How much lactose is too much lactose

blackcats

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Hi all, I'm currently drinking a stout I've just kegged. It was in Brew Your Own Magazine. Page 49. Chocolate, cinnamon,hazelnut milk stout. Name: ImageUploadedByHome Brew1480471806.970002.jpg
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It's one of the better beers I've ever made. I love the creamy texture of the milk lactose. The recipe calls for 9oz/255g of lactose per 5 gal brew. I was wondering - if 9oz tastes good, would 12oz or 16 or 18oz taste twice as rich and creamy? Or would that screw with it?

Ps. If you haven't made this beer then you should. I've attached the recipe.

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My gut reaction is that there's a sweet spot for that amount of lactose (depending on the recipe itself and how it's brewed)
I think it'd get really cloying if you increased the lactose without adjusting the hops, OG, or other factors
 
I put a pound of it in a sweet stout I made recently. It was good, but I'm glad I didn't use more.
 
My lowest performer in a homebrew comp couple months back came from a milk stout with 1 lb lactose for 5 gal. The judges were clearly not impressed.
 
I used 1/4 lb in a 3 gallon batch of porter a few months back and you couldn't taste it at all. So there: you have it bracketed!
 
I've used lactose to sweeten ciders before and of the top of me head 200-250g per 20lt batch added a touch of sweetness.
 
My lowest performer in a homebrew comp couple months back came from a milk stout with 1 lb lactose for 5 gal. The judges were clearly not impressed.

Did they specifically ding your beer for being too sweet? If they did, it might not have been.

British sweet stouts are sweeter(!), less roasty, more chocolaty, and not as dry as what most of us are used to. I don't think judges are exempt from making mistakes when it comes to style criteria. (I don't compete, just going off of a hunch and posts from other brewers.)

I'll tell ya though...I know a lot of new "craft" enthusiasts have no clue what they're talking about when they post reviews on Beer Advocate and other rating sites. I swear, when I read things like "ew gross", or "not hoppy enough" when describing a beer like Worthington White Shield, Landlord, or Brooklyn East India, I want to reach through the monitor and strangle the person.

Sorry about the tangent...anyway I thought that my stout with the pound of lactose was similar in sweetness to Sam Smith's Chocolate Stout, which reminds me of chocolate milk. You gotta have the malt bill to back it up, and next time I'll use chocolate malt instead of or in addition to the pale chocolate in my recipe. I was happy with mine though, and the people who were staying with us last week helped kill the keg in record time. :(
 
Recently done an IPA milkshake style by adding lactose at13% of the total malt bill by weight
 
Turned out great, friends have loved it.

I based it on Siren Craft brewery latest beer Ten Dollar Shake (minus the fruit addition), might dial it back slightly next time, but not by much.
Well well what a wonderful looking recipe you did well brewing this rakey so much going on in this brew hope it tastes the same lol
 
Well well what a wonderful looking recipe you did well brewing this rakey so much going on in this brew hope it tastes the same lol
I tweaked it for my brewing, and used it mostly to get the right mix of oats/wheat/lactose to grain, used Nelson, Amarillo, and Mosaic hops in mine, was nice and hoppy whilst also smooth and creamy.

But have drunk a few bottles of the original with the fruit, and it is delicious, will give it a go according the recipe exactly at some point.
 

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