When to Add Lactose to beer

[brandonlovesbeer]

When brewing Milk stout, when do I add the lactose? In the mash Or During the boil?

 

[hotwatermusic]

Towards the end of boil. Just enough time to sanitize and solubilize, 10 minutes.

 

[55x11]

When brewing Milk stout, when do I add the lactose? In the mash Or During the boil?

I may be different on this from conventional wisdom - but I like to add most additions that are flavor-based and not to be fermented after fermentation is complete. My key reasoning is that I like to taste the clean fermentation product once done and then add by taste in increments, until I dial it in perfectly. This could be different if I am trying to reproduce previously done recipe exactly.

You can always add lactose into a glass of boiling water and pour it into the fermenter or a keg, taste and add more if needed. I like to evaluate lactose addition against all other flavors of finished beer, and monitor flavor progression as I add more.

 

[dmtaylor]

I like to wait to add my lactose on bottling day with the priming sugar. It's the only way to know how much you really want to add. If your beer is already sweet, you might not want to add much, maybe just 0.5 lb for 5 gallons. If the beer finishes really dry, then you might need a full pound in 5 gallons. If someplace in between or you can't make up your mind, then I recommend 3/4 lb. But since it doesn't ferment at all anyway, why not just save it for bottling day? If kegging, then it adds a few minutes on kegging day but no big deal either.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Towards the end of boil. Just enough time to sanitize and solubilize, 10 minutes.

Agreed with this.

 

[Easycreeper]

Timely thread! I'm thinking about adding at bottling if needed since I'm using a less than optimal yeast for fermentation of a porter. May dry out the beer too much and I'll need to add lactose to bring back some body and sweetness. Glad to see others are doing the same thing.

 

[brandonlovesbeer]

Related topic. How much do you typically add for a 5 gal batch?
I know it's all relative depending on the recipe. But what a good starting place?

 

[DaWhip]

The Left Hand milk stout clone I plan on trying soon calls for 1lb in a 5 gallon batch.

 

[bobeer]

The Left Hand milk stout clone I plan on trying soon calls for 1lb in a 5 gallon batch.

I've brewed this quite a few times. It's a great beer!

Adding lactose in the last 10 or 15 minutes has always worked for me. I don't really see the need the boil it over 10 minutes but 15 wont hurt.

 

[Dynachrome]

Timely thread and answer. I'm brewing a milk stout tonight. ...changing horses mid-stream - it was going to be a different stout and I didn't get lactose at the LHBS. I am wondering if I can add it to the fermentors.

 

[Dynachrome]

Here is my thread...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=445659&page=3

 

[Braumeise]

I may be different on this from conventional wisdom - but I like to add most additions that are flavor-based and not to be fermented after fermentation is complete. My key reasoning is that I like to taste the clean fermentation product once done and then add by taste in increments, until I dial it in perfectly. This could be different if I am trying to reproduce previously done recipe exactly.

You can always add lactose into a glass of boiling water and pour it into the fermenter or a keg, taste and add more if needed. I like to evaluate lactose addition against all other flavors of finished beer, and monitor flavor progression as I add more.

This makes perfect sense to me. Brewing with lactose the first time and wasn't sure when to add it but this would have been my intuitive thing to do.