lactose

[DeRoux's Broux]

any of you guy's ever use lactose in sweet stouts? i've never used it, much less ever seen it. i'm formulating a recipe for an all-grain double chocolate like Young's, and their web page mentions a "comination of special sugars".

what point in the boil have y'all used the lactose, and how much? i was thinking a 1 lb. maybe for 5.5 g? or might that be too sweet?

 

[Rhoobarb]

I've used it before and will be using it again in a sweet oatmeal stout this weekend. In both recipes I added/will add a 1/2 lb. at 20 minutes left in the boil. I have read where some people use for bottle priming.

 

[DeRoux's Broux]

cool-moe-dee. thanks.

hey,my dog and your cat may rumble :~) the cat looks tough though....

 

[Dude]

I second Rhoobie baby!

20 minutes left in the boil.

Be careful though--I added .75 lb to my latest sweet stout and it is almost too sweet for me. It is definitely drinkable but if I do the batch again, only a half pound will go in. You can always put more in at secondary of you need it. Depending on how sweet you want it is key. Don't go over 1 pound for sure, IMHO.

 

[Rhoobarb]

hey,my dog and your cat may rumble :~) the cat looks tough though....

Looks can be deceiving!

 

[DeRoux's Broux]

yea, i got to mess'n w/ promash last night and figured i might just go with .5 lb. i don't want it too sweet. still not even sure if i want a sweet stout????? may go oatmeal stout, or something totaly different. it takes me days to figure out what i want to brew next.

 

[PeatReek]

I have read where some people use for bottle priming.

Just for clarity, they might put it in at priming, but not for priming; the whole point of lactose is that it doesn't ferment, and makes the beer sweet. If you want your cream stout carbonated, toss in some dextrin or DME along with the lactose.

 

[Walker]

Right....

Adding it bottling time (BEFORE you add your primer) is a good way to adjust the amount of lactose being added and really sweeten it to your personal liking. Just boil some water with the lactose in it, add a little, stir, sample... keep doing it until you get what you want. Then add the primer and bottle it up.

I did NOT do this for my porter (1/2 lb of lactose added to the end of the boil) and that beer is a little sweeter than I would like it to be. I wish I had added it at bottling time.

-walker

 

[DeRoux's Broux]

scaring me away from lactose at all. i very seldom use any adjuncts for that reason. more of a traditionalist...........

 

[Walker]

scaring me away from lactose at all. i very seldom use any adjuncts for that reason. more of a traditionalist...........

Don't be scared away from it! It's a fantastic way to sweeten a beer. Just make sure you don't over-sweeten it like I did.

Having used it once, and OVER-used it at that.... I would suggest adding it at bottling time so that you don't "Miss the Mark" (note the name of my porter in the sig ).

-walker

 

[david_42]

Lactose (AKA milk sugar) is traditional for a Milk Stout. An excellent example of this is Widmer's Snow Plow. As mentioned, it doesn't ferment out. A pound in 5 gallons would be way too much (this is cola sweet). I'd start with 4 oz in the bottling bucket, then stir.

I've used it in ciders that dried out too far, so it has always been added in the keg to fine tune. I'm trying a little (about 20 grams in 5 gallons) in my Church Of Chocolate Brown.

 

[drengel]

still not even sure if i want a sweet stout?????

man sweet stouts are awesome. A brewery in town makes an award winning milk stout that i drink all winter long. dont be scared of it, it will be sweeter than your typical beer, yes, but the roasted malts balance it, and the mouthfeel from lactose is awesome. give it a shot, brew 2.5 gallons if your worried.

 

[drengel]

I've used it before and will be using it again in a sweet oatmeal stout this weekend. In both recipes I added/will add a 1/2 lb. at 20 minutes left in the boil. I have read where some people use for bottle priming.

let us know how that goes. sounds like my type of beer. rich, creamy, smooth...

 

[david_42]

If you not certain about making a sweet stout, just make a stout and add some lactose to a pint. I started with 1/2 gram per pint in my CoC Brown and decided that was plenty. Four oz. in 5 gallons is three grams per pint. (I really need to get better scale.)

 

[DeRoux's Broux]

eehh, i dunno. i'm looking at maybe doing a dunkelweizen or a big brown ale. just not crazy about adding the lactose.......

 

[Rhoobarb]

Just for clarity, they might put it in at priming, but not for priming; the whole point of lactose is that it doesn't ferment, and makes the beer sweet. If you want your cream stout carbonated, toss in some dextrin or DME along with the lactose.

Yes; good point. Don't be scared off from it, DeRoux. If you want a real sweet or milk stout, it's the way to go. If you can find it where you live, Left Hand Brewing makes an excellent Milk Stout!

 

[Pumbaa]

sounds interesting but just reading about it is making my stomach groumble and bloat.

If the lactose doesnt ferment out ya may wanna warn people like me befor they drink it, other wise you'd be smelling me for a week after I left

 

[DeRoux's Broux]

sounds interesting but just reading about it is making my stomach groumble and bloat.

If the lactose doesnt ferment out ya may wanna warn people like me befor they drink it, other wise you'd be smelling me for a week after I left

ha! well, the lactose doesn't ferment at all. just sweetens, so you'd be smelly!

 

[david_42]

Maybe you'd consider anaerobic decomposition fermentation, but I don't. Good point about the lactose-intolerance warning, though. Not life threatening, like peanuts, but not fun. I wonder if celiacs have trouble with wheat beers? The only one I've known considered alcohol consumption a sign of moral weakness, so she wasn't a test case.

 

[Pumbaa]

Good point about the lactose-intolerance warning, though. Not life threatening, like peanuts, but not fun.

My wife and the guys at the firehouse would beg to differ . . . you ever see 4 firemen stop an engine and bail outa it for anything other then a 911 call? :cross:

 

[david_42]

I've got two greyhounds. They are breed for speed ... to get away from their farts!

 

[Denny's Evil Concoctions]

Can you add some lactaid to the beer like they do with "Lactose intolerant milk"


In the immortal words of the commedian Lewis Black:
"Lactose intolerrant milk?! Kiss my d@#k! Milk doesn't need a friend! Get it the hell away from my moo cow f@#k milk!"


I have a friend that is so lactose intollerant that even eating one smarty and she bloats up like a balloon and writhes in pain for hours. Lactaid is of little help for her. She works Emergency at VGH in Vancouver and ended up on a gurney when someone gave her something they thought was lactose free chocolate.

 

[Cheesefood]

The Caramel Vanilla has lactose in it, and I LOOOOOOVE the flavor it adds. Maybe it's just because it appeals to my sweet tooth, but I like the sweetness. It's not overpowering, it's just about perfect.

 

[SwAMi75]

DeRoux....if you're going for a Young's DOuble Chocolate style, I don't think you'd need much--if any-- lactose at all. To me, it's still a pretty dry stout. Maybe they're talking about fermentable sugars?

Most folks use .5-1lb of lactose in a sweet stout. Seems to me in something like Young's, you'd only want to use .25lb or so. Granted, it's been a while since I've had one, but I never thought Young's had much sweetness at all.

 

[DeRoux's Broux]

dude, where ya been?

well, according to their web page, they add extra sugars. along with "real" chocolate, they add essence of chocolate at bottling. may not be lactose? i always thought it was a sweet stout.

 

[SwAMi75]

I've been moving....my wife got transferred to OKC, so I spent last week out there helping her get set up. It's been a mess.

Anyway, you might solicit more opinions, but I never thought it was a sweet stout. IMO, it wouldn't need much, if any lactose. Maybe start a new thread in the recipe forum?

 

[DeRoux's Broux]

bummer. so your going to OKC? good luck finding brew there.....dust bowl.....

yea, i've talked myself outta the stout, and either doing a Hop Rod or Belgian Dubbel.

 

[SwAMi75]

Yeah, I'll be headed out next Sept. Can't wait.

Hop Rod gets my vote. Otherwise, do a trippel.

 

[DeRoux's Broux]

dunno. my brew bud had a tripple that i drank tonight, plus my 5 Maredsous. lean'n toward the dubbel........