Lactose at bottling and aging.

[Bee_Serious]

I have an Imperial Mexican Chocolate Stout that went from 1.1 to 1.008! So it's a little dry for an imperial stout. Over attenuation has been a problem for me despite trying to mash high.

I was thinking about adding a pound of lactose at bottling (So it will be Imperial Mexican Chocolate Milk Stout) to sweeten it up. So I have a couple of questions:

Will a high gravity (12%+) milk stout age well? and

Will lactose inhibit the yeast from eating the bottling sugar? I've heard rumors. I used WLP099 - Super High Gravity.

Thanks!

 

[ColoHox]

Hard to say for certain if it will age well, but a 12% beer will certainly age out. So many factors play a role in the development of beer flavors over time.

The lactose will not inhibit the yeast. Although, I would recommend a new pitch of yeast when you bottle, as 12% ABV is not a nice environment for yeast survival.

 

[Bee_Serious]

Thanks, sometimes I have pitched Champagne Yeast - EC1118 at bottling for priming high octane brews. Would pitching with the same yeast be better?

I had a Southern Tier Creme Brulee that might have had some age on it and I thought it held up okay... but I don't know if milk stouts are best drank fresh. This brew has a lot going on already though - chocolate, cinnamon, habanero, vanilla, not to mention the malt schedule. I don't know if the creaminess will even be noticeable.