Opinions on Milk Stout Recipe

I'm getting ready to do my 1st all grain brew on my new brew stand and wanted to do something relatively simple, but that was my own. I bounced between Pale and Stout and decided to go with a Sweet (Milk) Stout. This is also the first recipe that I have formulated and wanted any input the community may have:

8lbs Maris Otter
1lb 3oz English 60L Crystal
8oz English Roasted Barley
6oz Black Patent
6oz Chocolate

1.15oz EKG (60 min)
.5oz EKG (20 min)

Yeast I am undecided on

.5lbs or 1lb Lactose

OG 1.057, FG aprox (dependent on the yeast strain) 1.021 w/1lb lactose or 1.018 w/.5lb lactose
IBU 28.8

I plan to mash at 156F for 60 min with 1.5qt/lb H2O. The H2O I will shoot for a london profile and fly sparge with just under 2.25 gal H2O.

A 90 min boil will ensue.

I am considering dropping the black patent and upping the roasted barley and chocolate. I am also thinking of doing a mix of Crystal malts (ie 40, 60, 80 and 120) to equal 19oz, but wasn't sure if I should on my first brew.

Lactose I can't decide on .5 or 1lb. I am looking to hit .5 or so IBU/SG, but have never worked with lactose. I want it to be sweet, but not like drinking candy.

Yeasts I am torn between Whitelabs English, Irish and British strains (WLP002, WLP004 and WLP005 respectively). I am leaning toward the British and am thinking if I go this route to use only .5lb lactose due to the low attenuation of the strain.

Any input, advice or any thing I may be missing would be greatly appreciated.

I just kegged a milk stout, I use 3/4lb/5gallons ended up at 1.022. it's got a FULL mouthfeel but i would not call it sweet. I used WLP007 to get it as dry as I could. Also I used de-bittered black malt and Chalk to get my bump up my bicarbonate levels up to 300ppm, I find with our water here with out adjustments I tend to get a burnt/astringent note, so the de-bittered malt helps to reduce that.

Here is my recipe for reference, I'd stick with the Maris Otter, but sounds like you have a good plan.

Style: 13B-Stout-Sweet Stout

Recipe Overview

Wort Volume Before Boil: 13.00 US gals
Wort Volume After Boil: 11.50 US gals
Volume Transferred: 11.10 US gals
Water Added: 0.00 US gals
Volume At Pitching: 11.10 US gals
Final Batch Volume: 10.04 US gals
Expected Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.046 SG
Expected OG: 1.056 SG
Expected FG: 1.017 SG
Expected ABV: 5.2 %
Expected ABW: 4.1 %
Expected IBU (using Tinseth): 25.3
Expected Color: 31.1 SRM
Apparent Attenuation: 68.7 %
Mash Efficiency: 75.0 %
Boil Duration: 60.0 mins
Fermentation Temperature: 64 degF

Fermentables
US 2-Row Malt 19lb 0oz (81.7 %) In Mash/Steeped
US Roasted Barley 1lb 0oz (4.3 %) In Mash/Steeped
Belgian Debittered Black Malt 12.00 oz (3.2 %) In Mash/Steeped
UK Chocolate Malt 8.00 oz (2.2 %) In Mash/Steeped
US Caramel 80L Malt 8.00 oz (2.2 %) In Mash/Steeped
Sugar - Lactose 1lb 8oz (6.5 %) Start Of Boil

Hops
UK Golding (5.5 % alpha) 56 g Loose Pellet Hops used 60 Min From End
US Chinook (10.5 % alpha) 12 g Loose Pellet Hops used 60 Min From End

Other Ingredients
Whirlfloc Tablet 58 g used In Boil


Yeast: White Labs WLP007-Dry English Ale

Mash Schedule
Mash Type: Full Mash
Schedule Name:HERMS
Step: Rest at 130 degF for 5 mins
Step: Raise by direct heating to 156 degF for 15 mins
Step: Rest at 156 degF for 30 mins
Step: Raise to and Mash out at 165 degF for 20 mins

Recipe Notes

If using an English strain, ferment at lower temps to decrease ester formation, unless you prefer some fruity esters. I used WY1028 London Ale at both 68F and 64F, with 64F being the clear winner. My grain bill (on an imperial milk stout) was;

Maris Otter - 73.33%
Flaked Oats - 10%
UK Chocolate Malt - 6.67%
Lactose - 6.67%
UK Black Malt - 3.33%

Turned out really well.

hoptualBrew said:

If using an English strain, ferment at lower temps to decrease ester formation, unless you prefer some fruity esters. I used WY1028 London Ale at both 68F and 64F, with 64F being the clear winner.

Click to expand...

Great advice, thank you. I think I may shoot for 64 or a bit below based on this advice. I notice that the whitelabs little report they do shows the English strain as having over double the diacetyl as the Irish.

now I'm really kicking around the idea of a mixture of carmel malts. I was thinking of keeping 60L as the back bone with a touch of 120 and possible some 40 as well. I was thinking 1lb 60L and 6oz 120L with possibly reducing 120L to 3 or 4oz and adding 4 oz or so of 40. Would this help create a complex carmel malt profile or just muddy up the flavor all together?

I just brewed a milk stout that I'm really happy with. My recipe is below. I would probably drop the black barley a bit to enhance the complexity. That's why I like the idea of mixing the malts, will give some more interest in taste.
The vanilla addition for me was really important. I used 1/2lb of lactose (despite what the recipe says) in a 3Ga batch. It's certainly not too sweet, could have used more if anything.
I also used plain old Nottingham. Nice and cheap. With the strong flavours the yeast gets pretty overwhelmed anyway. If anything I think paying closer attention to the temperature was much more important.

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 3.62 gal
Post Boil Volume: 3.12 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 3.00 gal
Bottling Volume: 3.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.043 SG
Estimated Color: 35.0 SRM
Estimated IBU: 37.6 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 72.0 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes
Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
2 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 1 50.7 %
8.0 oz Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 2 10.1 %
6.0 oz Barley, Flaked (1.7 SRM) Grain 3 7.6 %
6.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 4 7.6 %
5.0 oz Black Barley (Stout) (500.0 SRM) Grain 5 6.3 %
5.0 oz Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 6 6.3 %
4.0 oz Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM) Grain 7 5.1 %
5.0 oz Milk Sugar (Lactose) (0.0 SRM) Sugar 8 6.3 %
0.25 oz Magnum [14.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 9 25.2 IBUs
0.60 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins) Fining 10 -
0.25 oz Magnum [14.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 11 12.5 IBUs
1.0 pkg Nottingham (Danstar #-) [23.66 ml] Yeast 12 -
0.50 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Dry Hop 4 Hop 13 0.0 IBUs
Mash Schedule: BIAB, Full Body
Total Grain Weight: 4 lbs 14.9 oz
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Saccharification Add 15.83 qt of water at 168.3 F 156.0 F 60 min
Mash Out Heat to 168.0 F over 7 min 168.0 F 10 min
Sparge: Remove grains, and prepare to boil wort
Notes:
------
Into primary on Mar. 30
Added 3 vanilla beans soaked in vodka at time of dry hopping
probably decrease hops and black barley just a little

I'd say go with a full lb of lactose. U want that FG higher then lower for the style. it won't make it sickening or overpowering.