Sweet Stout Left Hand Milk Stout Clone

[Soulshine2]

so

Thanks! So the packaged amount would be like ~4.75 gallons assuming ~0.25 gallons trub loss?

Sounds about right. I tend to make my batches a little larger on the malts and preboil end to compensate for the boil off and trub losses along the way. So far so good. I end up with 51-53 12 oz bottles fairly consistently on an otherwise 5 gallon batch.

 

[BongoYodeler]

Correct again.
I've actually got 6.25 gallons of this in my fermenter right now that I'll be racking to a keg, on top of some Apex toasted coconut flavoring.
Second time making it. Last year I brewed a scaled down 1.25 gallon batch, (no coconut, yielding 12 bottles), and tried a bottle every few weeks. I found the longer it was bottled the better it tasted. My last bottle, at ~ 5 or 6 months tasted the best. It's a really good recipe.

 

[Soulshine2]

Im waiting for my Lactose to be delivered ,thursday i think the tracking said .Wife ordered it the other day for me. I picked up a 1 lb bag of Breiss 2 row chocolate dark malts yesterday to toss in the mash too. Im hoping by maybe Friday I'll be brewing .

 

[pmd5700]

I'm getting ready to brew this and I added the recipe into Brewers Friend and made a few small tweaks and also worked on a water profile. How does this look? Any major issues? I used pricelessbrew's BIAB calculator to figure out my volumes. I don't know what my efficiency will be but I want to use this batch to figure some stuff out with my setup. Thanks!

EDIT: Also, when I plugged the exact same parameters into Bru'n Water, I got a higher expected pH. I believe that's typical from what I've read.

LHMS

• pmd5700
• Dec 10, 2019

 

[BongoYodeler]

Thanks, keep us updated!

Kegged this yesterday. Racked on top of 2 1/2 TBS of Apex Toasted Coconut flavoring and I hope that wasn't too much. The entire kitchen smelled of coconut.

The pre-coconut sample tasted very good, though a bit sweeter than I'd hoped. My FG, 1.030, was higher than predicted, and quite a bit higher than the last time I made this (1.018). My efficiencies were quite good so I'm thinking the higher FG came from a combination of the lactose and mash temperature. I did begin the mash at 152° and didn't check it again until the hour was up. Thinking maybe the Blichmann burner retained enough heat to raise the mash temperature too far past 152° Something for me to look closer at on my next brew day.

 

[RTHP99]

Sounds good! Noticeable improvement over just using spring water? I'm going to brew this tomorrow with that water profile

 

[BongoYodeler]

Sounds good! Noticeable improvement over just using spring water? I'm going to brew this tomorrow with that water profile

I chilled it for 48 hrs and did a quick carb last night and poured a sample glass. Carbonation still needs to round out a bit but damn, it tasted good. Like a Mounds bar only better. Really nice chocolate flavor and the coconut takes it to the next level.

 

[BongoYodeler]

Sounds good! Noticeable improvement over just using spring water? I'm going to brew this tomorrow with that water profile

Not sure I can answer your question yet since it's only been in the keg for three days. But the early returns look (taste) very promising though. I do remember being more and more impressed with the bottled batch the longer it aged. This one tastes pretty damn good right out of the shoot. Maybe the coconut is influencing my impression, who knows. Good luck tomorrow.

Here's my first full pour.

 

[RTHP99]

Just finished brewing, and came in way under gravity(1.053) . It was the first time brewing on a new system(Anvil foundry) , and I think a combination of things went wrong. Crush was too fine and I was having trouble keeping the recirculation pump going, and I think I started with a little too much water . We'll see how it turns out

 

[Clarke Nicholson]

I’ve brewed this 3 times and it’s still one of my favorites.

 

[BigMitch]

Just brewed this up today. Tried the left hand version when I was in the states. Here in Australia we can’t get it so was very excited to see this recipe. How long do you recommend aging in keg? I’m thinking 2 months?
Cheers

 

[Alex4mula]

Brewed this exactly as original yesterday. Got an OG of 1.064. My conversion efficiency calculated about 93%. Tested a full time re-circulation pump on my M&B for first time. Happy about it. Wort tasted very good. I'm sure it will be great. Thanks to OP for sharing ;-)

 

[Alex4mula]

Kegged it today. OMG!! This is definitely the best stout I have made and it is still uncarbed!. I agree better than LHMS. Not only that. I have visited over 80 breweries during last two years and I think this is at the top of many stouts I have tried. Thank you thank you OP for sharing this recipe! I think I'm brewing it again this weekend to fill up that fermenter. Maybe I'll add coffee to it. If you are on the fence on this brew just do it!

 

[BongoYodeler]

Kegged it today. OMG!! This is definitely the best stout I have made and it is still uncarbed!. I agree better than LHMS. Not only that. I have visited over 80 breweries during last two years and I think this is at the top of many stouts I have tried. Thank you thank you OP for sharing this recipe! I think I'm brewing it again this weekend to fill up that fermenter. Maybe I'll add coffee to it. If you are on the fence on this brew just do it!

It is good, isn't it?
Just had a glass of my coconut version earlier.

 

[Alex4mula]

Wow wow wow! Having my first glass now. This stout is amazing. Haven’t even started and I think I’ll buy the ingredients for my second batch.

 

[Shenanigans]

Wow wow wow! Having my first glass now. This stout is amazing. Haven’t even started and I think I’ll buy the ingredients for my second batch.

You have convinced me guys
I'm going to give this a shot sometime soon.
Just need to decide on the right water profile.

 

[Sippingainteasy]

I’m not quite sure how it happened but instead of making 10 gallons I doubled everything on the 5 gallon recipe and made a really big 5 gallon batch. Will this basically be a imperial stout? OG is 1.092 the sample tasted good. Also any suggestions on how long to leave in fermenter I’ve never made anything this big?

 

[Tyler B]

I've never made this beer, but I've got a different RIS in primary right now (OG 1.087). I'd say your definitely in Imperial territory, but that OG is a bit deceiving because of the Lactose. If I had to guess, I'd say you'll end up around 8%.

A few suggestions based on my experience...

Pitch the right amount of yeast.

Make sure you give it plenty of O2. I always give mine a healthy dose of oxygen when I pitch the yeast (by shaking the bucket) and then again about 12 hours later. The second one is probably optional (unless you skipped the first).

I always use yeast nutrient for big beers. Not sure it's necessary but I've never had any fermentations quit early so I continue to do it.

Control fermentation temps to the best of your ability, especially during the first week. Slowly raise temps during the second week. I use a homemade swamp cooler that works. decently well. This will prevent hot alcohols and other unwanted problems that arise from fermenting without making any effort to control temps.

Use a blow off tube just in case.

Leave it in primary for two to three weeks, until it finishes. Then bottle/keg and leave it alone for as long as you can because it will most likely continue to improve with age. I'd say three months minimum and probably more like four. Of course "check it" to see how it's going but if you doubled all of the hops and all of the dark grains, it's probably going to need time for the bitterness to mellow.

Report back on how it all goes, I'm curious.

 

[Alex4mula]

Tasting my second batch. I added 2oz of coffee at primary to this one. Very good with a touch of coffee. But honestly I like the original better.

 

[Tyler B]

I hope to brew this one soon. Also interested in making a sort of "Double LHMS".

Anyone have any success scaling this up to something a bit bigger? I'm thinking 7-8%ABV would be nice. I've seen a few people mention it.

In terms of recipe development, is it generally better to increase only base grains and leave the dark/caramel grains alone, scale everything proportionally, or something in between?

I'd love to hear your thoughts and experience!

 

[crusader1612]

I hope to brew this one soon. Also interested in making a sort of "Double LHMS".

Anyone have any success scaling this up to something a bit bigger? I'm thinking 7-8%ABV would be nice. I've seen a few people mention it.

In terms of recipe development, is it generally better to increase only base grains and leave the dark/caramel grains alone, scale everything proportionally, or something in between?

I'd love to hear your thoughts and experience!

increase your base malt to where you want your OG to be. thats pretty much it.

 

[Tyler B]

Thanks for the response, Crusader! I saw a brief discussion earlier about adjusting for brew house efficiency and it made me wonder about simply scaling to make a beer bigger.

Honestly, up to this point, I've always just scaled everything up proportionally to compensate for my poor efficiency and now realize that I probably shouldnt have been doing that. Oh well. That's what I'm here for. To learn from everyone else.

I think I'll start with something very similar to the original recipe and then make it bigger the second time around.

 

[nick113]

Hi, i made this recipe a week ago. Today morning i took a gravity measurement and i found it 1030. I think it is a little bit high.
What is your opinion about the FG and about the recipe in general.
Thanks

Left Hand Milk Stout
Sweet Stout

Recipe Specs
----------------
Batch Size (L): 40.0
Total Grain (kg): 11.250
Total Hops (g): 84.20
Original Gravity (OG): 1.062 (°P): 15.0
Final Gravity (FG): 1.013 (°P): 3.3
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 6.27 %
Colour (SRM): 42.3 (EBC): 83.3
Bitterness (IBU): 24.3 (Tinseth)
Brewhouse Efficiency (%): 70
Boil Time (Minutes): 60

Grain Bill
----------------
6.000 kg American - Pale 2-Row (53.33%)
1.000 kg American - Roasted Barley (8.89%)
1.000 kg Lactose (Milk Sugar) (8.89%)
0.750 kg American - Caramel / Crystal 60L (6.67%)
0.750 kg American - Chocolate (6.67%)
0.750 kg American - Munich - Light 10L (6.67%)
0.500 kg Flaked Barley (4.44%)
0.500 kg Flaked Oats (4.44%)

Hop Bill
----------------
25.3 g Magnum Pellet (12.8% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil) (0.6 g/L)
58.9 g East Kent Goldings Pellet (5% Alpha) @ 10 Minutes (Boil) (1.5 g/L)

Misc Bill
----------------

Single step Infusion at 66°C for 75 Minutes.
Fermented at 20°C with M-42

Notes
----------------
The lactose was added in final 10 minutes of the boil

Recipe Generated with Brewer's Friend

 

[Tyler B]

The grain bill is basically the same as the original one but you increased all of the non fermentable stuff (crystal, roasted barley, choc malt, lactose) by about 1% each. This might be why your FG is higher. I don't know much about M-42 yeast... does it attenuate as well as US-05? Mash temp looks reasonable.

Having said that, I bet your beer will be delicious! It might take a little while for all of those flavors to round out, so I'm sure patience will be rewarded with this one.

Please update and let us know how it turns out. I plan on brewing this very soon. I'll update when I do.

 

[Alex4mula]

I have done it three times as specified. It have ended ar 1.025, 1.024 and 1.020. Great beer!

 

[nick113]

So, I am going to leave it three days more and I will take another measurement. If I have the same result I am bottling on Wednesday. Two weeks in the fermenter.

 

[Tyler B]

Brewed basically this today. I made mine a little bigger (1.072 OG), reduced the roasted barley a touch as some of the early posters suggested, subbed the flaked barley for flaked wheat (what I had on hand), and used Columbus for bittering hops because that's what the Lefthand site says.

Im really excited to see how this one turns out. I'll report back once it's finished and I'm drinking it.

 

[Joshua Hughes]

I plan to brew this in a week or so I have a few questions.
1. Recipe says Pale Male (US 2 row). Should I use Maris Otter or Briess Brewers 2 row Malt? I have those
2. For yeast would s-04 slurry from an Irish Stout work or do I need US-05. I have both.

thanks! I bought the rest so I can follow this as written. Just confused on the malt and didn’t know if I could use yeast I already had ope without opening a new pack.

 

[Boilinginsc]

I’m going to give this a try, a fan of milk stouts here. SWNAGS likes red ales, so I would be able to enjoy the whole batch!

 

[Tyler B]

I plan to brew this in a week or so I have a few questions.
1. Recipe says Pale Male (US 2 row). Should I use Maris Otter or Briess Brewers 2 row Malt? I have those
2. For yeast would s-04 slurry from an Irish Stout work or do I need US-05. I have both.

thanks! I bought the rest so I can follow this as written. Just confused on the malt and didn’t know if I could use yeast I already had ope without opening a new pack.

I'd say it's your choice on the malt, whatever you prefer. I just used S-04 because it attenuates less/finishes a little sweeter. This also allowed me to use less lactose. Mine finished at 1.020. Kegged yesterday, initial tastes are about as expected.