Water chemistry for stout

[kricks111]

I’m brewing a coffee oatmeal stout tomorrow. I’m steeping my specialty grains and have my mash pH at 5.28 so I wasn’t going to add any salts to the mash. Should I add anything to the boil? What are the harms of not reaching my target water profile for the style?

 

[IslandLizard]

Mineral content enhances the Stout experience, especially a decent calcium level and some (bi)carbonates. You can add them to the kettle at the beginning or toward the end of the boil.

I would add the steeped roasts/specialty malts liquor 10' before flameout. They tend to taste fresher when not boiled for an hour. I go as far as adding the black steeping potion after the wort has chilled to 170F, and let it sit there for 10 minutes to pasteurize.