My philosophy in brewing has always been to keep it as simple as possible. Roughly keeping to processes, ingredients and theories of the 17-18-1900s.
But admittedly, I am still in the dark regarding quite a few styles. Why did they brew it? Why did they use what they used? How has it changed today?
The list is pretty long, but I recently have changed my mind regarding Sweet Stout. I had always been under the impression that this style was a relatively modern style, and the use of its signature milk sugar was just a gimmick in todays brewing.
I there for had refused to brew one , much less research it. (didn’t stop me from drinking them though. I thought I would throw that in)
Was I wrong. There is a long history of not just the Sweet stout, but the milk sugar use in general. There have been documents mentioning the use of milk and/or milk sugar as far back as the late 1700s. More so in the 1800s when the fortifying of beers for workers was very common place. And there is even stories of doctors of the early 1900s prescribing Milk stouts for certain ailments!
While today we don’t use lactose to keep workers healthy, we do still use it. And in more or less, the same way. And get more or less the same results. Heavier body. Sweeter taste.
So, in finding the long history of Milk sugars in brewing, I have changed my mind. And have decided to forge ahead and brew my first Sweet stout.
I have a pretty good idea of what I want it to taste like, and an understanding of how the sweet should play and effect the roast of a stout. So I came up with this recipe this morning.
Un-named Sweet Stout 5 gallons
8 lbs 2 row
.5 lb choc malt (450L)
.5 lb Black Patent
.5 ib roast barley
1 lb Lactose
1.5 oz Goldings (60)
Nottingham yeast. 156 mash.
It is my guess that if I just added the lactose to a stout recipe you would probably end up far too sweet. But if you were to make the stout far more roastier, the extra sweet and the extra roast will sorta mellow each other out. Well that’s what I’m hoping.
And I have learned that it’s better to have a little too much roast than not enough. After all, it’s a stout.
I will be brewing this this week and will check back in then with the progress.
9stripe Brewing 