Sweet Stout Left Hand Milk Stout Clone

[Wiesty]

Well we drank half a glass of this straight outta the cold crashed fermenter. Tasted great green!

 

[Brewbrewbeans]

Ok.... So there was a 1lbbag of corn sugar next to my lactose and I added the wrong bag what are the repercussions of this besides it being uber strong? It still tasted pretty great but what can i expect? Anything I can do to make it better?

 

[brewski09]

Ok.... So there was a 1lbbag of corn sugar next to my lactose and I added the wrong bag what are the repercussions of this besides it being uber strong? It still tasted pretty great but what can i expect? Anything I can do to make it better?

Depending on your system you will either have a super dry (and delicious) stout or a relatively regular medium finished gravity (and delicious) stout. I don't think this recipe "needs" the lactose but it is a milk stout so...

You can always just boil the lactose up with a little bit of water and add it at bottling if you don't like the "barrel sample"

 

[Brewbrewbeans]

Depending on your system you will either have a super dry (and delicious) stout or a relatively regular medium finished gravity (and delicious) stout. I don't think this recipe "needs" the lactose but it is a milk stout so...

You can always just boil the lactose up with a little bit of water and add it at bottling if you don't like the "barrel sample"

Thanks brewski! That sounds like a good idea. I'll have a taste once fermentation is complete but I'll probably end up adding the lactose as you said. I'm kegging. It shouldn't be a problem as the lactose isn't fermentable anyway right?

 

[Brewbrewbeans]

Depending on your system you will either have a super dry (and delicious) stout or a relatively regular medium finished gravity (and delicious) stout. I don't think this recipe "needs" the lactose but it is a milk stout so...

You can always just boil the lactose up with a little bit of water and add it at bottling if you don't like the "barrel sample"

Thanks brewski! That sounds like a good idea. I'll have a taste once fermentation is complete but I'll probably end up adding the lactose as you said. I'm kegging. It shouldn't be a problem as the lactose isn't fermentable anyway right?

 

[Brewbrewbeans]

Depending on your system you will either have a super dry (and delicious) stout or a relatively regular medium finished gravity (and delicious) stout. I don't think this recipe "needs" the lactose but it is a milk stout so...

You can always just boil the lactose up with a little bit of water and add it at bottling if you don't like the "barrel sample"

Thanks brewski! That sounds like a good idea. I'll have a taste once fermentation is complete but I'll probably end up adding the lactose as you said. I'm kegging. It shouldn't be a problem as the lactose isn't fermentable anyway right?

 

[Brewbrewbeans]

Depending on your system you will either have a super dry (and delicious) stout or a relatively regular medium finished gravity (and delicious) stout. I don't think this recipe "needs" the lactose but it is a milk stout so...

You can always just boil the lactose up with a little bit of water and add it at bottling if you don't like the "barrel sample"

Thanks brewski! That sounds like a good idea. I'll have a taste once fermentation is complete but I'll probably end up adding the lactose as you said. I'm kegging. It shouldn't be a problem as the lactose isn't fermentable anyway right?

 

[Brewin_Sparty]

You could say that again!

 

[brewski09]

Let me guess, you're on mobile and got a posting error? Ignore the error.

And yes, lactose is unfermentable by beer yeast. Though some of the bugs may be able to eat it...

 

[Brewbrewbeans]

Yup, mobile app. And thanks, I'll let you guys know how it turns out!

 

[55x11]

Thanks brewski! That sounds like a good idea. I'll have a taste once fermentation is complete but I'll probably end up adding the lactose as you said. I'm kegging. It shouldn't be a problem as the lactose isn't fermentable anyway right?

I brewed mine and the addition of 1lb lactose made it too sweet for my taste. Anyone else has this problem? I kegged it so it is possible lactose is not completely dissolved so I get more sugar from the bottom.

 

[mkyl428]

I brewed mine and the addition of 1lb lactose made it too sweet for my taste. Anyone else has this problem? I kegged it so it is possible lactose is not completely dissolved so I get more sugar from the bottom.

It is a pretty sweet beer, I can only drink one or two of these at a time. Not sure about the undissolved lactose when did you add it? After fermentation? I always add it to the end of the boil, no problems with it dissolving and I know it is sanitized that way.

 

[JohntheKiwi]

Lactose should be added during the boil, but should definitely be before the last 5 minutes. I generally do it around 10. As long as it has time to fully dissolve and sanitize.

 

[brewski09]

I agree that adding to the boil is best but if you forget then you forget.

I've had versions of this beer with anywhere from a half pound to 1 pound lactose per 5 gallons. It's personal preference. I do like a little less unless the base beer is really dry then it can have more and be fine. Also, I like to add cocoa nibs which are super bitter and offset the sweetness.

 

[D_Nyholm]

I have noticed it a bit too sweet at times too. I have started adding a bit more base grains when I make it. Make it a bit stronger and less sweet

 

[brewski09]

Try dropping your mash temp a little (and make sure your thermometers are calibrated). My brewing got a lot more reliable when o got a good thermometer.

 

[55x11]

Try dropping your mash temp a little (and make sure your thermometers are calibrated). My brewing got a lot more reliable when o got a good thermometer.

sweetness is definitely from lactose, not from unfermented sugars.
and to respond to previous posters - I don't think it matters when you add lactose since it is not digestible by yeast anyways. So end of the boil, during fermentation, or just before kegging/bottling should yield the same result. It's just that 1 lb of lactose produced beer that is way too sweet, sweater than Left Hand Stout for sure.

 

[brewski09]

sweetness is definitely from lactose, not from unfermented sugars.

Except the finished gravity of this beer varies wildly if you read the posts, sometimes by over 10 points. If you mash low and the underlying beer is dry then the 1# tastes pretty close. I prefer less for sure, but side by side it's pretty close with the low mash. There was also some debate on the quantities of roasted barley and black patent a while back which would change the final beer profile substantially to me as well. In the end I always make sure my thermometer is calibrated before any all grain brew day.

 

[Brewbrewbeans]

I ended up taking brewski's advice except I used some beer to boil the lactose instead of water. I also ended up making some cold brew coffee and dumping it into the keg. It came out amazing! Ended up at about 7% ABV due to the corn sugar addition. Coffee taste is a bit overwhelming. I might do a bit less next time unless it mellows out nice in a couple weeks (which I've heard will happen when adding coffee). Cheers!
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1454457708.794926.jpg

 

[JohntheKiwi]

If anyone in Portland, OR is interested in trying a coffee version of this, I made it with a local brewery 1.5 Barrel batch and it will be pouring at the Bakers Dozen Coffee Beer and Donut Festival March 12. Put it on your calendars. Stuck to the main recipe and added 5lbs of cold pressed coffee to 1.5 barrel. Single-farm Honduran coffee, really smooth. I see above Brewbrewbeans says the coffee was overwhelming. Hmm, we really wanted the coffee to be bold, not subtle, but it will sit for 5 weeks before being poured so I think it will come out just right.

 

[phyllobeddo]

I've brewed this recipe at least four times and the better tasting versions were all mashed around 150. For what that's worth. Brew on.

 

[Brewbrewbeans]

If anyone in Portland, OR is interested in trying a coffee version of this, I made it with a local brewery 1.5 Barrel batch and it will be pouring at the Bakers Dozen Coffee Beer and Donut Festival March 12. Put it on your calendars. Stuck to the main recipe and added 5lbs of cold pressed coffee to 1.5 barrel. Single-farm Honduran coffee, really smooth. I see above Brewbrewbeans says the coffee was overwhelming. Hmm, we really wanted the coffee to be bold, not subtle, but it will sit for 5 weeks before being poured so I think it will come out just right.

It very well could have been the amount of coffee for the batch size I made. And even though a bit overwhelming, it is uber delicious nonetheless! I'm sure you'll get 0 complaints

 

[D_Nyholm]

I've brewed this recipe at least four times and the better tasting versions were all mashed around 150. For what that's worth. Brew on.

Mine always seem to mash about 152 or less, one was even under 150 and they have all been delicious. I have made this recipe at least 10 times with different flavor additions (chocolate, coffee, vanilla, vanilla/chocolate/strawberry) and it is a hit each time. One batch I made was too sweet but I accidentally put in about 1/4 lb more lactose than called for. Totally noticeable!

If you have the ability to make 10 gallon batches, go for it with this recipe, it is a winner.

 

[attyindaburgh]

I apologize for not reading all of the pages of posts before asking this, but the original recipe calls for roasted barley at 300 srm which is 222 L. Was it supposed to be lovibond and not srm?

 

[brewski09]

I apologize for not reading all of the pages of posts before asking this, but the original recipe calls for roasted barley at 300 srm which is 222 L. Was it supposed to be lovibond and not srm?

I never noticed that. I think they were all supposed to be lovebond looking at them. At least that's my guess. On roasted barley it won't matter, all brands are still roasted barley, though some may have stronger or better flavors.

 

[Aleman]

HI Guys, this is my first post here. I am am getting back into brewing after taking 18yrs off. I brewed this recipe a few weeks ago and it seems my final gravity is going to be 1.030. OG was 1.060. I originally used WLP002 with a starter and have repitched WLP004 with starter to try to get it going with no luck. I mashed at 152 and did a mashout at 168. Any ideas?

 

[elimn8u]

What temp is your fermenter currently at? If it's on the cold side, try raising it to around 68 degrees.

 

[Aleman]

The fermenter is at 68 degrees so that should be good. One thing I forgot to mention was that my mash ph was only 4.9. Could that cause this problem?

 

[strangebrewer88]

I chose this recipe to make the jump into all grain. Just pulled a gravity sample and I am not disappointed! I miss my OG by a little bit but it taste great. I will definitely have to do this one again once I get my system down.

 

[duelerx]

Has anyone tried using Patagonia Black Pearl instead of Roasted Barley?