Style: Sweet Stout

All Styles

Style Profile based on 1,649 recipes

BU:GU

0.43

Hops

2.6 g/L

Mash pH

5.43

Style Guidelines BJCP 2015 Beer
OG
1.044 1.06
1.064
FG
1.012 1.024
1.018
IBU
20 40
27
ABV
4% 6%
6.1%
SRM
30 40
Description

A very dark, sweet, full-bodied, slightly roasty ale that can suggest coffee-and-cream, or sweetened espresso. History: An English style of stout developed in the early 1900s. Historically known as “Milk” or “Cream” stouts, legally this designation is no longer permitted in England (but is acceptable elsewhere). The “milk” name is derived from the use of lactose, or milk sugar, as a sweetener. Originally marketed as a tonic for invalids and nursing mothers. Style Comparison: Much sweeter and less bitter than other stouts (except the stronger tropical stout). The roast character is mild, not burnt like other stouts. Somewhat similar in balance to oatmeal stouts, albeit with more sweetness.

Examples: Bristol Beer Factory Milk Stout, Left Hand Milk Stout, Lancaster Milk Stout, Mackeson's XXX Stout, Marston’s Oyster Stout, Samuel Adams Cream Stout

Typical Grain Bill

% of total grain weight across all recipes · sums to ~100%

Common Additions

% of Sweet Stout recipes using each malt category (addition % in brackets)

Hop Usage by Addition Type

g/L · median with IQR range

Bittering
0.4 g/L 1.5 g/L
0.75 g/L
Flavour
0.3 g/L 1.37 g/L
0.66 g/L
Aroma
0.34 g/L 1.37 g/L
0.69 g/L
Common Hops

% of Sweet Stout recipes using each hop

Dry-Hop Rate by Year

g/L · median with IQR range

2018
1.31 g/L 1.31 g/L
1.31 g/L
2019
0 g/L 0 g/L
0 g/L
2020
0.21 g/L 2.63 g/L
0.26 g/L
2021
0.25 g/L 0.25 g/L
0.25 g/L
2022
0.7 g/L 0.95 g/L
0.83 g/L
2023
0.61 g/L 0.66 g/L
0.64 g/L
2024
0.53 g/L 0.53 g/L
0.53 g/L

dated Sweet Stout recipes with at least one dry-hop addition

Mash Profile
  • 81% Single Infusion
  • 16% Step Mash
  • 2% Decoction

205 recipes with mash data

Typical Water Profile
  • 100 ppm Ca²⁺
  • 5 ppm Mg²⁺
  • 35 ppm Na⁺
  • 60 ppm Cl⁻
  • 53 ppm SO₄²⁻
  • 265 ppm HCO₃⁻

median across recipes with a declared water profile

Similar Styles

Ranked by similarity across OG, IBU, ABV, hop rate, and grist composition.