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Back Sweetening Sour Beer

Northern Brewer General
#1

BLUF: Does Rosalare blend ferment lactose?

Background: I have been brewing for a while now but fairly new to sours, i have one sour bottled and it is great, and a second one that is about to be bottled but is just a bit too dry. I would like to back sweeten just a bit with lactose, but i am afraid this will create bottles exploding because it will not be kegged, rather back bottle conditioned. If the bugs don’t eat the lactose, then i would like to back sweeten, but if they will ferment the lactose i don’t want to take the risk of adding that much sugar. Any Ideas…other than kegging?

#2

Lactobacillus does ferment lactose (milk sugar). Lactose isn’t necessarily sweet but it does add body and it’s own unique taste.

You have several options:

1.) Add a flavor syrup to the beer when pouring in the glass… cherry, raspberry, etc…
2.) Add lactose and/or maltodextrin and pasteurize
3.) Blend with another sweeter beer… might work

#3

You could use a non-caloric sweetener such as xylitol.

#4

Xylitol may work, but be aware that it does have a laxative effect in a certain percentage of people and is basically toxic to dogs. Also, go easy on it, as you could end up creating a “sweet mouthwash.”

#5

[quote=“jd14t”] Also, go easy on it, as you could end up creating a “sweet mouthwash.”[/quote]Same warning applies to adding syrup to the glass. When I’m adding any flavoring to beer, I do small jar tests using 1-2 oz beer and measuring additives by the drop, err on the low side, then do the math to scale up to the batch size. You can always add more but you can’t take any back.

#6

Where “laxative effect” refers to wishing for death because it feels like someone tied your intestines into tight knots. It also feels like those painful knots are the only thing that’s saving you from turning yourself inside out. How can that stuff be legal, and weed not be??

#7

My main question is it too sour and not just dry?

If it is too sour, I would brew another beer, mash low if you do all grain to maximize the simple sugars, and ferment it out separately with a normal beer yeast. Then, blend some or all of it with the dry beer and age until the gravity is stable.

#8

[quote=“JMcK”]How can that stuff be legal, and weed not be??[/quote]Fortunately we don’t let the food issues of the few dictate what’s available to everyone else, otherwise beer (celiacs), ice cream (lactose intolerant), and peanuts (allergies) would all be illegal because they make some people sick.

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