[Lazy Ant Brewing]

I'd like to develop a recipe for  black saison of abort 4.5% ABV without a lot of added spices.    Some of the recipes I've looked at only have a very small % of black malt and I'm wondering what profile I should select in Brun Water for the mash?  For the record, I do BIAB.

Thanks in advance for your advice on the water, and if anyone has a recipe that fits the above criteria and is willing to share, I'd be doubly greatful.

[reverseapachemaster]

I'd opt for one of the color profiles--whichever color matches the desired SRM of the beer. If your goal is a saison with darkness purely for the sake of appearance I'd opt for bitter or balanced--whatever you would normally do is probably the right target. If your goal is a black saison with some roast flavor then I'd use the balanced profile. Bitter risks making the roast a little too sharp and burnt, at least while the beer is young.

The black or brown balanced profile is probably the safest play.

[mabrungard]

I'm pretty sure that the amount of black malt will be low, but it will add to the drying of the beer finish. A typical Saison should include some sulfate in the water to help with drying its finish, but I don't think you would want as much in the water due to the roast. Less than 30 ppm Cl and maybe 40 to 50 ppm SO4.  One of the Balanced profiles might do. The color of the selected profile shouldn't matter too much since you'll still want to be sure to target a desirable pH. I don't believe that a high pH that is appropriate for a porter or stout should be used with the likely low roast content in this beer. 5.4 or less is likely suitable.

[69franx]

Have not made a black saison before, but have been very happy targeting 5.2 mash pH(room temp) that was suggested here for the classic crisp finish on a saison. As said above, you could get the color from a sinamar addition if color is the only difference sought by making it black