Sweet Stout II

(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains)
OG = 1.054 FG = 1.011 IBU = 30 SRM = 27 ABV = 5.9%

Ingredients

6 lbs. (2.7 kg) Munich liquid malt extract
0.5 lb. (0.23 kg) black malt
1 lb. (0.45 kg) lactose
7.9 AAU Mt. Hood hop pellets (60 min.) (1.2 oz./34g at 6.6% alpha acid)
Wyeast 1968 (London ESB) or White Labs WLP002 (English Ale) yeast

Step by Step

Place the milled grain in a muslin bag, add to 2 gallons (7.6 liters) of water at 165 °F (74 °C), and keep at 150–155 °F (66–68 °C) for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Remove the bag, rinse with hot water, and combine this water with that from the partial mash. Add the malt extract, stirring well to ensure it is properly dissolved then bring to a boil. Add Mt. Hood hops and boil 60 minutes; turn off heat and add lactose, stirring well to make sure it is properly dissolved (be careful when stirring wort at close to boiling point!). Rack from trub, cool to 65–70 °F (18–21 °C) and pitch yeast, preferably as a 1 qt. starter. Ferment at same temperature for 5–7 days before racking to secondary. Leave for 1-3 weeks before bottling or kegging in the usual manner.

All-grain option: Replace all the liquid malt extract with 5 lbs. (2.3 kg) 2-row pale malt and 4.5 lbs. (2 kg) Munich malt (9 °L). Mash grains at 152–154 °F (67–68 °C) in 15 qts. (14 L) water and let rest 1 hour. Run off and sparge with hot water at 160–170 °F (71–77 °C) to collect around 6 gallons (23 L) of wort. The boil and fermentation schedule is the same as in the extract with grains version.