What should I add to a stout?

For a first brew don't mess with it, drink it how it is, then make changes as you see fit in future batches. My opinion...

 

You're probably about to be blitzed with suggestions to brew the kit as is and focus on fundamentals with your first batch. I won't disagree with those people.

But... If you insist on doing something with it, I'll suggest something I just did with my fourth batch, also an oatmeal stout. I cold brewed some good espresso in a French press. At bottling, I put an ounce of the coffee in 8 12 oz bottles, 2 500ml bottles and 2 22 oz bombers before bottling the beer. I did it this way so I could find out what amount of coffee I liked and didn't worry about messing up a whole batch by adding too much in the bottling bucket. It worked out well. Make sure you sanitize the French press.

 

Personally I prefer Oatmeal Stouts straight.
I also recommend doing your first batch as is, and save the extras for later, when you have the basics down pat.
Really, there are plenty of things to worry about on your first batch without the extra pressure of adding adjuncts to it.

 

I've only done a few batches myself but I will agree with what the others said about brewing it as is. Only because you want to make sure you do things right like hitting your gravity for example.

But...if you want to get crazy add whatever you want. Coffee beans, vanilla beans, maple syrup, peppermint, jalapeños, oak chips, bourbon....whatever you want, it's your beer!!

 

If you want to add coffee, I think a conservative, low-risk way to do it is to add 1 ounce of whole beans per 2 gallons of beer 24-48 hours before you bottle. Just remove the airlock, pour the beans into the fermenter, and then put the airlock back in place. No need to grind the beans, no need to put them in a bag, no need to worry about them once they've been added. When you are ready to bottle, just siphon into your bottling bucket as normal, leaving the beans behind along with the trub at the bottom of your fermenter. That amount of coffee should be very noticeable but not overwhelming.

 

I've said this many times before, but adding cold steeped coffee to the bottling bucket before racking your beer on top of it is a great method of infusing a nice clean coffee flavor into your beer.

 

I like the infused method. Take about 4oz of rough whole beans (I like dark roast) & rough crush them (ziplock bag & hammer). Soak them in bourbon (or whatever liquor) for about a week (mason jar). Add liquor & beans (in muslin bag) to secondary & rack brew on top of it (5 gallon batch). I get a slight coffee flavor within 24hrs. At 48hrs the flavor is usually strong & will overpower any subtle flavors you have.

Some folks discard the liquor & only use the beans but I feel you get rid of a lot of flavor that way. Although Im sure with the right coffee, you could just leave it in the secondary longer & achieve good flavor without using the liquor. Good luck!