I have decided to use brown and amber as roasted malt in Bru'n'Water as well as in my recipe program (Kleiner Brauhelfer). Why?
On the one hand, modern brown malt has only the name in common. However, it no longer contains so many active enzymes and has virtually no diastatic power.
Ron Pattinson has dealt well with the historical brown malt:
"Brown malt popped in the initial kilning stage, or blown or snapped in other usage, was probably a rough form of caramel malt."
http://www.beeretseq.com/new-insight-into-brown-malt-and-1700s-porter/Secondly, tests with distilled water under laboratory conditions have shown that the acidity of brown (125 EBC, Fawcett) and amber malt, pH 4.83 and pH 4.86, respectively, is similarly low to that of carafa or chocolate malt (650 EBC), pH 4.63.
Very practical: brown and amber malt are weak roasted malts. In Bru'n'Water, you can safely specify them as roasted malt, but then you have to add acid to the mash afterwards, while the definition as base malt corresponds more to real values.
Maybe Martin can consider this in the next version of Bru'nWater?
Thank you all
Radulph
Edit: Sorry, I have no calculator for converting EBC to Lovibond.