I add mine on bottling day with the priming sugar. That way I can figure out if I want to add a little or a lot. If you add it in the boil before fermentation, you don’t know where your final gravity is going to be at, so why would you want to guess. That’s my humble opinion. After you brew the same recipe a few times, you might get a feel for how much you like. But you can safely add on bottling/kegging day without risk of overcarbonation or off-flavors, so why not.
I am thinking about making a cream ale, and it suggests that I put 8 oz of lactose and boil it with the beer. But, after reading this I should just mix it with the priming sugar then boil it and then bottle? Newbie here…
First off, never heard of adding lactose to a cream ale. Bad idea IMO. Cream ale is a style that is well attenuated and has a light drinkability. Lactose does the opposite - it makes beer full bodied and sweet. It’s basically the ‘sweet’ in a sweet stout. Regardless, I add it in the boil.
Good advice. Lactose isn’t needed in a traditional cream ale. It’s called “cream ale” meaning like it’s the “best ale” or “cream of the crop ale”, not because it has actual milk sugar in it.