Milk samples from three groups of cows were taken at frequent intervals throughout lactation following autumn-, winter- or spring-calving. The ethanol (EtOH) stability/pH profile was determined for each sample and its characteristic parameters calculated. The lactational trends in these parameters were examined. Asymptotic maximum EtOH stability (Smax) was low in early lactation but rose rapidly to a value which showed no further lactational trends. Asymptotic minimum stability (Smin) for samples from autumn- and winter-calving cows showed a decrease which could be associated with the transition to summer grazing but no obvious lactational effects. The slope parameter increased slowly during lactation. The profile pK value decreased in early lactation, but thereafter increased throughout lactation giving the most obvious effect observed in direct measurement, namely an alkaline shift in the profile as lactation progressed. The EtOH stability calculated at a fixed pH of 6·6 passed through a maximum, characteristic for each cow, in the first weeks of lactation but declined steadily thereafter. This behaviour mirrors the lactational behaviour of the soluble salt balance ratio calculated from the original data of White & Davies (1958).