Sweeten my Stout

GeoffHaines · Feb 5, 2015

Gents,

I'm brewing a vanilla-coffee American stout soon. My plan is to age 3 vanilla beans in secondary for a bit and cold brew the coffee in the cold crash (secondary). What I'm really hoping to achieve is a little sweetness. Anyone have advice? Would really love to use Maple Syrup.

Thanks in advance.

dcp27 · Feb 5, 2015

maple syrup will not add sweetness, its a simple sugar and will ferment out. lactose would be a better choice. you could of course also mash higher, bitter less, use more crystal.

3 vanilla beans is way too much, id cut that in half and make sure to soak them in some alcohol during primary

mrdail87 · Feb 5, 2015

One other alternative for sweetness is to raise the gravity. Usually, it's easier to get residual sweetness when there's more sugar to go around. Just make sure you choose your yeast and mash temp accordingly.

Just brewed an imperial stout with vanilla beans, using 2 Madagascar beans. Just soaked them in bourbon for about an hour before adding them. It was a heavy stout but it still has a nice mild vanilla flavor. Imagine it would be stronger if I soaked then longer.

GeoffHaines · Feb 13, 2015

mrdail87 said:
One other alternative for sweetness is to raise the gravity. Usually, it's easier to get residual sweetness when there's more sugar to go around. Just make sure you choose your yeast and mash temp accordingly.

Just brewed an imperial stout with vanilla beans, using 2 Madagascar beans. Just soaked them in bourbon for about an hour before adding them. It was a heavy stout but it still has a nice mild vanilla flavor. Imagine it would be stronger if I soaked then longer.

What would you suggest for a mash temp and yeast. As of right now, I planned on using WLP001 x2 vials in a starter and mashing at 154. Would love to hear some advice.

TheHappyHopper · Feb 13, 2015

+1 to the lactose. I brewed the cream stout recipe from Midwest Supplies and that used 1# of lactose for a 5 gallon batch. It turned out deliciously. Of course, depending on the rest of your recipe, 1# may be sweeter than you want to go.

Kevin79 · Feb 13, 2015

GeoffHaines said:
What would you suggest for a mash temp and yeast. As of right now, I planned on using WLP001 x2 vials in a starter and mashing at 154. Would love to hear some advice.

I wouldn't use wlp001. WLP002 would be a better choice. If you go on white labs website you will see that yeast got the highest rating for the sweet stout style. It will leave behind some residual sugars. Im brewing a chocolate sweet stout as I am typing this and that is what I am using... along with lactose which I also would recommend