Coastie2003
New Member
I'm getting ready to brew a Russian Imperial Stout, which is going to have quite a bit of roasted barley and other dark specialty grains. I've done several AG batches now, and I always use Palmer's spreadsheet to figure out water chemistry adjustments. That seems to work well for me, but my local water profile has such low Residual Alkalinity that I have to add chalk or baking soda to the mash for just about every recipe. For a really dark beer like an RIS, what if I steep the roasted barley seperately, and just mash the lighter grains and base malt? That way I wouldn't have to make such extreme adjustments to my water. Has anyone ever tried this?