Change Brupac Mild Kit Into Stout

[youaintseenmeright]

Hello and thanks for looking,

I won a couple of Brupacs kits on ebay i didnt get to choose which kits i wanted (lucky dip) but each of them ended up half price. The first one was Linthwaite Light which i have made and has turned out ok although a bit weak for my taste.The second is honley mild I am not really into mild so thought i would do a bit of experimenting it is a two can kit i also have a kilo of roast barley, chocolate malt, light spray malt, crystal malt uncrushed unsure of exact specs of crystal my wife got it at work and 500g of cara aroma and carafa special III also i have 11.5g packs safale s-04, us-05 and saflager s-23 and finally 100g of willamette 5.6%. I quite fancy a stout any ideas or guidance on modification of the mild into a stout would be appreciated, or am i barking up the wrong tree?

Regards

[Garth]

Haven't done that particular kit, but Brupaks stuff is pretty good. No you are not barking up the wrong tree, a dark mild could be described as a weaker, less roasty and less bitter stout so you are on the right track.

Make the kit up short so you get more alcohol and body, if you are going to use something to give it a bit more edge I'd suggest steeping some of the Carafa III. It is a great malt, it's very smooth. For a bit more bite, use your Roast Barley in the same quantity.

Milds are just that, mild, so maybe boil up some of those Willamette (which is Fuggle related and ideally suited to a stout) this will give it more bitterness. I deliberately haven't stated any quantities as I haven't ever steeped so I'm not quite sure. Someone who alters kits will be able to give you a definate.

Yeast-wise, S-04 is your best bet, US-05 doesn't work in my opinion for a stout. S-23 is primarily a lager yeast.

[youaintseenmeright]

Thanks for the reply i also see that rolled oats can be added but do these have to be mashed? and perhaps a bit of coffee can you over do roast barley and carafa i think 200g barley and carafa 150g choco malt and aroma, 1000g rolled oats mashed /steeped in 5ltr water 67degrees for one hour on hob then rinsed with 67degrees water does this sound about right add this to 30 ltr boiler add tins top up to 2o ltrs bring to boil add 60g of willamette boil forv 50min add 40g willamette boil for 10 min cool to pitching temp pitch safale s-04

regards

[Garth]

I would rinse higher than 67C, more like 75-80C. I'm not sure but I think oats have to be mashed alongside pale malt etc, as it has no power on it's own.

If you only boil 20 litres you will lose some to evaporation (maybe 2-3 litres depending on the boil) so will need to top up afterwards.

Once you have boiled you could check the gravity then add cold water bit by bit until you get to the OG you want.