It has almost been a year since my last batch. I have been reading some reviews on Munton's Imperial Stout and some people are saying the mouthfeel is weak and needs more flavor. I was thinking about adding some amber DME or dark DME.

I haven't messed with any DME in past batches but i know the kit does not call for any sugar to be added. I do want a beer that is strong in ABV% (8% or so). Which DME would be a good addition? or should i add any at all? Thanks!

honestly, i would try steeping grains and pilsen DME.

you could EASULY sttep some caraffa II (or black patent or black barley), maybe some speical B, some crystal 40, and some carapils. if you have a thermometer, you can steep. easy peesy. and do oats for more mouthfeel, too. just what i would do. then just use pilsen DME until you get the gravity you want, and you should be good to go.

i guess the thing that draws me from steeping is when i tried a fat tire clone. I used an infrared thermometer which was a bad idea because the readings for temp were all over the place because im pretty sure it shot thru the wort and i was reading the pot. =S

My LHBS doesnt carry any grains because he is just an old man with some HME and DME. Although, he has some kits that have hops and grains that i have been weary of. Can i just use the thermometer we use for deep frying turkey? lol sanitized of course.

the deep frying thermometer would work, but might not be as accurate down at steeping temps (150°F(ish)) since it likely operates closer to 350. if there's a walmart or target nearby, you can get a dial thermometer in the cooking gadget section for like $3.

yeah, you can use that thermometer. I used a candy making one before i got my brew one. as long as you can see where 150* is on there, you should be ok

Awesome. And for the oats, i dont care get any sugars from them so im not sure on when to add them or steep.

i would steep them separately from the grains.

basically, you just cook the oats according to the directions on the canister... just use twice the amount of water called for. then, strain out the oats, and add the oaty water to the wort... basically combing the steeping wort, the oat water, the extracct in your brewpot... top off to pre-boil volume, and start the boil bada bing bada boom.

I have only steeped speacialty grains for that one batch. I steep my grains at 155 degrees for how long and then add oat water and HME and boil for 15 minutes or so? and will this recipie be too malty? sorry for the questions, just dont want to mess up a batch. This will be a 6 gallon batch btw.

steep the specialty grains in a loose sack in about a gallon of water at about 155°F for thirty minutes (heat the water up to about 160°F... adding the room temp grains will cool the water down to about 155°F). remove specialty grain sack, allowing the liquid to drain out of the bag.

while the grians are steeping, cook the oats. drain the oats, and combine the oat water and specialty grain wort in you brew pot.

bring that to a boil for about 15 minutes. turn off the heat, and stir in the HME until it dissolves.

proceed according to the remainder of the directions.

Sounds easy enough. Thanks for your help and I'll be posting the results!