Upgrade Milk Stout Kit to Imperial Stout

[Architect-Dave]

I have the MoreBeer Milk Stout all-grain kit on hand and I want to upgrade this to an Imperial version. I know I can just increase base malts (or even DME / LME) to get it from 1.055 to 1.090 (give/take) but I am not knowledgeable enough to know what to to with the specialty grains and hops to keep the balance together. Do I just plug the recipe into my Brewfather app and adjust the specialties and hops to hit the IBU and SRM marks? Anyone have any advice?

The kit recipe is as follows:
10-lbs 2-Row
8-oz. Caramunich
8-oz. Special B
8-oz. Black Patent
8-oz. Roasted Barley
2-oz. Willamette (60-minutes)
1-oz. Kent Goldings (15-minutes)
8-oz. Lactose (15-minutes)
O.G. - 1.055 (+/-)
SRM - 40
IBU - 40

 

[mac_1103]

Imperial stouts tend to have 70-80 IBU to counteract the residual sweetness inherent to the style. An imperial stout with lactose and only 40 IBU would probably turn out pretty cloying. Morebeer sells imperial stout kits, so you could compare the recipes and adjust that way. Or you can just add an extra 5 lbs of 2-row, leave out the lactose, and increase the 60 minute hops or use something with a higher AA. If you can't mash 17 lbs on your system then you can add 3 lbs of DME instead of the extra base malt.

 

[Architect-Dave]

Imperial stouts tend to have 70-80 IBU to counteract the residual sweetness inherent to the style. An imperial stout with lactose and only 40 IBU would probably turn out pretty cloying. Morebeer sells imperial stout kits, so you could compare the recipes and adjust that way. Or you can just add an extra 5 lbs of 2-row, leave out the lactose, and increase the 60 minute hops or use something with a higher AA. If you can't mash 17 lbs on your system then you can add 3 lbs of DME instead of the extra base malt.

Thanks

 

[Erik the Anglophile]

You could increase base malt to reach 1.090 and double one of the roasted malts, increase the bittering charge 2-3 times and see how it turns out

 

[mac_1103]

Thanks

Sorry, if you really want to get the OG up to the 1.090 range you'll need to increase the 2-row to 16 lbs or add 4 lbs of DME.

 

[sibelman]

The above advice is sound. The only question in my mind is whether you'd need more lactose to get the sweetness you seek. I suspect not, as the added malt will likely contribute some residual sweetness itself.

Be sure to use yeast that can well handle the increased gravity/ABV. Expect longer time to completion and carbonation.

 

[Architect-Dave]

Thank you everyone. After reading your sound advice and suggestions, along with MoreBeer’s response to the same question i posed with them, I am just going to stick with the base recipe for this for now. i will look into an imperial milk stout recipe from scratch instead of trying to adjust this one.

 

[Bobby_M]

The above advice is sound. The only question in my mind is whether you'd need more lactose to get the sweetness you seek. I suspect not, as the added malt will likely contribute some residual sweetness itself.

Be sure to use yeast that can well handle the increased gravity/ABV. Expect longer time to completion and carbonation.

On the contrary, I was going to say that I'd take the lactose out. It's pretty rare that an Imperial stout needs help being sweet. I've back sweetened with lactose once because I had an unusually high attenuation once, but it's certainly easier to add body than take it away after the fact.

 

[sibelman]

take the lactose out

Maybe so. I'm not a fan of over sweet Imperials, and it can happen without lactose for sure. I guess the fact that OP seems to want a milk stout suggests he wants plenty of sweetness.

 

[Bobby_M]

Maybe so. I'm not a fan of over sweet Imperials, and it can happen without lactose for sure. I guess the fact that OP seems to want a milk stout suggests he wants plenty of sweetness.

Yeah, it's splitting hairs at this point. It's a total diversion from the topic but I prefer my sweet stouts without lactose as well (if not just a small amount, perhaps 4oz). You can manipulate body with mash temps and yeast selection.