Black Milk Stout (Mackeson clone)

Ah, the taste of England in your pocket. I met my wife over a spilled glass of Mackeson Sweet Stout (stained her white stretch pants...) So this beer has found a place in my heart. Cannot find the good stuff State side, so I actually came pretty close in cloning it. :) Takes a lot of lactose to sweeten, but if 12oz doesn't really work in the boil, add more at bottling. Enjoy!

Brewer:	Scurvy Dog Brewing Co.		Email:	-
Beer:	Black Milk Stout (Mackeson clone)		Style:	Sweet Stout
Type:	Extract w/grain		Size:	5 gallons
Color:	116 HCU (~39 SRM)		Bitterness:	16 IBU
OG:	1.055		FG:	1.020
Alcohol:	4.5% v/v (3.5% w/w)
Grain:	0.85 lb. Dextrine malt (Cara-Pils) 1.0 lb. British crystal 50-60L 0.75 lb. British chocolate 4 oz. British black patent
Steep:	steep grains at 150°F for 30 minutes. Sparge with 170°F water to bring up to volume. Add DME and lactose.
Boil:	60 minutes	SG 1.050	5.5 gallons
	5.25 lb. Light dry malt extract
	12oz lactose in the boil. .5 tsp Irish Moss (15min)
Hops:	1.03 oz. Kent Goldings (5% AA, 60 min.)
Yeast:	Wyeast 1028 London Ale
Carbonation:	2.2 volumes	Corn Sugar: 3.73 oz. for 5.0 gallons @ 68°F
Tasting:	This would be my second batch. I did a 3 gal trial batch and bottle conditioned. It was wonderful! Except there was to much pronounced bitterness. So I scaled back on the hops, changed them to Goldings (more traditional) and modified the amount of lactose added at boil. Tasted before bottling to figure if I needed more lactose (and I did.) Adjust at bottling by adding up to another 4 oz of lactose when priming. ***UPDATE*** This was a most excellent batch of ale. Very true to the mark of Mackeson. I highly suggest you try it. Wonderful hints of dark chocolate and toffee in the finish.

Recipe posted 11/07/02.