Milk Stout Mash Temp

[hannibalmdq]

Hey guys,

I just mashed in and overshot my Mash Temp by a few degrees. It's sitting at 158 rather than 155. I'm making a milk stout with the following grain bill. I'm not too experienced on malty styles. Does anyone have an opinion on whether I should reduce the amount of lactose? Comparing the recipe to others, it's does seem to contain less roast/crystal/lactose that a lot of them. I was thinking of just letting it ride.

Pale Malt (2 Row) US		74.14%
Chocolate Malt			5.17%
Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L	5.17%
Roasted Barley			3.45%
Barley, Flaked			3.45%
Special B Malt			3.45%
Milk Sugar (Lactose)		5.17%

 

[khillian]

You should be fine, higher mash temps make longer chain dextrins which do not really taste sweet but contribute to the mouthfeel and body. The lactose will add the slight sweet flavor as it's also not fermentable, expected in a milk stout.

I normally use 1# of lactose in a 6 gallon batch, I leave around 1 gallon of trub etc in the kettle.

Cheers! Milk stouts are one of my favorite styles.

 

[dcp27]

as lactose in unfermentable, you can always add it at packaging if you are worried about it ending too high. i think you'll be fine tho

 

[frettfreak]

Temp should be fine but you will be off on OG readings a bit (lower temps give a more fermentable wort) AS far as the lactose goes i have used a pound before and no issues. I think it would be safe to use even more without issues

 

[dcp27]

Temp should be fine but you will be off on OG readings a bit (lower temps give a more fermentable wort)

im guessing you meant FG. OG will not be effected by the mash temp being higher

 

[hannibalmdq]

Thanks for everybody for weighing in! I opted to let it ride out and not change the recipe.

 

[agrazela]

Out of curiosity, what yeast are you using?

 

[hannibalmdq]

I'm just using Chico (wlp001) for this one. Pitched at 62, fermenting at 64. I was just concerned of the high mash temp plus the lactose might leave it finishing really high. I think it'll be okay since check is pretty neutral and fairly attenuative. It'll be my first milk stout so it'll be nice to have a frame of reference with the yeast.

 

[Queequeg]

Milk stouts finish high by their nature. Expect a FG of 20ish

 

[hannibalmdq]

Well, it finished high. I pitched at 62 and fermented at 64. By the end of day 2 it was basically done. Krausen had fallen and it went from 1.055 to 1.022. 60% attenuation. I let it rise it to 67 to clean up and it shaved another point off to 1.021. 62% percent attenuation is by far the lowest I've ever had. It's on day 8 now and has dropped clear so I may go ahead and package it this weekend. I've got an IPA that needs bottled first though.

The lactose would only account for about 4 points in the fermented batch. If I back that out it dropped from 1.051 to 1.017 which is a 66% attenuation. Still really low for WLP001 which I've average about 78% attenuation on. The grain bill was 75% base malt, 20% crystal/roast, and 5% lactose. Between than and the short, high mash, I guess it was tailor made for a high FG.