got an extract kit as a gift...should I modify?

My wife has a half sister who lives out in Oregon. She knows I'm a homebrewer and avid craft beer drinker. Every once in a while, she randomly sends us gifts. Well this time it was an extract kit directly from Rogue for their Oatmeal Stout - super nice gesture, very thoughtful. I think it's an okay beer, but have really had my heart set on an Imperial Stout recently...I also moved on to AG about 6 batches ago. That being said, I had my worst career brew day a couple weekends ago trying to pack too much grain into my mash tun for a big ol impy stout (stuck sparge, wasted grains, no beer, blah, blah, blah)...it kind of discouraged me and I've been reluctant to get back on the "horse" so to speak...

So, I need your guys' advice/reassurance...

Should I try to modify this kit to make it an Imperial version of the beer...perhaps via partial mash? Or should I just brew it as is? Is this just the thing I need right now...a relatively easy brew to get me back into the swing of things?? Should I challenge myself or take it easy??

partial mash is the way to go. i all grain, but i only have a 10 gallon kettle. so when i brew with a friend we just do a 10 gallon partial mash.

I say brew it as it is. Is was a gift. Maybe you can send them a 12 pack of the final product.

Maybe it'll give you time to think too.

I don't know about you, but I always appreciate a gift more than if I bought it myself.

E

Monkey55 said:

I say brew it as it is. Is was a gift. Maybe you can send them a 12 pack of the final product.

Maybe it'll give you time to think too.

I don't know about you, but I always appreciate a gift more than if I bought it myself.

E

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Yeah, I would almost feel guilty if I decided to alter it. It was such a thoughtful gift. One of those gifts that you get where you realize that someone's paying attention, ya know? She doesn't know the ins and outs of homebrewing. I know that her and her husband are big rogue fans...probably just saw at the brewery or online that they have homebrew kits and ordered one for us.

I think I'm gonna brew it as is and send them some of it as you suggested...

You could try brewing an imperial version from just the stuff in the kit and adding much less water. You'll end up with a beer twice as strong without mucking about with the ingredients and adding stuff to it.

I'm not really sure how much this will mess with the IBUs, but it might be worth a try

monkey55 said:

i say brew it as it is. Is was a gift. Maybe you can send them a 12 pack of the final product.


I don't know about you, but i always appreciate a gift more than if i bought it myself.

E

Click to expand...

+1