Milk Stouts

[dhelegda]

How sweet are milk stouts? I see a lot of recipes that call for 1 pound of milk sugar. That seems like a lot of unfrementable sugars. Left hand stout doesn't seem that sweet. Is a full pound too much?

 

[Beernik]

I've seen recipes that call for a full pound.

I prefer to mash a little higher than I would otherwise and use a 1/2 pound.

 

[dhelegda]

I've seen recipes that call for a full pound.

I prefer to mash a little higher than I would otherwise and use a 1/2 pound.

What do you mean by "mash a little higher" are you talking temperature?

 

[ffaoe]

I did a chocolate milk stout with a half pound of milk sugar. It wasn't sweet at all, but it cut down some of the bitterness of the heavily roasted malts. Came out delicious.

 

[Beernik]

What do you mean by "mash a little higher" are you talking temperature?

A "normal" beer, I'll usually mash between 142F and 147F depending on the style and how dry I want it. My sweet milk stouts, I'll mash around 154F.

 

[dhelegda]

Got it thanks!

 

[Pappers_]

How sweet are milk stouts? I see a lot of recipes that call for 1 pound of milk sugar. That seems like a lot of unfrementable sugars. Left hand stout doesn't seem that sweet. Is a full pound too much?

Lactose (milk sugar) isn't very sweet. Take a taste of it and its hardly sweet at all. It adds more body and and a creaminess to the mouthfeel than sweetness, in my experience.

A "normal" beer, I'll usually mash between 142F and 147F depending on the style and how dry I want it. My sweet milk stouts, I'll mash around 154F.

I also mash a sweet stout higher, but my temperature range is different. I think that standard wisdom is you don't want to mash any beer under 147F or you won't be activating the necessary enzymes. The range I've always used is 147F at the low end and 158F at the high end.

For milk stouts, I mash at 156F-158F.

 

[Beernik]

Mash temps can run from 130F to 168F.

130F - beta amylase starts working
138F - protein rest enzymes stop working
140F - optimum beta amylase
149F - alpha & beta amylase work equally well
158F - optimum alpha amylase
168F - alpha amylase stops working

I found this chart. The "Brewers Window" on it is for one single temperature mashes.

I guess that I should also clarify that I do a lot of step mashes and decoctions. So, for my "normal" beers there will be a long beta rest and a short alpha rest. So, like 144F for an hour and 158F for 15 minutes. That was my last rye beer.

 

[Pappers_]

@Beernik I understand your point now - step mashes usually go from about 132F - 168f (mashout). For single temperature infusion mashes, everything I've read says 147F - 158F is the range to use, until you mash out at 168+F, which is exactly what the 'brewer's window' in your diagram shows.

 

[KOamps]

A pound in 5 gallons is pretty much perfect in my milk stouts, noticeable without tasting like half and half. I like to go heavy on the roasted barley, a little black malt and no chocolate malt. I mash lower and use kinda inefficient British yeast, trying to minimize the heaviness from the extra body the lactose adds. Keep the IBUs on the balanced side and it won't be too sweet at all.

 

[ghohn]

I just brewed my first sweet stout using 1lb ala the Northern Brewer Sweet Stout recipe. It's thick and, as a result, is more of an every other day drink. In the future, I'll probably cut the lactose in half and call it a daily drinker. Otherwise, wicked delicious.