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Recipe: Third Eye Higher Purpose Milk Stout
Kelly Montgomery, head brewer and co-owner at Third Eye in Cincinnati, shares this homebrew-scale recipe for their GABF gold medal–winning milk stout.
Photo: Courtesy Third Eye Brewing
Kelly Montgomery of Third Eye Brewing won four straight GABF gold medals for milk stout—and he did it at two different breweries, using two different recipes.
“Higher Purpose is dark, sweet, and full bodied,” Montgomery says of his most recent medal-winner at Third Eye. “Soft and creamy sweetness springs from the lactose. Caramel, chocolate, and subtle roast flavors dominate without overpowering the senses.”
For much more from Montogomery about brewing this style, see The Milk Stout Whisperer.
ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
Brewhouse efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.062
FG: 1.023
IBUs: 26
ABV: 5.1%
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Kelly Montgomery of Third Eye Brewing won four straight GABF gold medals for milk stout—and he did it at two different breweries, using two different recipes.
“Higher Purpose is dark, sweet, and full bodied,” Montgomery says of his most recent medal-winner at Third Eye. “Soft and creamy sweetness springs from the lactose. Caramel, chocolate, and subtle roast flavors dominate without overpowering the senses.”
For much more from Montogomery about brewing this style, see The Milk Stout Whisperer.
ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
Brewhouse efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.062
FG: 1.023
IBUs: 26
ABV: 5.1%
[PAYWALL]
HOPS & ADDITIONS SCHEDULE
0.8 oz (23 g) Challenger at 60 minutes [19 IBUs]
1 oz (28 g) Fuggles at 15 minutes [7 IBUs]
1.5 lb (680 g) lactose at 15 minutes
MALT/GRAIN BILL
5.8 lb (2.6 kg) Maris Otter
2 lb (907 g) pale two-row
1.2 lb (544 g) Simpsons Golden Naked Oats
1 lb (454 g) Simpsons Crystal T50
12 oz (340 g) Weyermann Munich II
7.6 oz (215 g) roasted barley
7 oz (198 g) Weyermann Carafa II
7 oz (198 g) Weyermann Carafa III
YEAST
50/50 blend of Imperial A01 House (or other Whitbread strain) and Imperial A07 Flagship (or other Chico strain)
DIRECTIONS
Mill the grains and mash at 153°F (67°C) for 60 minutes. Recirculate until your runnings are clear, then run off into the kettle. Sparge and top up as necessary to get about 6 gallons (23 liters) of wort, depending on your evaporation rate. Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops and lactose according to the schedule; at 15 minutes left in the boil, carefully stir in the lactose to ensure it fully dissolves. Chill the wort to about 64°F (18°C), aerate, and pitch the yeast. Ferment at 67°F (19°C) until complete. Crash, package, and carbonate to about 2.5 volumes of CO2.
BREWER’S NOTES
Fermentables: If you can’t source the T50, you can substitute a mix of crystal 50L and 60L. Likewise, you can also substitute flaked oats for the Golden Naked.
Mash & water profile: This recipe tastes best when mashed at a pH of 5.5. Aim for a 1.25:1.5 chloride-sulfate ratio.
Adding coffee: One variation is to add 4 oz (113 g) of whole coffee beans; I usually put them in a muslin hop bag and add them to primary after fermentation is complete for 7–10 days, or until the coffee aroma is where I want it.
