milk stout came out waaay too sweet, any way to fix it?

[2ellas]

Good morning folks,

I brewed a 5 gallon extract oatmeal stout kit from midwest and had the brilliant idea to add a pound of lactose sugar to it. It came out way to sweet. Any thoughts as to what I could add to the keg to fix or offset the overpowering lactose sweetness?

On a side note, I'm lactose intolerant. Very poor planning on my part...

thanks in advance for any help!

 

[BigFloyd]

If you're lactose intolerant, you may as well give that batch away to friends/family/coworkers who like their beer on the sweet side.

If you want to make it less sweet, 8oz of unsweetened cocoa powder will help balance out that much lactose. You 'll have to first mix it into some warm water to make a slurry before adding it to the beer.

 

[JonM]

Serve it with desserts. The sweetness will be less perceptible and your guests will think you're brilliant for making a special dessert beer, which was your plan all along *wink*

 

[Paradigm]

As lactose is a non-fermentable, I think you're SOL on this one. A pound?! I think I used 6oz on a 11% Imperial Stout! Live and learn!

+1 on the dessert beer.

 

[MarshmallowBlue]

Next time add more roasted malt. But there probably won't be a next time. Like stated above, it will need to be paired with something sweeter than it. Sweetness is relative to what you tasted before it.

 

[TheHappyHopper]

As lactose is a non-fermentable, I think you're SOL on this one. A pound?! I think I used 6oz on a 11% Imperial Stout! Live and learn!

+1 on the dessert beer.

I have made the Cream Stout recipe from Midwest Supplies and it uses a pound of lactose for a 5 gallon batch. They do balance it with some Black Malt. Me and my friends liked it a lot and I actually have a second batch almost ready in the bottle (slightly tweaked from Midwest's recipe). I could see where it wouldn't be for everyone though...

Of course when you are adding to a recipe that it wasn't designed for, you are likely to run into issues with it being too sweet, like the OP mentions. Having it as a dessert beer sounds like a good plan, or I wonder if it would make good Black & Tans...

 

[madscientist451]

Brew another batch with no lactose addition and blend it. So....if you are lactose intolerant, why did you buy the lactose?

 

[Homercidal]

1 lb. is not too much for stouts IMO (Although I've only used it on a choc. milk stout that most people really like.)

In any case, you're intolerant, so the only useful option at this point is to send it to me. PM for my address.

 

[Kent88]

Brew another stout and blend them together, I'd say.

If you aren't too intolerant, eat a healthy portion of yogurt with active culture before drinking those stouts. The bugs in the yogurt should work on some of the lactose for you before it makes it too far into your system.

 

[stpug]

Good morning folks,

I brewed a 5 gallon extract oatmeal stout kit from midwest and had the brilliant idea to add a pound of lactose sugar to it. It came out way to sweet. Any thoughts as to what I could add to the keg to fix or offset the overpowering lactose sweetness?

On a side note, I'm lactose intolerant. Very poor planning on my part...

thanks in advance for any help!

It's the lactose intolerant part that's the hard part to get over

As for balancing the sweetness, you can boil up a hop tea using high alpha acid hops to impart additional bitterness to the beer. I've done this before to good effect. It's basically putting some hops in water and boiling them for 15 minutes (1 oz hops, 3 cups water, boil 15 minutes, strain through sanitized filter), and then adding the solution to your beer and sampling along the way to ensure you don't overdo it.

....but it's hard to get beyond the lactose intolerant aspect

Alternatively, if you want to bump up the funky factor then you could add brettanomyces to the keg and set it aside for 3-6 months. Brett should be able ferment the lactose to the point that it shouldn't (no guarantee) bother your intolerance. In addition, it should increase the ABV; dry the beer out; which will lead to a more balanced (less cloying ) end product. Add a small amount (0.5oz) of bourbon-soaked american oak chips and you have yourself a totally different kind of stout (bourbon barrel cask aged stout minus the bourbon barrel )

 

[Turkeyshot]

+1 on the hop tea idea. It is a quick and easy way to add some bitterness to the beer and offset the sweetness.

 

[Homercidal]

Seems like a relative of mine was able to eat some dairy items with some medicine. As long as it wasn't too much it wasn't too big a deal.

 

[rmyurick]

You could use it for beershakes (along with some chocolate maybe, and other flavorings you like). Or as a flavoring in homemade ice cream.

 

[unviewtiful]

Seems like a relative of mine was able to eat some dairy items with some medicine. As long as it wasn't too much it wasn't too big a deal.

Lactase enzyme, often sold under the brand name Lact-aid. I use the generic version with great success.

 

[LakeErieMonster]

I would brew up some coffee and mix it in. Maybe it's just the coffee stout kick I have been on recently, but I think the roastiness of the coffee could cut the sweetness well.

 

[2ellas]

I like the coffee, unsweetened cocoa and hop tea ideas. This thing is going to be a mess! As for the lactose intolerance, I didn't think it would be enough to cause any trouble but my wife will vouch for the fact that it's more than enough. I have lact-aid at home for other dairy consumption and it's worked well with the beer a couple times. Thanks for all the help!

 

[Paradigm]

Lactase enzyme, often sold under the brand name Lact-aid. I use the generic version with great success.

Going waaaaaaaaaaaaay back, but I distinctly remember when I was in day-care as a child there was this girl who was lactose intolerant, but she put these drops on food like buttered bread so she could eat it. Weird thing to remember, right?

Is what she was using that stuff?

 

[Hello]

You could use it for beershakes (along with some chocolate maybe, and other flavorings you like). Or as a flavoring in homemade ice cream.

Except that he is lactose intolerant.

I would make another batch, get it nice and roasty and blend it as well. Or I'd dry hop it and see what happens. A member here @bigperm mentioned doing that to his stout.

 

[2ellas]

What if I brewed a 2 cups of coffee and mixed the unsweetened cocoa powder in there, then tossed that schmutz into the keg? Yes, no, maybe?

 

[Oceantendency]

Pour that baby into a barrel or glass carboy and age it, then bottle and age...it'll be good and maybe by then you won't be as Lactose intolerant...just kidding, however you should let it age on some toasted Oak or the cocoa nibs...regardless you still won't be able to drink, but you could share.