Like Brown Ale, Milk Stout is a tricky bugger to pin down. Because there’s rarely a brewing record with the name Milk Stout on it. The explanation is much the same is for Brown Ale. It’s because it wasn’t a beer brewed specifically, but was another beer tinkered with. Presumably brewers added lactose to their standard Stout at racking time. It’s what Whitbread did with Mackeson, so why wouldn’t everyone else?
Then you have William Younger. Who liked lactose so much, they used it in several of their beers, even ones not usually associated with it like Mild and Scotch Ale. But they did throw it into their Stouts, too.
You may think that this looks a little strong for a Milk Stout. That’s because in its later days, Milk Stout had all the alcoholic punch of an arthritic granny. But that hadn’t always been the case. Before WW II, Milk Stouts could be surprisingly strong. For example, in 1929, Mackeson Milk Stout had an OG of 1060º .
The grist is typical crazy William Younger. Though, for the period, the proportion of grits is quite low. They had used over 40% at times.
A fair dose of English hops leaves it with a respectable level of bitterness. Probably more than you’d expect in a Milk Stout. Though I’m not sure this was marketed as such. Younger did have one in their portfolio, I know because I’ve seen labels, but I don’t know if it was this particular beer. Dry hopping also seems odd for a Milk Stout. But, hey, this is William Younger. They did lots of crazy things.
| 1939 William Younger DBS Btlg | ||
| pale malt | 9.50 lb | 64.41% |
| black malt | 0.50 lb | 3.39% |
| crystal malt 60L | 0.50 lb | 3.39% |
| grits | 2.75 lb | 18.64% |
| caramel | 0.50 lb | 3.39% |
| lactose | 1.00 lb | 6.78% |
| liquorice | 0.25 oz | |
| Fuggles 90 min | 1.00 oz | |
| Fuggles 60 min | 1.00 oz | |
| Fuggles 30 min | 1.00 oz | |
| Goldings dry hops | 0.50 oz | |
| OG | 1066 | |
| FG | 1023 | |
| ABV | 5.69 | |
| Apparent attenuation | 65.15% | |
| IBU | 34 | |
| SRM | 30 | |
| Mash at | 155º F | |
| Sparge at | 160º F | |
| Boil time | 150 minutes | |
| pitching temp | 60.5º F | |
| Yeast | WLP028 Edinburgh Ale | |
Do you know whether the lactose was added to the boil or at racking time?
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering how it affects the OG and FG.
Also liquorice...interesting!
Sorry, I should have paid more attention to your post, not just the recipe. You clearly say that you believe lactose was added at racking time.
ReplyDeleteSo I guess it does not affect the OG and FG readings?
The licorice addition is interesting. Do you know if they used sticks of brewer's llicorice, that which is available in the homebrew trade, or if they used root or powder?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous,
ReplyDeletepretty sure William Younger added the lactose in the boil.
A brew Rat,
ReplyDeleteno idea, unfortunately. Probably whatever was easiest to use.
I recently brewed up this beer and was very pleased with the results. I brewed basically to recipe but with American Willamette hops. I used homemade brewers caramel and added Licorice Root at the end of fermentation
ReplyDeleteThe beer has been in keg at 50-55 F for about a month now. Some tasting notes:
Aroma:
Roast, coffee, and a bit of overripe fruit. Maybe some honey in there and some sweet bready malt. Maybe some herbal and grassy hop aroma in there as well.
Appearance:
Pours with couple finger head that lingers for a couple minutes and leaves some lacing. Black (dark reddish brown when held to the light) and a little murky
Flavor:
Sweet, roasty, and slightly fruity up front. The finish has a mild level of bitterness which comes pretty close to balancing a sweet character that lingers. The sweet flavor has a depth and complexity to it - there's an initial up front mild sweetness which I'd credit to the lactose and then an even more mild caramel-like flavor. I think I pick up on the Licorice as well although it is very subtle (contributing to the slightly fruity character - not really anything like the candy). May have a slight bit of herbal flavor in the background.
Mouthfeel:
Medium-light bodied. Sticky sweetness. Pretty easy drinking - goes down very smooth.
Overall:
Richly flavored and sweet (but in fairly restrained way) - aroma and flavor are really lovely. Has a good bit of complexity with a lot of flavors to pick out and quite of interesting notes. Goes down very easily and I find that 1 glass is never enough
Andrew,
ReplyDeletethanks for the feedback. It sounds like your beer turned out well.