4 replies to this topic

[orudis]

In light of my beer magazines telling em to brew a Black IPA, I have decided to brew a Black IPA. Here's my question- do these dehuskified carafa II type malts effect residual alkilinity the same way other dark grains do? The point of them seems to be to add color without "________" which variously means roastiness, or sometimes astringency. If its less astringent, is it also less acidic? Just curious.

[djinkc]

We had John Palmer cornered at our annual KCBM comp a few years back. I had him review our water stats. Said I might need a little chalk for dark beers. While I respect him I think my darks turn out fine. That said, I'd use the nomograph and go with it if you're worried. All my darks turn out fine without altering the water. I would treat it the same as any roasted barley/malt. I think the SRM gets you close enough for the dark grains.Have a black oatmeal ale fermenting now, no water chemistry changes.......

[DaBearSox]

I need to look at the magazines to see their recipies...seems like the W'10 is the standard right now...I have to say a little more roasted grain takes the flavor to a new level...I think widmer just uses dehusked...I had an IBA at a small place called Quarry Brewing in Butte, MT...this guy used all black malt and I thought it was better than W'10

[BrewerGeorge]

I've always treated them as if they affect chemistry based on their color. No special mods because they are debittered, dehusked, whatever.

[Malzig]

The Carafa Special has relatively little effect on mash pH. A mostly Pilsner Malt mash brought from ~4 to ~ 30 SRM with Carafa I Special would only be expected to drop about 0.05 pH. While using CaraMunich III to raise the SRM to 30 would be expected to drop the pH by about 0.2.You should read this on Kai Troester's site and check out his Water Calculator at the end of the first section, to see the different effects of Roasted and Crystal Malts on mash pH. If you want to get deeper into how this was derived, you can read the pdf of his research paper on the subject.