Deception Cream Stout Recipe (All-Grain): 5 to 30 Gallons
An all-grain Deception Cream Stout recipe you can brew at 5 to 30 gallons: 4.7% ABV and 30 IBU, with the grain bill, hop schedule, yeast and step-by-step process.
In this post
Deception Cream Stout at a glance: 4.7% ABV, 30 IBU, OG 1.055. A smooth, sweet cream stout with chocolate, roast and a creamy body from lactose and wheat. One of the most-loved stouts on HomeBrewTalk.
Recipe credit: Deception Cream Stout by NCBeernut on HomeBrewTalk, #14 on HomeBrewTalk’s all-time Top 100. We’ve put it in our recipe card, scaled to 5 gallons at 72% efficiency, and kept the brewer’s gravity and hop schedule. See the original for the brewer’s own notes and the discussion.
Bräu Supply recipe · All-grain
Deception Cream Stout
Grain · for 5 gal into the fermenter
| 7 lb (3.18 kg) | Pale 2-row malt | 64% |
| 1.55 lb (0.7 kg) | White wheat malt | 14% |
| 1.05 lb (0.48 kg) | Crystal 60 | 10% |
| 0.8 lb (0.36 kg) | Chocolate malt | 7% |
| 0.5 lb (0.23 kg) | Roasted barley | 5% |
| 0.5 lb (0.23 kg) | Lactose, last 10 min |
Hops
| 0.75 oz (21 g) | Magnum · 13.4% AA | 60 min |
Yeast and water
| 1 pkg | Wyeast 1450 Denny’s Favorite 50 (the original); Wyeast 1028 or 1084 are good substitutes | |
| Water | Balanced to slightly alkaline water. | |
Process
- Mash: 152°F (67°C) for 60 minutes
- Boil: 60 minutes
- Ferment: 67°F (19°C) for about a month
- Condition: Package when stable
- Carbonate: 2.0 volumes of CO₂
Brew it on
Based on 72% brewhouse efficiency and about 5.5 gal after the boil for a 5 gal batch. Adjust the base malt if your system runs higher or lower. Hops scale in a straight line; larger kettles extract a little more bitterness.
About this recipe
The brewer brewed it with extract and published an all-grain conversion, which our card is based on. Lactose adds sweetness and body that yeast can’t ferment. With Denny’s Favorite 50 their batch finished at 1.020, a touch higher than planned.
How to brew it
- Mash at 152°F (67°C) for 60 minutes.
- Boil 60 minutes with the Magnum, adding the lactose for the last 10 minutes.
- Chill to 64°F (18°C) and pitch.
- Ferment at 67°F (19°C); the brewer gave it a full month.
- Package at about 2.0 volumes of CO₂.
Tips
- Lactose is milk sugar; mention it to anyone with a dairy allergy.
- For an even creamier pour, serve it on nitrogen.
Frequently asked questions
What makes a cream stout sweet?
Lactose, a sugar yeast can’t ferment, stays in the beer as sweetness and body.
How is it different from a dry stout?
It’s sweeter and fuller. For the dry style, see our dry stout.