When to add dark grains/malts in the mash?

[agentbud]

I have seen some recipes for dark beers (stouts and porters) where the brewer will wait toward the end of the mash to add the darker grains/malts. What is the reason for that vs putting them in at the beginning, and how long before end of mash should they be added when doing it that way?

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

What is the reason for that [dark malts at end of mash] vs putting them in at the beginning

A primary source for this idea is Strong's Modern Homebrew Recipes [2015].

In the book, it [dark malts at the end of the mash] is one part of a mashing process that allows the mash to use "the same" water adjustments for most styles of beer. By "the same", think of being able to add the same amount of acid and the same amount of either CaCl or CaS04 to the mash. Mash what needs to be mashed and steep / 'mash cap' the rest.

Apparently, there was a time when "water chemistry" software wasn't good at estimating mash pH - especially with dark malts. 'Mash capping' (or steeping) crystal / roasted malts eliminated the need for that software.

how long before end of mash should they be added when doing it that way?

That should be part of the recipe. If not, it's generally 15 minutes before the end of the mash.