Help for Munton's Export Stout

[roxy35]

I am going to be making this Munton's Export Stout (http://www.midwestsupplies.com/munton-s-export-stout-hopped-kit.html) in the near future and am looking for advice from the pros.

My LBHS said this will make 6 gallons, however I want to make it GOOD, not necessarily have a lot of it. I'd like it to have body and be in the 5-7% range. The last thing I want to do is stretch this stout "too thin" and have it weak and uninteresting.

Will this kit alone give me this? Will I need to use 2 cans to get my desired results? Also, I have 3 lbs of DME (2 light, 1 dark) on standy to use if needed. I'm thinking I would need to add some, but I am very very at this and am looking for advice from the pros.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[chickypad]

Looks like the OG for that kit is 1.040-1.044. You're not going to get 5-7% from that, probably under 5% ABV at best. If you are new to brewing/recipe formulation I would probably suggest you look for a kit with a higher O.G. Adding DME will give you higher ABV but you will be changing the balance/charracter of the beer - you would want to at least adjust the hops.

 

[ronclark]

According to BeerSmith 2.0, 6 gallons with 1 can and 3 lbs. of DME will get you an ABV of 4.4%.

Dropping to a 5 gallon batch with the same ingredients will give you an ABV of roughly 5.3%.

So, it's probably easier and less costly to simply do a 5 gallon batch with what you have.

 

[roxy35]

Yikes - it sounds like I picked up a pretty weak kit.


Do either of you recommend adding the 3 lbs DME, or will it change the flavor profile substantially?

 

[chickypad]

I would either do what ronclark suggested (i.e., go slightly lower volume on original kit reicipe) or look for a whole other kit.

 

[ronclark]

Yikes - it sounds like I picked up a pretty weak kit.


Do either of you recommend adding the 3 lbs DME, or will it change the flavor profile substantially?

I would definitely add all of your DME to the brew.

You didn't necessarily pick up a weak kit. They are almost all meant to have additional fermentables added to them when you brew them. Otherwise, the can itself is probably only good for 2- 2 1/2 gallon batches by itself.

You'll do fine by using what you have and doing a 5 gallon batch. It will get you the ABV your looking for on the low side.

Edited for poor typing skills.

 

[chickypad]

You'll do fine by using what you have and doing a 5 gallon batch. It will get you the ABV your looking for on the low side.

You'll fix your ABV, but again adding more malt without adjusting the hops, etc. will change the balance of the beer. Also may change the color depending on what extract you use - the light extracts generally don't have any specialty grains.

This is just my opinion. You can do whatever you like, after all it's your beer! My point is that without software to plug in exactly what you are using you may not get what you expected in terms of style.

 

[roxy35]

How do you determine the final ABV numbers for this beer in BeerSmith? I have it but cannot find this Munton's extract kit.

 

[chickypad]

You would need to know an estimated FG. If you plug in all your ingredients it should give you an estimaed OG and FG and calculate the estimated ABV for you.
@ronclarck is right, it seems like you are missing something from the kit other than just one 1.8kg can of extract, even to get 1.040. Are there instructions about specifically adding extra fermentables?

 

[ronclark]

The Coopers (another similar canned kit company) website suggests a 1 kg mix of maltodextrin and dextrose in their stout recommendation. Some shops actually carry it marked as Brew Enhancer 1. I use malt extract as the fermentable sugar for almost everything I brew now. In the end, you'll still have beer.

As for BeerSmith, you will have to enter your can by its weight and as a dark liquid extract.

 

[chickypad]

Yes, if that's the case you can probably just add your 3 lbs of DME. I was thinking you would be almost doubling the fermentables in the original kit recipe without changing anything else, but if you are supposed to add that much extra (like a kg) throwing in another pound probably won't alter things enough to be an issue.

 

[piperut]

I picked a can of this up yesterday. This is going to be my first attempt at doing a beer. I have been making mead since 1993. I mixed this up more or less following the recipe on the can, except instead of using 1 kilo of sugar, I used about 1 kilogram of Orange Blossom Honey (okay, maybe a bit heavy for a kilo, honey weighs 12 lbs per gallon, and this was almost a quart, but not up to the line... so it is a little heavy on the sugar content). I also started the yeast in a bit of warm apple juice, and I have added yeast nutrient. It also appears I might have shorted the mixture about 1/2 gallon now that I have it in a carboy. My hope is to have home made beer for Superbowl Sunday.

 

[chickypad]

My hope is to have home made beer for Superbowl Sunday.

Are you bottling? It's pretty hard to turn around a beer in 3 wks especially with bottle carbing.

 

[piperut]

I wasn't real sure about their time frame - 4 to 6 days in a warm place, bottle, 2 days in a warm place, then 14 days in a cool place. That makes a total of 22 days. I am hoping using the Yeast Nutrient brings the bottling closer to the 4 days.

I used honey mainly because I have that ... sugar I would have to raid the wife's kitchen and ... that is not a good story... fremented blueberries in her sink... i now have a kitchen in the basement...

I am also not sure what this beer is supposed to be like?

 

[chickypad]

Even with an excellent fermentation I would never try to bottle in 4 days. You're risking bottle bombs if you haven't reached final gravity, and even if you have you should let the yeast clean up and the beer clear. Then one week is pretty fast to properly carb (usually the rule is 2-3 wks), but 2 days? It's your beer but I really wouldn't recommend your plan.

 

[piperut]

I wonder why they have the instructions written that way on the label?
Wife doesn't like bottle bombs... and you can get those with com. wine (we were fixing the basement up, and I had to move all the wine and mead upstairs for a few days... a few days after moving it, a few bottles started popping corks... and some of those were store bought...)

 

[chickypad]

Kit instructions can be suspect. If you really want to try this I would do something like 12 days in fermenter, checking gravity at 10 and 12 to be sure it's stable, bottle for 1 wk, chill for 2 days. You still may have undercarbed beer and it may not taste at it's peak.

 

[piperut]

The package of yeast did not have any labeling on it. However, looking at the Muntons' website, I think it is their GV12 Ale Yeast.
Gervin English Ale Yeast [top] (GV12)
Fast, top fermenting yeast, giving an ale with a full, smooth flavour. Widely used in micro-breweries. Settles firmly. Ideal for bottle conditioning. I also found somewhere that says the alcohol tolerance of this yeast is 8%. I also find the instructions on line to be almost the same, except they have when the gravity remains constants at a figure below 1008°. That is most likely a good plan. I am still not sure about the 2 days warm, 2 weeks cold idea. I will most likely just leave the bottle in my brew room until the day before the superbowl.