pH Effect?

[rodwha]

I've been trying to create a black beer that tastes like an amber. I've been using Midnight Wheat and found that enough gives you a Schwarzbier tasting black beer, which is great too, but not what I was after (I've been brewing that too though).

Eventually the idea was given to me to use the MW in the sparge so as to mostly add the color without too much of the flavor. But how would this change my pH?

My latest attempt (5.25 gal) is:

7 lbs pale ale malt
1 lb unmalted wheat
0.75 lb C 60
0.75 lb Midnight Wheat (sparge)
0.25 lb light DME (starter)

I generally target the low 5.4 for pH not testing my water but going by the latest water report. I figure this gives me a little room if the numbers aren't quite right.

I typically mash with about 3 gals and have another 3.75 gals for sparging used in 3 installations given 7 mins each before I drain. That would give an overall additional mash time for these "sparge grains" of 21 mins. How might that effect my pH?

 

[mabrungard]

The late addition of roast malt in the mash is an excellent technique in these low-roast flavor beers like Schwartzbier. The late addition will drop the wort pH a bit, but that shouldn't be a concern in that beer.

 

[Kerrbrewer]

If your water up in lakeway is anything like the water here in the western hill country (300-375) bicarbonate, you will need more than a little MW in the sparge water to keep your grain bed PH in the 5's. I have been experimenting with chocolate wheat and C60 with a pleasant flavor profile.