On deck for me is a raspberry ale. I’m going to use a grist along the lines of my pale ale bill. 90% two row, 5% Munich, and 5% C60. The raspberries will be added in the secondary. I’m thinking about adding lactose to the boil to add a nice creaminess to accent the raspberries. I’m not sure if this is a great idea or not, but if it is, how much lactose would be appropriate?
I’ve used between a 1/2 lb and 1 lb for milk stout, and I like 1 lb best for that style, Frank. Anywhere in that range would work, but keep in mind at 1lb especially that you’ll finish fairly high, easily 1.020-ish. That might leave some sweetness to balance the tartness from the berries.
Thanks, Jon. I’ve not heard or read about anybody using lactose in anything other than a stout, so I wasn’t sure. I think I’m going to mash in the 151-152 range to make sure what’s fermentable gets fermented. I may add a half pound of flaked oats to enhance a creamy mouthfeel as well. I think I have about 6 lb (7 quarts) of raspberries frozen for this brew. This is something new for me. It will be on tap at Christmas, so I atleast want it drinkable haha.
I’ve never been a huge fan of lactose in beer, but I have a hard time picturing it in a pale beer. To me, it needs some roast malt for balance. But again, that’s just my palate - YMMV.
If it were me I’d use more crystal malt in place of that lactose; maybe something dark like C-120 or Special B to give a little more body along with some dark fruit sweetness to support the raspberries.
I have a hard time picturing it too, but I think it’s because it’s not done hardly at all. Think of a raspberry creamsicle. I guess that might help explain where I want to go. I’m not really wanting to add any caramel or toffee flavors to it through malts.
Creamsicle = vanilla
Here’s my stab at a recipe…
Batch = 5.5
OG = 1.055
60 minute mash @ 152 (Strike at 167)
85% Two Row = 9 lb 8 oz
5% Munich = 10 oz
5% Caramel/Crystal 60L = 9.5 oz
5% Flaked Oats = 10 oz
FW = 8 oz lactose
60 min = ½ oz Warrior
20 min = 1 oz Willamette
WLP 001 Cali Ale (Started)
Rack onto 5.5 lb fresh, froze, and thawed raspberries
Add 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
You gotta let us know how it comes out, man. I’ve only used the lactose in sweet/milk stout, so that’s my only baseline to judge in using it. I honestly think that the raspberries are so strong and acidic they’ll easily be the dominant ingredient - I’m just curious to see what character (if any) you’re able to pick up from the lactose. Good luck !
I just kegged this today. I overshot my target OG of 1.055 and hit 1.060. It also finished dryer than I expected at 1.012. It’s certainly raspberry-y tasting out of the hydrometer sample. Seems similar to that Founder’s raspberry ale. It’ll be interesting how it tastes when I tap it in a few weeks. If anything, it’s pretty lol.
.5 lb lactose, Frank ?
Correct… Which wasn’t calculated into my target OG now that I think of it, so that answers the 1.060.
Looks good so far !
Man that sounds and looks good. Ill have to give this a try. Im not sure how to do this via BIAB but ill figure it out.
I’ve never done BIAB. But I’ll give you this advice… With any fruit you add to the secondary, bag it up in a paint strainer bag. I had to use a five gallon bag for this one. It will save you from a huge headache later.
I just realized that I forgot the vanilla on this. Owell.
You can always throw a bean in the keg. I’ve got a Christmas saison “dry hopping” with a vanilla bean and a half stick of cinnamon in the keg right now.
+1. Bag it, keg it, pull the bag when the flavor is where you like.
We opted out of adding the vanilla after tasting it. Despite not really being creamy, it was surprisingly really good. It was pretty popular at the Christmas party last night. Some sort of variation will be brewed again.
Looks great, man !