Lactose effect

Hi

Does anyone knows the effect of adding lactose (milk sugar) to a beer recipe as this ingredient isn't fermentable by the yeast?

Does this helps the retention and foam formation?

I am thinking of using this ingredient to improve the foam (Guiness-like) in a Irish Stout beer kit.

 

It makes it sweeter. It won't significantly increase head retention, as proteins in the beer are responsible for that.

 

Lactose adds body and a very low sweetness to the beer. You are correct, it is not fermentable.

Lactose will not fix your head quality or retention. However you might want to try rye -- either rye malt, crystal rye, or rye extract. Rye gives a creamy head like no other. Use for about 10% of your base ingredients.

 

More body, sweeter and creamier.

By adding some milk sugar, I got last month a very nice stout out of just easy LME kit, East Kent Goldings and WLP004

 

I used lactose in a kit stout I made last winter. I did a side by side comparison with a Guinness. (which I know doesn't have lactose in it) My stout was very noticeably smoother than the Guinness. It didn't have that slight bitter bite at the end that Guinness has.

 

Which beer kit was this?
I am trying to find a Guiness Clone...

I have never heard of using Rye in beer. Cool... I will make some research about this.

 

Nice... How much milk sugar did you use and when did you use them? At priming?

 

5% weight in the last minutes of boiling