Milk stout gravity

[llgriffin]

Brewed a milk stout a couple weeks ago, checked the gravity and it seems to have stopped at 1.022, og was 1.048. It's only 3.4abv, pretty sad beer. It tastes good but I would like a little more abv. I'm gonna rack to secondary and raise the temp a few degrees maybe it will ferment a bit more? What do you guys think? I know milk stouts are usually pretty light but this is really light. Been fermenting at 16c for two weeks.

 

[Furore]

Did you have like 1lb of lactose in there? Lactose is an unfermentable sugar, so stopping at 1.020-1.025 would be about right. It is basically in the recipes for adding mouthfeel and some sweetness. When i made my chocolate milk stout about 2 months ago i ran into almost the same gravity numbers. I had an OG of 1.050. After 2 weeks i was at 1.028 and i got it down to about 1.020 after letting it sit another week or two (at a slightly warmer temp) with some cocoa nibs (I did not secondary). I immediately came here and agonized over it. I ended up doing nothing and it has been happily kegged for 3 weeks now and tastes wonderful.

I usually shoot for higher abv brews, but i mean Guinness is only 4%, FWIW. If you are really worried, you could always add a pound of DME to ensure you get above 4%. If you did have lactose in there, i wouldn't expect your gravity to drop much more though. I wouldnt overthink it. Youre gonna have a tasty brew either way. :cheers:

 

[robcj]

Raising the temperature might help but it's probably done. Don't rack to secondary--taking it off the yeast will prevent further fermentation. Keep in mind that lactose is unfermentable. So if your lactose added 6 points to your OG, for example, your FG will finish 6 points higher than it would without lactose.

I wonder if it is possible that lactose has some other effect on fermentation. I brewed a milk stout late last year and it also finished higher than expected at 1.022--even when accounting for the lactose. My software was targeting an FG of 1.017 and it's rare for my beer to under-attenuate like that. Regardless--my milk stout was delicious and didn't last long. I'm sure yours will be the same.

 

[Qhrumphf]

We'd need recipe to say for sure. As above, if you've got a bunch of lactose in there, it's entirely plausible that that's where it finished.

I do what you did intentionally, with mine 1.045 to 1.021. A combo of high mash, low attenuating yeast, a fair amount of lactose (a little less than a pound). 3.4% is by no means a "sad" beer. It's just quaffable. Good for drinking all day long.

 

[RM-MN]

Brewed a milk stout a couple weeks ago, checked the gravity and it seems to have stopped at 1.022, og was 1.048. It's only 3.4abv, pretty sad beer. It tastes good but I would like a little more abv. I'm gonna rack to secondary and raise the temp a few degrees maybe it will ferment a bit more? What do you guys think? I know milk stouts are usually pretty light but this is really light. Been fermenting at 16c for two weeks.

I recently brewed a batch and used a yeast that I don't often use. That beer was at 1.022 at the end of 2 weeks too but I warmed it to 72 and left it for another week and it finished at 1.015, just where it should have. I agree with robcj, moving it to secondary won't help and may stop it from ever going lower.

 

[beergolf]

I agree with the others. If you used lactose, it is most likely done. My milk stouts usually finish in the 1.025-1.022 range.