Coffee Milk Stout Thoughts

Smoked malt looks a bit out of place to me in a Milk Stout. Any particular reason for it?

 

I support the idea of a smoky, chocolatey stout.

 

@sjverla I actually did an imperial coffee stout a few months back with 1.5 lbs cherrywood smoked malt, with great results, IMO. Although my grain bill was around 19 lbs.. I got a lot of chocolate flavor from just .5 lb chocolate malt and .5 lb brown malt. A deep roast coffee should accentuate the smokiness as well.

 

I would advise to go easy on the lactose. I did a similar low gravity milk stout recently, and went with a whole pound of lactose... Too much. Lactose by the way, taste like chalk. Next time I would go with .5 lbs, but you might be fine with .75 lbs.

 

You might also want to take a look at this discussion...
http://www.beeradvocate.com/communi...-would-love-to-get-input.241359/#post-3098197
If I'm not mistaken, @Scumbag81 wins lots of awards with much higher amounts of lactose.

 

If it helps, I have used Scumbag81-like lactose levels in a milk stout, and it didn't taste like chalk.

 

@sjverla , I think it looks good. I would just sub in Maris Otter for the 2-row and use a English yeast like London Ale at lower fermentation temps.

What mash temp? How much coffee you steeping?

 

Hmm, maybe the "chalky" flavor was from something else, not the lactose... I remembered trying the lactose before adding and thought I could still taste in the finish product. It was not my best brew, I know that much. Maybe it's time I take another stab at a milk stout.

 

Oh, using that much lactose will make your beer cloying

 

I've varied the lactose levels pretty wildly (0.5 lb to 2 lb per 5 gallons) and haven't had any chalkiness come out in scoresheets or my own taste buds. My guess is something went wonky with your water, or you somehow got some funky lactose.

I've noticed that if I add the lactose at flame out (rather than the start of the boil for convenience) I get a much creamier mouthfeel. Supposedly, many English brewers forgo the boil addition and throw it in with the priming sugar in the cask. I've yet to try and cask condition one, but am planning on doing for a 20 person paired beer dinner I'm doing in the next two months.

 

Maris Otter is the bee's knees man

 

A high quality base malt never gets lost. I'll never understand why homebrewers use cheap ingredients.

 

You can make fine beer with 2 row but as a homebrewer you should strive to make the best beer every time. a high quality malt is an easy thing to control on your way to better beer.