muntons imperial stout

[pongobilly]

today i will be making up the muntons imperial stout kit, does anyone have any suggestion on how i can improve this kit, i was gonna reduce the length to give it a bit more kick

[Andy]

Changing the batch size will also affect the hop profile. The usual method of increasing kit strength is to keep the batch size the same and add more fermentables e.g. spraymalt.

[steve_flack]

If you reduce the length you will alter the hop profile, that's true, but the ratio of bitterness to the gravity will stay the same - as the gravity goes up so does the bitterness in proportion so the beer will stay similar in balance. If you add more fermentables but keep the brew length the same the perception of bitterness gets less - the beer gets sweeter.

[ben]

Call me boring if you like - but I think this one is perfect made up exactly as it says on the box...the only thing I did differently was use safale yeast.

[Stonch]

So is this one a good kit then? I'm looking for a really good strong stout kit.

[Stonch]

Looking at that thread, Muntons sounds like it's what we're looking for - the strong liquorice taste and tan head are good indicators of a proper old-school stout, none of this Guinness nonsense!