Hi all!
First off I've been extract brewing for about 6 years, and just switched to all-grain this summer. I'm also new to recipe designing and have only had 1 successful recipe.
My problem is that I have extremely alkaline water in my town with lots of carbonates and getting my mash pH down is a problem for me with lighter beers. RO water is waaay overpriced here ($15 for 6 gallons) and I don't trust that the RO machine is maintained regularly.
My LHBS also doesn't carry saurmalz or lactic acid. I could, of course, just order some acidulated malt online, but that's no fun! So this has begun to hatch a crazy plan.
I'm hankerin' for a pilsner or a cream ale, but to get my mash pH down I was thinking about starting with a good pilsner recipe and throwing in some black patent malt, or roasted barley to help bring my pH down.
Am I crazy? Is there a such thing as a black pilsner? Any advice is appreciated, including "don't be a dumba** go buy some lactic acid."
First off I've been extract brewing for about 6 years, and just switched to all-grain this summer. I'm also new to recipe designing and have only had 1 successful recipe.
My problem is that I have extremely alkaline water in my town with lots of carbonates and getting my mash pH down is a problem for me with lighter beers. RO water is waaay overpriced here ($15 for 6 gallons) and I don't trust that the RO machine is maintained regularly.
My LHBS also doesn't carry saurmalz or lactic acid. I could, of course, just order some acidulated malt online, but that's no fun! So this has begun to hatch a crazy plan.
I'm hankerin' for a pilsner or a cream ale, but to get my mash pH down I was thinking about starting with a good pilsner recipe and throwing in some black patent malt, or roasted barley to help bring my pH down.
Am I crazy? Is there a such thing as a black pilsner? Any advice is appreciated, including "don't be a dumba** go buy some lactic acid."