Med Bag of Chips

Ham, cheddar cheese, fresh tomatoes, and arugula.

Ham and Cheese Sandwich

Sliced turkey, lettuce, tomato, and mustard in a whole wheat wrap.

Fit Turkey Wrap

The aroma is of brown sugar and vanilla cream, with hints of roasted coffee. Roasty, mocha flavors rise up, with slight hop and roast bitterness in the finish.

Heat 4.5–5.0 gallons of brew water to 165°F (74°C) for mash-in. Target mash temperature: 152°F (67°C).

Add the crushed pale malt, Munich, Victory, crystal 60L, chocolate malt, roasted barley, flaked oats, and lactose to the mash tun and stir to avoid dough balls. Hold at 152°F (67°C) for 60 minutes to develop body, malt sweetness, and residual sugars.

Perform a mash-out by raising temperature to 168°F (76°C) for 10 minutes (optional) to aid lautering.

Sparge with enough 170°F (77°C) water to collect approximately 6.5–7.0 gallons of wort into the boil kettle (target pre-boil volume to end with ~5.25 gallons post-boil).

Bring wort to a vigorous boil. Boil for 60 minutes total.

Add 1.0 oz East Kent Goldings at the start of the 60-minute boil for balanced bitterness (aiming for a low IBUs typical of milk stouts, ~20–25 IBU).

60-minute addition

With 10 minutes left in the boil, add the lactose if not mashed in earlier (this keeps lactose unfermentable and imparts milk-sweetness). If lactose was mashed, you may skip this addition.

At flameout, if you want subtle vanilla aroma, add the split vanilla bean (seeds scraped into wort and pod added) to steep as the wort cools. Alternatively, hold vanilla addition for post-fermentation (see conditioning).

Cool wort quickly to yeast pitch temperature (around 66–68°F / 19–20°C) using an immersion chiller, plate chiller, or ice bath to minimize oxidation and contamination.

Transfer cooled wort to sanitized fermenter, leaving trub behind. Top up with water if necessary to reach desired batch volume (~5 gallons).

Aerate vigorously (shake or use oxygen) and pitch the English ale yeast. Maintain fermentation temperature at 66–68°F (19–20°C) for a clean, slightly malty profile.

Primary fermentation will generally take 5–10 days; allow an additional 5 days for diacetyl rest and cleanup if needed. Gravity should drop but remain a bit higher than a comparable dry stout because of lactose (target final gravity ~1.016–1.020).

After primary fermentation, optionally transfer to secondary (carboy or keg) for conditioning if you added vanilla at flameout and want to limit exposure time. Otherwise, keep in fermenter for a short conditioning period (3–7 days).

If you did not add vanilla earlier, split a vanilla bean, scrape seeds into a sanitized small jar, soak in a shot (30 ml) of neutral spirit for 24–72 hours, then add either the soaked beans or the tincture to the conditioned beer at kegging. Use gently — start with half the tincture and evaluate.

Cold crash the beer to ~35–40°F (2–4°C) for 24–48 hours to help clear and prepare for kegging.

Transfer beer to a sanitized keg. If using a Cornelius keg, purge oxygen by CO2 (if available) then fill with beer. Seal the keg.

Set up a nitrogen system: use a stout faucet and a nitrogen or mixed gas (approximately 75% nitrogen / 25% CO2) gas source. If using a nitro charger system for home draft, follow equipment instructions to carbonate/force nitrogen the beer. Target a low level of CO2 (0.8–1.8 vols) and nitrogen dispense to produce a tight, creamy head.

If force-carbonating with nitrogen/mixed gas, set the regulator to a serving pressure (typically higher than CO2-only; often 30–40 psi for short-term conditioning) and leave for 24–72 hours, then test pour to adjust pressure and flow. Alternatively, carbonate gently with CO2 to desired volumes before switching to nitrogen for serving.

Serve through a stout faucet with nitrogen supply to achieve the characteristic cascading pour and creamy mouthfeel. Pour into a chilled tulip or pint glass; allow the surge to settle for 30–60 seconds before serving.

If you added brown sugar as a finishing aroma, sprinkle a tiny pinch on the head or add to serving glass rim — do so sparingly to avoid altering flavor.

This recipe is designed to produce aromas of brown sugar and vanilla cream with roasty, mocha flavors. Adjust crystal malt or lactose slightly (+/- 0.25 lb) to increase sweetness and body. Reduce chocolate/roasted barley if you want less roast bitterness.

Water chemistry: a moderate chloride-to-sulfate ratio (higher chloride) will emphasize maltiness/creaminess. Add calcium chloride to taste, but keep additions small for homebrewing.

Pale malt (2-row)

Munich malt

Victory malt

Crystal malt (60L)

Roasted barley (not black malt)

Chocolate malt (350–450L)

Flaked oats

Lactose (milk sugar)

East Kent Goldings (or Fuggle)

English ale yeast (e.g., Wyeast 1968 or White Labs WLP002)

Nitro (nitrogen) kegs or Nitrogen cartridge system

Brew water (treated/filtered)

Calcium chloride (if adjusting water)

Gypsum (calcium sulfate) (optional)

Vanilla bean (split) or vanilla extract

Brown sugar (for small addition to finish/mimic aroma)

Left Hand Milk Stout Nitro

Make Left Hand Milk Stout Nitro Recipe in just 12h . The aroma is of brown sugar and vanilla cream, with hints of roasted coffee. Roasty, mocha flavors rise up, with slight hop and roast bitterness in the finish.

Left Hand Milk Stout Nitro

Descriptors

Tasting Notes

Food Pairings

You might also like