Milk stout, also called sweet stout, is a dark ale built around roasted malt, chocolate-like grain character, smooth body, and a measured dose of lactose. Lactose is not fully fermented by standard brewers yeast, so it leaves sweetness and body in the finished beer.
This 5 gallon all-grain milk stout recipe is designed for brewers who want a round, dark beer with roast, caramel, and a creamy finish without pushing the beer into harsh roast or syrupy sweetness.
How to brew a milk stout
- Batch size: 5 gallons
- Mash target: 151°F for 60 minutes
- Boil length: 60 minutes
- Key ingredient: lactose milk sugar for sweetness and body
- Yeast fit: Wyeast 1028 London Ale or Wyeast 1056 American Ale Yeast
Ingredients
Fermentables
- 9.125 lb Rahr Standard 2-Row Malt
- 1 lb Briess Caramel 60L Malt
- 8 oz Weyermann Munich Type 2 Malt
- 8 oz Crisp Chocolate Malt
- 7 oz Weyermann Roasted Barley
- 4 oz Flaked Oats
- 4 oz Briess Flaked Barley
- 4 oz Rice Hulls
Hops, yeast, and kettle additions
- 0.5 oz Magnum hops at 60 minutes
- 0.25 oz Willamette hops at 15 minutes
- 1 lb lactose milk sugar
- 1/2 tsp Wyeast yeast nutrient
- 1 Whirfloc tablet
- Wyeast 1028 London Ale or Wyeast 1056 American Ale Yeast
Brewing steps
- Clean and sanitize: Clean the mash, boil, transfer, fermentation, and packaging equipment before the brew day gets busy.
- Mash: Heat strike water so the grain bed settles near 151°F. Mash for 60 minutes, stirring well at dough-in to avoid dry pockets.
- Sparge: Rinse the grain with about 170°F water and collect enough wort for a 60 minute boil.
- Boil: Add Magnum at 60 minutes. Add Willamette, lactose, yeast nutrient, and Whirfloc near the end of the boil as your recipe schedule directs.
- Chill and ferment: Chill the wort, transfer to a sanitized fermenter, oxygenate as appropriate, and pitch yeast. Ferment in the yeast's recommended ale range.
- Condition: Give the beer time for roast, lactose sweetness, and yeast character to settle together before packaging.
- Package: Bottle or keg when final gravity is stable. Milk stout works well on draft, but bottles are also a practical choice for sharing.
Brewing notes for better milk stout
- Keep roast smooth: Roasted barley and chocolate malt should support the beer, not make it acrid.
- Use rice hulls: Oats and flaked barley can tighten the mash. Rice hulls help the grain bed lauter more easily.
- Do not skip lactose planning: Lactose adds sweetness and body, so keep the rest of the recipe balanced.
- Ferment cleanly: A steady fermentation helps the beer finish round instead of solventy or sharp.
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