Milk in my brew? Bacteria?

[Stout712]

I just put a stout into the fermenter (one of those 5 gallon plastic bucket ones) last night. It was supposed to be a chocolate stout and I kind of winged the recipe: Hoped malt extract, unsweetened chocolate, sugar, and milk. My dad and I were concerned, however, that since the milk was in an anaerobic environment, even though there is going to be alcohol, it would spawn salmonella or botulism.

Do I have any reason to be concerned? Should I pitch it out and start over again?

 

[bovineblitz]

Ohhhh not good. You're supposed to use lactose not milk.

Though... you may as well wait and see what happens. If you boiled the milk I wouldn't worry about infection.

Take pics!

 

[NorCalAngler]

I would be concerned if you didn't boil the milk to sterilize it. Recipes use pure lactose to create the same sweet flavor found in milk. You added lactose, but you also added all the milk protein and fat so who knows how it will affect the taste, but I'm going to guess it's not going to be pleasant if you added a large amount of milk.

 

[Yooper]

Fermented milk just doesn't sound good at all to me. A "milk" stout doesn't really have milk in it, it's just a name because the sugar in it is lactose, also called milk sugar. Lactose isn't fermentable by ale yeast, so the stout stays creamy and sweet, but not with any real milk flavor.

 

[Stout712]

Ohhh...well, it's a good thing I checked here first rather than waiting 2 weeks. I didn't boil the milk first, so yeah, maybe I should start over.

Is it okay to put pure milk chocolate in (just take a few hersey bars)? Or is it better to mix lactose with unsweetened chocolate?

 

[Yooper]

Ohhh...well, it's a good thing I checked here first rather than waiting 2 weeks. I didn't boil the milk first, so yeah, maybe I should start over.

Is it okay to put pure milk chocolate in (just take a few hersey bars)? Or is it better to mix lactose with unsweetened chocolate?

No, don't use Hersey's bars! They have all kinds of stuff in them, but mostly the oils/fats will not be good for your beer. You'll have an oily slick on the beer.

You can use nibs, I believe, and the powdered dried coccoa stuff. I'm not an expert on that, though as I don't add stuff like that to my beer. There are others who can give very good advice on that, though!

Have you considered using a tried and true recipe for the first attempt at this kind of stout? I know that others have made chocolate stouts, with good results, and it'd probably be easier to follow their paths until you have the technique down.

 

[whatisitgoodfor]

Something I've been thinking about a little bit is making some mozzarella to separate out the whey from the fats and proteins.

Anyone know of a reason that using that whey wouldn't work? I don't think that the whey from a cultured cheese would work though, since you're using bacteria to convert the milk sugars into acid for curdling.

 

[Yooper]

Something I've been thinking about a little bit is making some mozzarella to separate out the whey from the fats and proteins.

Anyone know of a reason that using that whey wouldn't work? I don't think that the whey from a cultured cheese would work though, since you're using bacteria to convert the milk sugars into acid for curdling.

Well, true, you'd use citric acid to acidify the milk, and not lactobacillus, but have you ever tasted the whey after it's acidified? It's SOUR. That would definitely be an unpleasant taste, in my opinion.

 

[Edcculus]

I really applaud your effort to make a recipe, but this definately warrants a "dump it out and try again". I really don't think there is anything that can save it. Your beer won't spawn anything harmful, but it will sour. Lactobacillus is the bacteria that causes sour milk. While its used a lot in the sour brewing world, it comes from certain strains, and definitely not milk!

If you want to make a chocolate stout, cocoa powder or cocoa nibs are the best way to go. Chocolate bars contain a lot of fats, extra sugar, sometimes vanilla and milk solids for milk chocolate. Cocoa powder is merely the cocoa solids after the fat (cocoa butter) has been pressed out. Its extremely bitter alone, which is why Chocolate Stouts usually incorporate lactose to sweeten it up. Lactose can be found at any homebrew shop. It is a white powder. Lactose is a longer chained sugar (hence not as sweet). This also means yeast cannot ferment it. That means the final gravity of your beer will be slightly higher, which translates into a slightly sweeter beer.

If you haven't already done so, look for a kit from your local homebrew store, or a respected online store like Brewmasters Warehouse, Austin Homebrew Supply, or Midwest Brewing Supply.

 

[DavidHawman]

Plus, milk is pasteurized not sterilized. Thats why an unopened bottle of milk will still spoil after a few weeks. You probably introduced quite a few lactobacillus into the beer. I'd say wait two weeks and see what it smells/tastes like. You never know what could happen.

 

[Julohan]

It wont spawn botulism or salmonella. They would already be in the milk. Also, the milk is probably pasteurized, so salmonella and botulism could only be found in the milk if someone intentionally put it in there after pasteurization.

 

[UnderThePorchBrewing]

Made a chocolate oatmeal stout using this chocolate extract that someone on the board here showed me chocolate extract . After a couple of months almost tastes like young's double chocolate. going to need to tweak the recipe but back on topic, this is I found is one of the best ways to get chocolate in without the mess. use 2 oz in 5 Gallons. then use the lactose to sweeten to get the "milk" stout
Ben