Recipe calling for lactose needing similar substitute

[dharward]

I have a northern brewer extract kit for the pumpkin spiced latte stout and it calls for lactose. My wife and I are both lactose intolerant so I'm not using that. I have added some maltodextrine to it for the sweetener but I know I will be missing the creaminess that the lactose has. I was thinking about adding a can of coconut cream to the fermenter or to the keg. This would make it a little more realistic for us as we would likely use coconut milk on an actual latte for the same reason.

My question is would anyone think it better to add it to the fermenter a couple days before legging or add it to the keg and then carb it?

I'm just not sure which would be best.

 

[Yooper]

I have a northern brewer extract kit for the pumpkin spiced latte stout and it calls for lactose. My wife and I are both lactose intolerant so I'm not using that. I have added some maltodextrine to it for the sweetener but I know I will be missing the creaminess that the lactose has. I was thinking about adding a can of coconut cream to the fermenter or to the keg. This would make it a little more realistic for us as we would likely use coconut milk on an actual latte for the same reason.

My question is would anyone think it better to add it to the fermenter a couple days before legging or add it to the keg and then carb it?

I'm just not sure which would be best.

Lactose is sugar, as you know. Coconut cream is mostly fat, so it's not even close to the same thing. Cream/fat won't really dissolve, and just sort of float around the beer. I wouldn't use coconut cream.

Maybe use some flaked wheat in the recipe, when you steep the grains? That's sort of creamy, and gives a rocky head.

 

[dharward]

I used the maltodextrine to achieve the sweet character I am looking to add some creamy tonit

 

[microbusbrewery]

I used the maltodextrine to achieve the sweet character I am looking to add some creamy tonit

That's why yooper is suggesting flaked wheat. You could also go with flaked oats, but I'd skip the coconut cream as well. Best case the fat from the coconut cream kills your head retention. Worst case, it goes rancid and makes your beer undrinkable.

 

[Yooper]

Or flaked barley- I use flaked barley in my stout and it gives a rocky head with a hint of body and creaminess. It's nothing like lactose (which is sugar), but it can be great in a stout.

 

[IslandLizard]

The maltodextrin will give you the sweetness and some extra body.

I'd add flaked oats to substitute for the mouthfeel of lactose. It's not the same, but they lend a nice oily-like smoothness to the beer, and good head. For a 5 gallon batch you'd need about 1-2 pounds of oats to get the right effect.

But... any flaked goods need to be mashed with a diastatic malt. Since your kit is extract, you may need to learn how to do that as well as tweak/recalculate the recipe.

 

[LLBeanJ]

Sounds like you've already brewed it, so I don't think there's much you can do at this point. I agree with the advice above that adding any kind of cream to your beer will not end well. Don't do it.

Being lactose intolerant, have you found that the lactose in beer actually causes you problems? I only ask because both my wife and daughter are lactose intolerant, but neither suffers adverse effects from lactose in beer, at least not from one or two glasses in a sitting. My guess it that the concentration of lactose in the beer is too low to be an issue for them.

 

[BigEd]

I have a northern brewer extract kit for the pumpkin spiced latte stout and it calls for lactose. My wife and I are both lactose intolerant so I'm not using that. I have added some maltodextrine to it for the sweetener but I know I will be missing the creaminess that the lactose has. I was thinking about adding a can of coconut cream to the fermenter or to the keg. This would make it a little more realistic for us as we would likely use coconut milk on an actual latte for the same reason.

My question is would anyone think it better to add it to the fermenter a couple days before legging or add it to the keg and then carb it?

I'm just not sure which would be best.

As others have said, do not use coconut milk. There really is no substitute for lactose. Maltodextrin has next to nothing in sweetness although you could use it. If there is an artificial sweetener that you use that could be tried. You could also consider vanilla. It's not a sweetener obviously but it does tend to enhance perceived sweetness.

 

[Dee_Lynn]

Glycerin is unfermentable and is often used to sweeten some cheap wines. I have used 2-3 drops per ounce of beer to sweeten. Be careful though and test to see what suits your taste.

 

[Greyfriar]

Being lactose intolerant, have you found that the lactose in beer actually causes you problems? I only ask because both my wife and daughter are lactose intolerant, but neither suffers adverse effects from lactose in beer, at least not from one or two glasses in a sitting. My guess it that the concentration of lactose in the beer is too low to be an issue for them.

Like someone else said, it depends on your sensitivity. I brewed a milk stout, which called for 1 pound of lactose in 5 gallons of beer. That's roughly 2.4% lactose. Typical milks range from 4.8-5.2%, depending on milk fat content (the lower the fat content, the more lactose).

All that being said, I was unpleasantly surprised by the pains drinking my milk stout caused. It was a tasty beer, but not worth the pain afterwards.

 

[chancehurley2]

Use vanilla bean and flaked oats.

 

[DouglasCleary]

Allulose is a newer unfermentable sweetener found naturally in maple syrup and raisins. It has some other interesting benefits in that it does not raise blood sugar.