# Milk Stout Slow Ferment



## Sinfathisar (18/3/11)

I have put down a kit stout from a recipe that uses a can of condensed milk so I think I call it a milk stout - my question is ... do stouts take longer to ferment than other beers? It has been in for 2 weeks and gravity is at 1020 on first check. (Forgot to measure starting grav.) I will do a daily read for now but it is higher than expected.


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## Milky11111 (18/3/11)

Can you include full recipe and the temperature you have had your fermenter at please?


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## warra48 (18/3/11)

I agree with the request for your full recipe.

However, I would not be surprised if 1.020 is your Final Gravity. Condensed milk would have lots of milk solids and fats, which wouldn't ferment, so keeping your Final Gravity at the high end.


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## Sinfathisar (18/3/11)

Recipe: Two Plank Stout

1 can Stout (I used Thomas Coopers Selection Irish stout)

1kg dark dried malt

200g dried malt additive

1 can sweetened condensed milk

kit yeast - did not respond well to hydration so I used an extra yeast Safale US 05

I also threw in some brown sugar coz I like mine sweet and a yeast nutrient

pitched at 23degrees and kept it at 20-21 for the two weeks




not lovin the sample I drank from hydrometer - thin tasting and not cream,thick or sweet


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## mwd (18/3/11)

Milk Stout is a bit of a misnomer from way back for a semi sweet stout called Mackeson as drunk by Ena Sharples and Mini Coldwell of Coronation Street. The stout is sweetened by Lactose hence the name milk stout. 

I cannot really imagine adding a can of condensed milk to a brew of any kind would turn out nice but who knows. Be interested to know where you got the recipe from. More likely Thick as two short planks stout IMHO. :lol: 

Throwing in raw sugar should not alter the sweetness as it is all fermented out by the yeast, not sure what a dried malt additive is either.

I would not expect anything good or drinkable from the recipe you posted but you can add sweetness by adding lactose even at the late stage.

Good luck I like my stout good and bitter that you can stand a spoon up in. :chug:

Edit: It should ferment as fast as any other ale so the high FG may be a result of all the additives and milk.


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## Braumoasta (19/3/11)

The recipe is from this site: http://www.thbs.intas.net/kit_recipes.htm#...20Plank%20Stout

The site does say FG of 1.020...

I will also be interested in the results from this brew!


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## going down a hill (19/3/11)

Braumoasta said:


> The recipe is from this site: http://www.thbs.intas.net/kit_recipes.htm#...20Plank%20Stout


They also have a recipe for a chocolate beer which uses 250ml Chocolate Topping. :icon_vomit: That aint right.


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## troublebrewing (19/3/11)

Tropical_Brews said:


> Be interested to know where you got the recipe from. More likely Thick as two short planks stout IMHO. :lol:



Yep, that's even what they called it... :lol:



the site in question said:


> The addition of the sweetened condensed milk is not a mistake.



I think the jury's still out on this!

To the OP: Without the starting gravity it's hard to be sure, but the site Braumoasta linked to a FD of 1.020 is about what you should get. Take a couple of consecutive readings to be sure, but it probably won't get much further.


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## Sinfathisar (19/3/11)

yep that was the right site for the recipe

yep I will be checking gravity everyday




I am just not sure if I will keep this one or not ... if I don't like it much at bottling time is it worth it? I know brews improve with age, particularly stout, but I think that should be from ok to good, or from good to great. Is it likely to go from not good to ok,good or even great?


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## Braumoasta (19/3/11)

I wasn't a fan of my toucan stout straight out of the fermenter, but now (a couple of months later) I reckon it's great. 
I would say you should certainly bottle it even if it doesn't taste fantastic at bottling time... but that is just my opinion.


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## mwd (20/3/11)

Braumoasta said:


> The recipe is from this site: http://www.thbs.intas.net/kit_recipes.htm#...20Plank%20Stout
> 
> The site does say FG of 1.020...
> 
> I will also be interested in the results from this brew!



I don't think I would be following the recipes posted on that site the seem a little weird IMO.

Stacks of recipes on this site and others that seem more reasonable. If you want a milk stout I would add 200g of lactose which you can buy at your homebrew shop.


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## stuchambers (20/3/11)

Definitely keep it. 
My Chocolate stout that contained 100g of 85% cocoa tasted like muddy water at bottling time, after a month it is great not everyones taste but those that like it seem to love it.

Cheers Stu


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## Sinfathisar (22/3/11)

Tropical_Brews said:


> I don't think I would be following the recipes posted on that site the seem a little weird IMO.
> 
> Stacks of recipes on this site and others that seem more reasonable. If you want a milk stout I would add 200g of lactose which you can buy at your homebrew shop.



Sadly there isn't a recipe for a kit milk stout that I can find.





Going to bottle up today - backsweetening with lactose. Wish me luck! I will report back on it in a few months.


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## mwd (22/3/11)

Sinfathisar said:


> Sadly there isn't a recipe for a kit milk stout that I can find.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Hopefully it will turn out drinkable. Any recipe that includes lactose can be called a milk stout technically. 

You could also try a black and tan if the stout bitterness is a bit too much. I used to make a B&T 750ml Coopers Stout hb and a can of VB quite nice drink. ( That should get the VB haters hackles up ! ) :icon_drool2:


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## manticle (22/3/11)

Sinfathisar said:


> Sadly there isn't a recipe for a kit milk stout that I can find.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Tin of coopers heritage irish stout.
250 - 500g lactose dissolved with tin mix.
1.25 kg dry malt extract
Safale S04 or suitable English dry yeast (or liquid if you use them - 1099 would work well)


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## Sinfathisar (22/3/11)

thanks for all the help - so far - I have just opened it up to put the lactose in and it looks awful manky on the top. What looks like a skim of something with bubbles of something else. Would that be from the condensed milk? Or is it infected? How do I tell?


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## Mayor of Mildura (22/3/11)

taste it.


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## Sinfathisar (22/3/11)

mayor of mildura said:


> taste it.



the stout? don't like it much atm. or did you mean the funky stuff?


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