Lactose?

I have a batch that ended up much drier than I wanted. Instead of dumping it, I decided to see if I can get it to something different than I planned, but still enjoyable. If I miss with the corrections and the outcome is not what I want, I still haven’t lost much, since I planned originally to just dump it. With that goal in mind, I am thinking about adding some lactose along with corn sugar at bottling. Any thoughts on dosing for the lactose? 1/2 oz per gallon? The body of the beer is actually not too bad, so I am just trying to add a little sweetness.

Also, will the lactose add ANY carbonation in bottling that I need to take into account?

Please keep in mind that I have no grand aspirations for this beer. If I can improve it to the point where I feel good about giving it to my 21 year old brother-in-law, it’s been a huge success.

A good ballpark figure for any lactose addition is about 1/2 lb per 5 gallons. This will add a little sweetness and body without being too much. I just did this with a cider and it turned out really nice. There’s no fermentable sugar in lactose so you don’t need to change your priming sugar at all. Add both at one time and you are good to go.

Excellent, thank you!