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Rahr Base Malts and Bru'n Water

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mabrungard:
As we know from several sources, Rahr base malts tend to produce a mash pH that is a couple of tenths lower than other similar base malts.  I just finished up a brew using a large percentage of Rahr 2-row Pale and was able to verify a corrective input for Bru'n Water that accounts for the higher acidity Rahr malt. 

I recommend increasing the color rating of the Rahr base malt by about 3 lovibond to account for the extra acidity.  For example, for a Rahr Pale malt with a color rating of 2 L, input the color rating as 5 L in Bru'n Water.  That will improve the accuracy of the mash pH prediction.

Enjoy!

denny:
Any ideas why Rahr is a lower pH?  Is it across their whole range of malts?

mmitchem:
Wow, talk about a coincidence. I was just getting ready to buy a sack of Rahr Pale Ale Malt. Does it apply for the darker stuff as well (kinda like Denny asked)? Should I bump it up to around 6.5 L?

mabrungard:
I don't know why their base malts produce this effect.  I just know that its true.  I don't know that the darker malts have that effect, but their limited percentage in most grists probably make that feature inconsequential. 

I've hypothesized that this is actually a good thing for most brewers since most of the county's water supplies are alkaline (see the alkalinity map that I posted on the Water Knowledge page at the Bru'n Water website).  So having a base malt that helps combat that alkaline water is likely to improve beers in which the brewer hasn't learned the fine points of mash pH adjustment.  So, its a win-win for the brewer and the maltster.  But for brewers that use a program like Bru'n Water, they need to know that Rahr malts are likely to drive their mash pH down a bit more than expected.  That isn't a bad thing, but it is something that the brewer should know about beforehand.  Bru'n Water is all about predicting and creating a desirable mash pH and beer outcome!

gandelf:
Thanks Martin, is their a way to import the data form an older version of Bru'n Water into the current version? Or, is their a quicker way of accomplishing that, then by doing it manually?

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