Can you add lactose after primary fermentation?

[DogsTooth]

Good day! I started a raspberry wheat ale on the 5th with wheat malt extract and extra light crystal grains. After the boil, I poured the sweet wort over raspberries and let it ferment. I racked it yesterday into a secondary carboy. The fermentation went great but the taste is quite tart and the raspberries seem to have overpowered the wheat. I'm a little worried about the final product, and am wondering if anyone has ever added a few ounces of Lactose after the primary fermentation to attempt to sweeten the taste a little. Are there any other options (like maybe adding some DME) or should I just brew another 5 gallons to wheat ale sans raspberries and mix it all together?

Any suggestions would be appriciated!

 

[brycelarson]

You can add lactose at several places. I've put it in at the end of the boil, at flameout and at bottling. Into the primary or secondary should be just fine.

The nice thing about doing it late in the process is that you can adjust to your sweetness preference after all the fermentation is complete.

Now, the taste of lactose isn't the same sweetness as what you get from unfermentable wort sugar - so adding a lot can drift your sweetness profile somewhat away from malty.

 

[DogsTooth]

Would you have any other suggestions to solving this? Is lactose a poor choice?

 

[brycelarson]

not necessarily a bad choice - just not a direct replacement for sourness.

I would suggest giving it some time. It's going to change significantly as things blend and age.

Did you sanitize the fruit?

 

[DogsTooth]

Is there another good replacement for it?

Yes I did. Could that have added to the tart flavour?

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

Just know obviously that people who have lactose tolerance problems wont be able to drink it without some lactaid or something

 

[brycelarson]

I would let it complete it's ferment then pull a gallon off to the side and see how it tastes sweetened with lactose. If it's good - just scale up the ratio to the whole batch. If you don't like it you have a few options.

You could certainly blend it with another batch to reduce the fruit acid. Since you're using extract you have a little less control - but you could try to do a BIAB or simple grain recipe and aim high on the mash temp - producing less fermentable sugars. You could add this to your current batch and re-ferment it.

 

[DogsTooth]

Those are good ideas. I will rack off a gallon this weekend and see how it is with lactose. If that doesn't work, I'll try your other option. Thanks for the advice!

 

[Brewbuzzard]

I know this thread has been dormant for a while but anyway. If I add a touch of lactose sugar to a finished kegged beer will it cause any haziness in the beer?

 

[deuc224]

See thought lactose had to be boiled? Am I wrong at thinking this cuz I love my chocolate stout but it always lacks a bit of sweetness.

 

[odie]

old thread...but IMO I would never add lactose after boil or F/O. I don't think it would ever blend properly otherwise.

 

[Brewbuzzard]

See thought lactose had to be boiled? Am I wrong at thinking this cuz I love my chocolate stout but it always lacks a bit of sweetness.

Mash at a bit higher temp.

 

[deuc224]

Mash at a bit higher temp.

I went in at 154, thinking that was high, guess ill hit the 158 mark and see how it does me next time.

 

[Brewbuzzard]

I went in at 154, thinking that was high, guess ill hit the 158 mark and see how it does me next time.

154 should give you good residual sweetness but I've seen stout recipes mash at 156