find something my wife will enjoy. It makes brewing much more fun when I get her involved from start to finish. I do agree that the initial mash temp may have been too high but I was looking to bring out a maltier IPA and not have it finish too dry. The crystal 60 was intended more for color and the honey malt for sweetness. I don't know if I am dancing on the line of style guidelines, but what the hell...RDWHAHB. I did mash in at lower temp near 152. I only used 4oz lactose sugar at 5min before flameout. I wanted to incorporate it into the wort. I don't think I will need anymore of it seeing as I was a bit over my target SG/OG. I pitched last night around 9pm PST and my hydro reading was at 1.068. I am looking to finish at around 1.014-1.016. The wort was very sweet but the amount of hops I used will hopefully balance it all out after fermentation. I will keep this post updated through the end when I finally pour a pint of, "Blasphemooos IPA". Thank you everyone for the advice/opinions.

OK, so it's been in primary for three weeks and I just moved it over to secondary and added two ounces of Amarillo. I took a hydro reading last week and it was about 1.020. Took another today and still standing at 1.020. I guess that means that there is plenty of sugar to go around. Sampled what I had drawn off and it was suhweeet. My wife liked the flavor and that's what matters this time around. We will be bottling it for a close friends wedding and putting some special labels on it commemerating their special day. I hope that it will mellow it a little as the wedding is in late June. Hopefully a fully carbed sample will be just what I was expecting. I would not say that the sample was cloyingly sweet but hope that the amarillo will be evident after dry hopping. I guess I will know more in a couple weeks.

OK, here's a pic. I really wish you could all taste it. It smells and tastes great. I would not call it my best result but still very drinkable. Finish is sweet with an initial citrus hop punch. It is bitter and their is a very slight burn at the end. I don't know if the result of ferm temp or unfermented sugar. I let the beer air out and enjoyed a glass for near 20 minutes. It got better as it warmed and aired out. Finished at 1.018, so not as dry as I like them but near what I expected for flavor. I gave out a bomber for tasting at a home brew meetup and another bomber to some brew friends to sample. Everyone enjoyed it and I got some compliments. Don't know if they were obligatory. The 48 remaining bottles get labeled and given to the bride and groom in two weeks. I will be brewing this again with some minor changes. I will most likely half the sweeter malts and sub in more base malt. Oh, yeah...still too bitter for the SO.