Mother's Milk - Milk (Sweet) Stout

[Kealia]

So....the day has come: I'm brewing a Stout. Pigs are flying, down is up - - it's total anarchy, I know. But I'm doing it.
About two years ago I met a couple of local homebrewers and they gave me a sample of the sweet stout that they had on tap. It was good (really). Since then, I've found a few that aren't icky - like Founders Breakfast Stout and Left Handed Milk Stout.

I figure if I brew a batch, by the time I'm done I'll either be ready to try a few more - or be totally put off from the style completely
I actually have a few friends that do like Stouts, so if for some reason I decide that I don't like it, I can fill growlers for them. Plus, I got the recipe from the guys that gave me a sample of theirs, so I know what I'm getting into.

I'll update this thread as things progress, but I'm planning on brewing this Saturday. I picked up the grains today and made a starter a few days ago that is currently crashing.

The recipe is (rounded off):
65% Pale
9% Carafa II
5% Carafoam
5% C-80
5% Roasted Barley
4% Rye
8% Lactose

Small charge of Perle @ 60 and WLP004 to ferment.

I plan to mash at 151 and ferment @ 66/67. It will sit in the fermeter for ~ 3 weeks as I'll be heading out on vacation a week after I brew it.
I'll post pictures of brew day to prove that I'm actually doing this. I'll admit, it's going to be weird to see such dark wort in the kettle!

[mashani]

It sounds Icky. Your really not swenning us?

[Inkleg]

Welcome to the Dark Side Ron! I hope your brew day goes well and that you like the beer. I don't think 5% roasted barley will make it too icky for you and the lactose sweetness will help offset the roasty flavor you find off putting in a Stout.

[Dawg LB Steve]

Welcome to the Dark Side Ron! I hope your brew day goes well and that you like the beer. I don't think 5% roasted barley will make it too icky for you and the lactose sweetness will help offset the roasty flavor you find off putting in a Stout.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
If you end up liking that Ron, try subbing Maris Otter for the Pale or splitting the MO and Pale. I think the MO will add another nice layer of flavor.

[Beer-lord]

Who is this Ron fellow? I knew a Ron once but this isn't the one I knew.

[TonyKZ1]

This sounds good, keep us updated with your progress. I like stouts (and my wife does too, yay!). I'll have to try making one with the Maris Otter grain or LME.

[Inkleg]

Good call on the MO and Pale malt Steve. I should have remembered that I use them in equil amounts in my RIS. Chocolate and pale chocolate go well in stouts too.

[Dawg LB Steve]

My Irish beers are straight Maris Otter for the main base.

[Kealia]

It sounds Icky. Your really not swenning us?

No, sir!

Yesterday was the day - and it went "ok". By that I mean that I had temp issues - - I mashed in at what I thought was the right temp and then immediately went for a walk with my wife. When I got back 30 minutes later I checked the temp and I was at 148 when I was aiming for 151. I never lose that much heat so I know I never hit my strike temp. I boiled some water and raised the temp for the last 20 minutes or so but at the end of the day when I took a gravity reading before pitching the yeast I was only @ 1.042 when I was aiming for 1.050. A quick addition of some DME fixed that but that will end up "diluting" the roasted grains, rye, etc. a bit. Not enough to make me lose sleep, so it is what it is.
Maybe it's time for me to invest in a refractometer so I can check PREBOIL gravity instead of waiting to check it when I pitch yeast. Then again, I had to use a different crusher when I picked up the grains from MoreBeer and maybe it wasn't as good of a crush as I normally get....

In any case, this was (of course, if you "know me" here this is obvious) the darkest mash I've ever had:


The first runnings were black like.....well, black


The smell while boiling was slightly roasted, but not overwhelming and I am looking forward to trying this out in a few weeks.


After cooling to 67 I pitched my starter of WLP004 and set the ferm chamber to 67 as well. This morning, I could hear the "blurping" of the blowoff tube before even opening my chest freezer to check on it. No actual blowoff, just a good steady amount of gas being pushed through = success.

I'm leaving town next Saturday so I'll swap out the blowoff tube for an airlock on Friday before I leave. This will either set for 3 weeks at 67 or I may get crazy and call my father-in-law while I'm away to drop the temp on my STC-1000 down to 35 to crash it. We'll see. I'll likely just let it ride.

Things that were odd:
1) How f***ing dark the wort was [emoji14]
2) Only having a single hop addition (@ 60)
3) Doing no hop stand at the end and adding 30+ minutes to the brew day
4) Not being able to see through the wort while checking gravity

I'll keep y'all updated when there's more to report on.

[Inkleg]

Sounds like a great brew day Ron! Stouts and Porters can be very simple beers to brew.
Yes, get a refractometer!! I love to real time readings I can get with mine at anytime while brewing.

The chickens not laying again?

[BlackDuck]

I'll second the refractometer. I love mine.


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[Kealia]

Not to derail my own thread.....but if you use a refractometer and test after you sparge to find out that you are low on gravity do you take the wort and use that to sparge again so you don't add more volume?

Specific to THIS beer - do y'all carb your stouts to lower levels? I Just realized that my regulator has a splitter on it for my 2 kegs, but not a second regulator to carb to different levels.

[Beer-lord]

Since I BIAB, I can't answer your first question well but to the second one, I do carb my stouts and porter at 9 instead of 12 psi which for me, works out fine. You may want to start off lower than normal and try it after 7 days then adjust upwards if it's not to your liking.

[Inkleg]

Like Beer-lord no answer for the first question.

Second question.
I don't change my regulator to style around 2.5 for all my beers. If I feel my Stouts are too carbed and cold when poured, I go take a shower and it ends up just right.

[BlackDuck]

As for the first question. If you are low on gravity, can't you just add some DME to the kettle, then proceed with the boil? I believe BeerSmith has a calculation to figure how much to add. I think it's called gravity correction, or something like that.


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