Sweet Stout Left Hand Milk Stout Clone

[murrahjm]

Couldn't decide between this or an RIS, so I split the difference and added 8 lb of marris otter to this recipe (plus another ounce of hops for balance).

SG of 1.088 and FG looks to be about 1.020. Gravity check after the first week just tasted like alcohol, but second week check is great! Can't wait to age this up and get it on nitro!

 

[aaronm13]

Just an update from my original post about a high final gravity. It was my error as I was using a refractometer. Didn't realize you couldn't use this after fermentation, still learning. Anyway fermented out perfectly and bottled a few weeks ago. Beer is really good and I wouldn't be a huge stout fan, blasphemy for an Irish man. Did an experiment with a few liters and added Oreos. Loved the concept. I soaked Oreos in vodka for a few days (not the cream filling). There was a lot of fat on the top so filtered that off as best I could and added to the primary. Tried it last week and it's pretty horrible. I added a bit too much lactose so it's a bit on the sweet side and the Oreos just push the sweetness too far. Glad I tried it as the concept interested me. Thanks to the OP for the great recipe.

 

[ten80]

Just an update from my original post about a high final gravity. It was my error as I was using a refractometer. Didn't realize you couldn't use this after fermentation, still learning.

You CAN use it post-fermentation but you need to know your OG.

https://www.brewersfriend.com/refractometer-calculator/

 

[SailorJerry]

Could you BIAB this in a 10 gallon pot? Thinking this might be the recipe for our first BIAB attempt...

 

[brew703]

Gonna give this a try next weekend.
Couple questions:
-What is the best % for Lactose? When I added to Brewers Friend it's at 7.8%. is that good or should I increase?
-Yeast: OP shows US-05 but I've read people use S04, Notty and Windsor. Don't want a thin stout so looking for something with some body. Stick with US05 or go with one of the others?
I apologize if this was answered. I skimmed through the posts- just didn't have time to go through each page.

 

[triethylborane]

Anywhere around 8% on the lactose seems to be fine. Im looking at my recipe for this and it is right at 8.2%. For me, that is 1 lb in a 5 gallon batch.

I would use WLP004, also bumping up mash temp a few degrees from 151f to 154f and bumping up flaked oats on the grain bill will help get more body at the expense of SG. Just a few thoughts.

 

[brew703]

Anywhere around 8% on the lactose seems to be fine. Im looking at my recipe for this and it is right at 8.2%. For me, that is 1 lb in a 5 gallon batch.

I would use WLP004, also bumping up mash temp a few degrees from 151f to 154f and bumping up flaked oats on the grain bill will help get more body at the expense of SG. Just a few thoughts.

Thanks for the info. I'll definitely bump up the mash temp and increase the flaked oats. Kinda want to stay with dry yeast but might consider if I don't have to make a starter. At the moment I brew 3 gallon batches. I do have some slurry of 1450 that I might use if I have enough DME to make a starter.

 

[grizzly2378]

Brewed the original recipe in this thread a couple weeks ago. Brew day went well, ended up with 1.060 for an OG. I used Denny's Favorite 50 and pitched a 1.5L starter. I've checked gravity twice since then and both times it was 1.026. The yeast has pretty well dropped out and I got two identical gravity readings a week apart, so I'm pretty sure it's done. That seems a touch high for a FG...BeerSmith had the target at 1.022. Anyone else had a similar gravity? I mashed at 154 and added the pound of lactose, maybe should've mashed a little lower?

Regardless, the hydro sample tastes great. A bit sweet, but it is a sweet stout. Just curious if others have had similar results.

 

[spittybug]

A perennial favorite at the House of Malbec Brewing. Experiment with the lactose quantity and dial it in to your palate.

 

[brew703]

Brewed the original recipe in this thread a couple weeks ago. Brew day went well, ended up with 1.060 for an OG. I used Denny's Favorite 50 and pitched a 1.5L starter. I've checked gravity twice since then and both times it was 1.026. The yeast has pretty well dropped out and I got two identical gravity readings a week apart, so I'm pretty sure it's done. That seems a touch high for a FG...BeerSmith had the target at 1.022. Anyone else had a similar gravity? I mashed at 154 and added the pound of lactose, maybe should've mashed a little lower?

Regardless, the hydro sample tastes great. A bit sweet, but it is a sweet stout. Just curious if others have had similar results.

I've used Dennys before at it didn't finish where Beersmith said it would. A couple points higher. But I've had that issue with US05 too. I usually mash between 150 and 153, rarely at 154. I would assume the higher mash temp caused the higher final gravity. I believe the OP says 151 mash temp- I may go to 153 and see how that plays out.

 

[brew703]

One more question: which water profile do you follow? I use Bru N Water.
Black bitter, black malty or black balanced?

 

[phyllobeddo]

FWIW…...

After reading over the following article which is about mashing the perfect sweet stout, I came up with the following recipe for a 2.5 gallon batch.
http://www.madalchemist.com/archives/mashing-the-perfect-sweet-stout/

Water
4 gallons - RO for Mash (BIAB)
2 quarts - RO for Cold Steep (no salts) 24-48 hours and then added to boil w/ 10 minutes left

Ez Water Calculator
Estimated ph - 5.59
Calcium - 102
Magnesium - 0
Sodium - 99
Chloride - 143
Sulfate - 52

CaCl -* 4.5 g
Gypsum - 1.4 g
Baking Soda - 5.5 g
Lactic Acid - 2.5 ml

I adjusted the recipe a bit, using ingredients on hand.

4 # Maris Otter (mash)
8 oz Roasted Barley (cold steep)
8 oz Chocolate Malt (cold steep)
8 oz Flaked Barley (mash)
8 oz Flaked Oats (mash)
6 oz Crystal 60L (mash)
6 oz Munich (mash)

.5 # Lactose @ 10 min

6 g Magnum 60 min
14 g EKG 10 min

Mash @ 158 60-90 minutes
Boil 90 minutes
11 g (one pack) S-04 rehydrated
OG - 1.080
25 IBU

 

[brew703]

Thanks for the link. Wasn't planning on steeping any grains but after reading the article, I may try it. I'm not using MO- Using 2 Row as the base. Not sure how that would affect the PH. Guess I'll have to do more reading before brew day.

 

[phyllobeddo]

I brewed the aforementioned recipe today. I forgot the 2.5 ml of lactic acid in the mash for the first 50 minutes....DOH! I added it once I realized I had forgotten it, stirred the mash, and then continued to mash for another 55 minutes. I reckon it'll be beer in a couple of weeks, but I'm curious what effect the lack of acid had/will have. EZ Water Calc showed a mash ph of 5.9 without the acid. Ended up with 1077 OG and Beersmith showing 80% mash efficiency. That's about normal in terms of mash efficiency.
Oh, and the cold steep smelled absolutely amazing! Super rich, dark, roasty, coffee.

 

[brew703]

FWIW…...

After reading over the following article which is about mashing the perfect sweet stout, I came up with the following recipe for a 2.5 gallon batch.
http://www.madalchemist.com/archives/mashing-the-perfect-sweet-stout/

Water
4 gallons - RO for Mash (BIAB)
2 quarts - RO for Cold Steep (no salts) 24-48 hours and then added to boil w/ 10 minutes left

Ez Water Calculator
Estimated ph - 5.59
Calcium - 102
Magnesium - 0
Sodium - 99
Chloride - 143
Sulfate - 52

CaCl -* 4.5 g
Gypsum - 1.4 g
Baking Soda - 5.5 g
Lactic Acid - 2.5 ml

I adjusted the recipe a bit, using ingredients on hand.

4 # Maris Otter (mash)
8 oz Roasted Barley (cold steep)
8 oz Chocolate Malt (cold steep)
8 oz Flaked Barley (mash)
8 oz Flaked Oats (mash)
6 oz Crystal 60L (mash)
6 oz Munich (mash)

.5 # Lactose @ 10 min

6 g Magnum 60 min
14 g EKG 10 min

Mash @ 158 60-90 minutes
Boil 90 minutes
11 g (one pack) S-04 rehydrated
OG - 1.080
25 IBU

Did you add the water additions before mashing? For some reason, my ph always seems to be off compared to what Bru N Water shows. It's not much of a difference but some times it requires lactic acid additions to get within range. Never brewed a dark beer before so curious to see how it turns out.
I've also decided to steep the roasted barley and choc malt. I believe I've read where 1 qt water per lb of grain is the ratio used to steep so that's what I will do.
I do have some Denny's slurry I may use. Just need to make a starter to make sure it's still viable since it's been in my fridge since Jan.

 

[phyllobeddo]

Did you add the water additions before mashing? For some reason, my ph always seems to be off compared to what Bru N Water shows. It's not much of a difference but some times it requires lactic acid additions to get within range. Never brewed a dark beer before so curious to see how it turns out.
I've also decided to steep the roasted barley and choc malt. I believe I've read where 1 qt water per lb of grain is the ratio used to steep so that's what I will do.
I do have some Denny's slurry I may use. Just need to make a starter to make sure it's still viable since it's been in my fridge since Jan.

Yeah. I added the CaCl, gypsum, and baking soda prior to heating the strike water. I neglected to add the lactic acid after mashing in. I don't have a ph meter so I'm just going off of estimates from EZ Water Calculator and/or Bru N Water for now. All my beers start with RO water.

Here's where I read two quarts per water per pound of milled grains:

http://homebrewacademy.com/cold-steep-dark-grains-experiment/

I can't stress enough how good the cold steep smelled before going in the boil! I hope the mash ph didn't bork this batch.

I checked and it was bubbling this morning about 5:30am. Lots more bubbling this afternoon at 5:30pm.

 

[brew703]

Yeah. I added the CaCl, gypsum, and baking soda prior to heating the strike water. I neglected to add the lactic acid after mashing in. I don't have a ph meter so I'm just going off of estimates from EZ Water Calculator and/or Bru N Water for now. All my beers start with RO water.

Here's where I read two quarts per water per pound of milled grains:

http://homebrewacademy.com/cold-steep-dark-grains-experiment/

I can't stress enough how good the cold steep smelled before going in the boil! I hope the mash ph didn't bork this batch.

I checked and it was bubbling this morning about 5:30am. Lots more bubbling this afternoon at 5:30pm.

I re-read the article I was referring to and it is 2 qts per lb. So, I'll do that. I have a cheap ph meter, which seems to be pretty accurate doesn't hold steady at one reading. It fluctuates some but it gets me in a range which is what I was after.
Thanks for the info.

 

[grizzly2378]

I just pulled my first pint of this last night and it was incredible. Quite possibly the best beer I've brewed to date. I've actually brewed this recipe (or something very close to it) twice before, but this was my first time kegging it, and it's so much better on tap. Only been on gas for 5 days (set it and forget it), so it still has some carbing to do, but it was still great....so great I had to pull another pint just to be sure.

Mine finished at 1.026, which had me a bit worried that it would be too sweet, but it's not at all. With the higher FG it's only 4.5%, but it surely doesn't taste like your average "session" beer. I have some Left Hand Milk Stout on hand (both regular and nitro) and haven't done a side by side tasting yet, but I would say it's a pretty damn close approximation.

 

[pursuit0fhoppiness]

I just pulled my first pint of this last night and it was incredible. Quite possibly the best beer I've brewed to date. I've actually brewed this recipe (or something very close to it) twice before, but this was my first time kegging it, and it's so much better on tap. Only been on gas for 5 days (set it and forget it), so it still has some carbing to do, but it was still great....so great I had to pull another pint just to be sure.

Mine finished at 1.026, which had me a bit worried that it would be too sweet, but it's not at all. With the higher FG it's only 4.5%, but it surely doesn't taste like your average "session" beer. I have some Left Hand Milk Stout on hand (both regular and nitro) and haven't done a side by side tasting yet, but I would say it's a pretty damn close approximation.

Did you brew this exactly as the OP? I'm brewing a milk stout soon and am seeking the best recipe I can find

 

[illin8]

Bottled up a batch of this last night, came in at 1.024, tasted awesome...roasty and smooth. Can't wait til they are carbed up!!

 

[LoneTreeFarms]

Got a silver in the sweet stout competition a few months ago with this brew. Thanks to the OP.

 

[JayInAmes]

Did you brew this exactly as the OP? I'm brewing a milk stout soon and am seeking the best recipe I can find

Third at the Iowa State Fair. Brewed it according to instructions, but should have fermented higher. Highly recommended!

 

[pursuit0fhoppiness]

Going to brew this tomorrow except a 3gallon batch using WLP001 at 21C. Hope it turns out just as great!

 

[jekeane]

I brewed this earlier this summer with a buddy we split the batch half using WLP002 and Half using US-05. I also used Maris Otter in place of 2-row and used British equivalents of most of the grain. I added 1% swaen coffee malt as well.

We also spilt our own batches into variants WLP002 got a chai tea tincture and the US05 in 2.5g got 1 vanilla bean and 2oz cacao nibs in the keg and then a chipotle pepper tincture in the bottle.

The WLP002 versions won a gold for sweet stout and silver for spice herb the US-05 A silver for Sweet stout and bronze for Spice herb. Great base recipe that allows a good deal of tweaking.

 

[snocross1985]

I brewed this as a 2.5 gallon batch 2 weeks ago and bottled it yesterday. The hydrometer sample was fantastic. Just about hit the numbers as in the recipe (1.060 Original Gravity, 1.020 Final Gravity). I had some Wyeast 1728 slurry (Scottish Ale) from a wee heavy I had brewed prior. Really looking forward to this one being carbed up and ready to drink.

 

[Kosova]

I'm planning to brew this soon but I have no access to roasted barley. It's not sold on any supplier in my country and I don't want to roast it myself and risk the beer. How would this change the beer overall?

 

[BigCrazyAl]

I'm brewing this tomorrow morning and am pretty excited to see how it turns out! Based on what I've read, this will be delicious.

 

[triethylborane]

I'm brewing this tomorrow morning and am pretty excited to see how it turns out! Based on what I've read, this will be delicious.

Its a critical beer to have on hand TBH. You following OP or a tweaked recipe?

 

[BigCrazyAl]

I'm following the OP. I don't have much experience so I'm seeing if I can follow a recipe well and hit the numbers. Last time I did well with the lemon summer blonde and it's delicious! If I tweak it later, I'll at least know where I started

 

[BigCrazyAl]

So I got this done today. It's about 40 degrees outside today so that was fun. Had to mash inside and then crank the burner way up outside just to get a boil. Even with all that fun, it's in the fermenter.

Pictures show the color before boiling as well as foam color before hot break. This will be a good looking brew when it's finally done!