Black IPA / CDA (carafa black malt) to counter alkaline water?

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bsdx

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I know a precise answer cannot be given without proper details, but I've heard in general, alkaline water would work better with dark beers because the roasted malts contribute acidity to reduce the pH for the mash. Could this be true also for Carafa black malts, at least in part? I plan to try a small experimental mash or brew to probe this theory since I can obviously measure the mash pH compared to a control but is it even worth trying?

In short I'm wondering if I can use the Black IPA / CDA style to brew decent IPAs (lighter beers) with water generally said to be more appropriate for dark beers. Thanks.
 
Roasted malts do contain acid which does neutralize some of the alkalinity in mash water allowing lower mash pH. The only difference between Carafa and more conventional roasted malts is that the husks have been removed resulting in a less bitter product so that Carafa should work as well, in this regard, as any other black malt.

Experimentation with test mashes is much better than all the calculations, spreadsheets... in the world. Make up a small portion of grist without and another with the amount of Carafa you think you would like to try and compare the pH's. The Carafa mash will doubtless be lower but perhaps not as much as you would like without using a lot more of it that you would want for the flavor profile you are looking for.
 
You might also try an acid rest. It should work unless your water is super alkaline. I'm pretty sure that the water in Munich is fairly alkaline and they make plenty of lighter beers there.
 
Probably not a good idea here. He's trying to beat alkalinity, not increase it. 61 mg/L bicarbonate ion = 50 ppm alkalinity (as CaCO3).


Durrr!!lol My bad.

Read it too quick while "multitasking" (which is humanly impossible, we "switch" rapidly between tasks, but cannot conciously do 2 things at once, as evidenced by my exactly wrong answer.;))
 
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