chapusin
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Another question, is it normal for all that white stuff to settle in the bottom of the bottles? (I'm assuming it's lactose)
Sweet Stout Left Hand Milk Stout Clone
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brewski09
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Mine had a yeast sediment layer but I don't think it was white like lactose sugar. Healthy yeast can look rather white though. When did you add the lactose? If it was at bottling it could settle if it wasn't fully mixed or something.
chapusin
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16 gallon batch, I added 3 lbs of lactose at the 15 minute mark in the boil.
chapusin
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By the way I added bourbon and vanilla to mine, I don't think I'll do it again, maybe I'm just not a fan of bourbon.
teebob2000
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I'm doing this one as my first AG this weekend. Switched around the amounts on the roasted and the chocolate. Plus I'm adding graham crackers to the mash based on some other interesting recipes I found here and on brewtoad.
altimate_one
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Please let us know what the graham crackers do for this recipe.
This beer goes through some interesting phases. In the first few weeks after bottling it tastes great but has zero head. Then after a while it develops a nice head but also a hard to describe aftertaste which makes it not really enjoyable to drink. Then, 5 months in, the head is still there and it now tastes great again, with no obvious issues. Odd.
teebob2000
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Sorry, last weekend got away from me and I ran out of time. Plan to do it this weekend and will definitely report back!
teebob2000
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OK so finally had the chance to brew this today. Again, first AG so I'm hoping I didn't screw up too badly. 
I wanted to do my own version of this recipe so I changed a couple of things. In addition to switching the amounts for the roasted and chocolate malts (1 lb to 3/4 lb and 3/4 lb to 1 lb respectively) I also added 1 lb of biscuit malt. I also did a 1/2 lb (8 oz) of dark molasses for 5 mins boil.
I changed the hops slightly too, adding 0.75 oz of the Magnum for 60 mins, the 1 oz East Kent at 10 mins and 0.25 oz of the Magnum for 5 mins. Since I was adding some more malts and sweetness, I thought boosting the hops a little would balance it out. First try so we'll see what happens!
I did mess up in that I forgot to add the graham crackers at the mash start! D'oh! In fact, I was at the end of the 60 min mash when I saw the boxes sitting on the kitchen counter right where I left them. However, I think it worked out OK in the end because I added them in before my 2nd water addition in a 2-step batch sparge (~2 gals and then ~4 gals at 170F) and the mash ended up pretty gummy. (I didn't have any rice hulls on hand, so that wasn't an option; note to self for the 2nd try in the future.) I crumbled 2 full boxes (~29 oz) on top of the grains and then sparged in over them and gave it a stir. I did have to knock the SS braiding on my cooler mash tun around pretty good to finish extracting the wort, and when I sampled it, I definitely could taste "something" in the running that I sampled, though it may have been just psychological. It was coming out a little cloudy so I know the crackers were doing their thing.
My OG was 1.064 which I'm happy about. I have to say, that finished wort was just about the best damn tasting wort I've ever sampled. (Being an AG helped in that regards, I'm sure.) MAN, it was good with a really nice sweet/hoppy balance. Depending on how it tastes at bottling (i.e. how "graham-crackery"), I was thinking of using brown sugar to prime. I cannot wait to sample it in a few weeks!! Will update as events warrant.
I wanted to do my own version of this recipe so I changed a couple of things. In addition to switching the amounts for the roasted and chocolate malts (1 lb to 3/4 lb and 3/4 lb to 1 lb respectively) I also added 1 lb of biscuit malt. I also did a 1/2 lb (8 oz) of dark molasses for 5 mins boil.
I changed the hops slightly too, adding 0.75 oz of the Magnum for 60 mins, the 1 oz East Kent at 10 mins and 0.25 oz of the Magnum for 5 mins. Since I was adding some more malts and sweetness, I thought boosting the hops a little would balance it out. First try so we'll see what happens!
I did mess up in that I forgot to add the graham crackers at the mash start! D'oh! In fact, I was at the end of the 60 min mash when I saw the boxes sitting on the kitchen counter right where I left them. However, I think it worked out OK in the end because I added them in before my 2nd water addition in a 2-step batch sparge (~2 gals and then ~4 gals at 170F) and the mash ended up pretty gummy. (I didn't have any rice hulls on hand, so that wasn't an option; note to self for the 2nd try in the future.) I crumbled 2 full boxes (~29 oz) on top of the grains and then sparged in over them and gave it a stir. I did have to knock the SS braiding on my cooler mash tun around pretty good to finish extracting the wort, and when I sampled it, I definitely could taste "something" in the running that I sampled, though it may have been just psychological. It was coming out a little cloudy so I know the crackers were doing their thing.
My OG was 1.064 which I'm happy about. I have to say, that finished wort was just about the best damn tasting wort I've ever sampled. (Being an AG helped in that regards, I'm sure.) MAN, it was good with a really nice sweet/hoppy balance. Depending on how it tastes at bottling (i.e. how "graham-crackery"), I was thinking of using brown sugar to prime. I cannot wait to sample it in a few weeks!! Will update as events warrant.
brewski09
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Anything should work for bittering. I'd stick with a goldings varietal or very close relative of goldings for the noble/floral hop qualities, but it isn't that much hops. I'd also use glacier as my late hop I think.
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teebob2000
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Can you be more specific? Do you need subs for all the hops? This might help.
http://www.brew365.com/hop_substitution_chart.php
ultravista
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Too bad I can't get this great beer in Las Vegas (NV). I had it in Pennsylvania a few months ago.
Bought all my supplies to brew this up tomorrow! I'm excited the grist smelled amazing when they were milling it!
Brew day pics
I received the grain for this recipe yesterday. I'll probably make two 2.5 gallon batches, maybe keg one and bottle the other. That'll allow me more practice with AG and also allow me to have two different batches fermenting in the wine fridge at the same time (two 3 gallon Better Bottles fit snugly side by side in the wine fridge).
One week after brewing I took a gravity reading and I am @ 1.029 - seems very high. I have never had a beer stall out fermenting. I swirled the fermenter and have it now @ 70 - hoping it will kick back off?
brewski09
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The lactose will raise the final gravity. I don't remember what mine finished at but it is a sweet milk stout. Try adding some cocoa nibs because they are earthy and quite bitter if it's too sweet for your liking.
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teebob2000
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That seems really high, yes. I think you're fine letting it go in primary another week. My est FG on BeerSmith is 1.015, my grav now is 1.018. My OG was higher as well though, est 57, measured 64. I essentially followed the original recipe, plus added 2 boxes of grahams in the mash before 2nd batch sparge. It was my first AG so I probably guessed low on my effeciency.
I'm really taking my time with this one. Brewed on 9/1, racked to secondary on 4oz cacao powder mixed with 1 cup boiled water on 9/26. I'll taste/measure last week in Oct and then decide when to bottle, and whether or not to back-sweeten with more lactose at that point. The initial taste after adding the cacao was that it was quite bitter. I know it'll mellow out some with time. I also had more than 5 gals when I transferred so got a half-dozen bottles out of it pre-cacao to taste it that way.
I brewed this recipe today. I did a 2.5 gallon AG BIAB no sparge batch.
Started with 4.5 gallons in my tun.
Mashed in at 152. Mashed for 75 minutes.
Pre-boil gravity was 1038.
Boiled for 60 minutes.
Used ice bath in sink to cool.
I used too much water or did not boil it hard enough. I had about 1/2 gallon leftover after filling the Better Bottle fairly close to the top.
Boiled out at 2:45P and capped off at 4:00P at around 80 degrees.
The Better Bottle is in the wine fridge. It's set for 65 degrees, which mean the wort temp should be around 59-61 degrees judging from my tests with a jar of water.
I plan to pitch rehydrated Notty tomorrow evening after it's cooled down to temp. I would use US-05, but from reading on here it seems that 60 is too low for it. I've also read that Notty seems to work ok at 60ish. I guess I'll find out.
Edit: Brewhouse Efficiency showed to be 79.8 in Beersmith.
Quick question....should I pitch 1/2 a pack (5.5 grams) or pitch the whole pack? Any help is appreciated, and thanks for this recipe. Can't wait to try it in a few weeks from now.
Started with 4.5 gallons in my tun.
Mashed in at 152. Mashed for 75 minutes.
Pre-boil gravity was 1038.
Boiled for 60 minutes.
Used ice bath in sink to cool.
I used too much water or did not boil it hard enough. I had about 1/2 gallon leftover after filling the Better Bottle fairly close to the top.
Boiled out at 2:45P and capped off at 4:00P at around 80 degrees.
The Better Bottle is in the wine fridge. It's set for 65 degrees, which mean the wort temp should be around 59-61 degrees judging from my tests with a jar of water.
I plan to pitch rehydrated Notty tomorrow evening after it's cooled down to temp. I would use US-05, but from reading on here it seems that 60 is too low for it. I've also read that Notty seems to work ok at 60ish. I guess I'll find out.
Edit: Brewhouse Efficiency showed to be 79.8 in Beersmith.
Quick question....should I pitch 1/2 a pack (5.5 grams) or pitch the whole pack? Any help is appreciated, and thanks for this recipe. Can't wait to try it in a few weeks from now.
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OG was actually 1052. I hit the projected OG per Beersmith. Not sure if I didn't put enough ingredients in or wrong amounts. I haven't had time to check. I will check Mr Malty for 1052. Thanks for that.
I split the Notty pack in half. 5.5 grams after checking Mr Malty. I pitched the rehydrated yeast about 28 hours after capping off the fermenter. The temp strip on my 3 gallon Better Bottle showed 61 degrees when I pitched on Sunday night. There was evidence of mild activity Monday morning. By Monday evening, the bubbler was bubbling. Tuesday morning (today) the temp strip showed 63 degrees and it was bubbling nicely. Still unsure why my OG was low (1052). I did have about 1/2 gallon or less of leftover wort after boiling. Still working on figuring out my AG BIAB process, I guess. It'll be beer...hoping it'll be good or great beer! I have enough grain to make another 2.5 gallon batch, so I'll use less water next time.
I brewed this on 10/18/2014. I checked the gravity yesterday and it was 1020. The sample tasted awesome. Not sure if I should go ahead and keg it tomorrow when I have time, or leave it another week in the primary. I'm in no big hurry. Also, I sat it out in the basement where it's about 67 ambient. It was in the wine fridge and fermenting at 61 degrees. I have BierMuncher's Helles Belles in the wine fridge with the temp down to about 58ish right now. Will the Milk Stout be fine at 67 or so degrees for the next week? Will it help or hurt it? Will the yeast become a bit more active and do some more clean up?
teebob2000
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Yes. Help. Yes.
thelouisvillekyle
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Just pitched a couple packs of safale 05. I added nearly the whole oz of magnum initially. OG came in at 1.060 with 4.5 gallons post boil. I also added a few more oz of each grain. I'm stoked for this stout!
Bonobo4890
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When I brewed this recipe last night I forgot to add the lactose until after the boil and the beer was already cooling. It was still warm, and the lactose seems to have dissolved in fine. Is this mistake going to affect the beer in any way?
teebob2000
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Nope, you should be fine. You can add lactose in secondary if you want to as long as you use boiled water. It's not fermentable and undergoes no conversion because of the heat.
I kegged my 2.5 gallon batch today. A little weak at 4.2% ABV. I drank half a bottle of it because it was so good. This has to be the best beer I've ever made! It's on gas and cold crashing in the fridge. Can't wait to try it this coming weekend.
This is an excellent beer. I still have some left in the keg, but I brewed this up again on 11/17 Monday. I added a little more two row to help with efficiency and I added some crystal 80L because I ran out of crystal 60L. Not sure how much of a difference that might make. I mashed with 3 gallons @154 and sparged with one gallon @170 this time. Seemed to help efficiency. I squeezed the bag pretty good as well. I pitched Notty about 24 hours later and it started up in 12 hours or less. The temp strip on the primary showed 61 degrees this morning. This was my 7th AG BIAB batch and I'm figuring processes and volumes out better now.
OG - 1066
2.5 gallon batch
4lb 2 row
8oz roasted barley
2.5oz 60L
3.5oz 80L
6oz chocolate
6oz munich
5oz flaked barley
4oz flaked oats
5.1 grams Magnum (60 min)
Whirlfloc (1/4 tab) (15 min)
Yeast Nutrient (2 tsp) (13 min)
8 oz lactose (9 min)
14.1 grams East Kent Goldings (10 min)
OG - 1066
2.5 gallon batch
4lb 2 row
8oz roasted barley
2.5oz 60L
3.5oz 80L
6oz chocolate
6oz munich
5oz flaked barley
4oz flaked oats
5.1 grams Magnum (60 min)
Whirlfloc (1/4 tab) (15 min)
Yeast Nutrient (2 tsp) (13 min)
8 oz lactose (9 min)
14.1 grams East Kent Goldings (10 min)
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So the beer is only down to 1.025, and it hasn't budged for a few days. I think it's done at this point. Not quite sure what happened. I'm thinking the thermometer I used wasn't correct and I mashed higher than I should have. I pitched plenty of yeast, so that's not the issue.
Mine finished @ 1.028 it's likely done, if you account for the lactose you are closer 1.018
My first keg of this kicked yesterday. It didn't last long. SWMBO is not happy about that, and the second batch won't be ready for two more weeks. I'm ordering more ingredients today for more batches.
thelouisvillekyle
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Just bottled at 1.018. This brew tastes wonderful.. Even better than the original without carbonation. If I only I had a nitro tap!
I just took a reading at 2 1/2 weeks and got 1.026. How do you 'account for the lactose'?
I mean, I know it's a milk stout and I 'know' it's done since it has been that long (and the sample tasted outstanding), but was wondering if most people ended this high?
My OG was 1.067 and I used S04.
