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Author Topic: Black Malt to Clarify?  (Read 677 times)

Offline brewthru

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Black Malt to Clarify?
« on: October 13, 2021, 05:19:11 pm »
Read the Brut article by Chris Colby in the Jan/Feb 2019 Zymurgy magazine. In the article he recommends 0.13 oz of finely crushed black malt in a 5 gallon batch to clarify. On page 83 he writes "... in my experience it clarifies light-colored beers noticeably."

Page 63 "An old homebrewer's trick may also come in handy. If you crush roughly 0.25 oz (7.1g) of black malt per 5 gallons (19L) batch and stir it in the mash, your light-colored beers will turn out clearer. The small amount of black malt does not add as much color as you might think (or as your recipe formulation software calculates), but in my experience it clarifies light-colored beers noticeably."

The 0.13 oz black malt is noted in the "I Am Broot (All Grain)" recipe on page 61.

New one on me. First time I'm hearing/reading such a claim. Other's thoughts on this matter?

Offline Megary

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Re: Black Malt to Clarify?
« Reply #1 on: October 13, 2021, 05:49:43 pm »
Without seeing the complete recipe or asking him directly, my guess is that the black malt is a means to a proper mash pH and all the advantages that brings to the finished beer.  Just guessing though.

Offline RC

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Re: Black Malt to Clarify?
« Reply #2 on: October 13, 2021, 06:27:33 pm »
First I've ever heard this. Perhaps the crushed black malt acts similarly to brewtan-B, i.e. its tannins react with proteins. But count me as skeptical that this is an actual thing beyond a couple of anecdotes...the plural of which is not data.

Offline majorvices

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Re: Black Malt to Clarify?
« Reply #3 on: October 13, 2021, 07:56:58 pm »
This is an old trick from Charlie Papazian and, yes, supposedly used to adjust pH. Not sure about it's actual affects on clarity or pH but I guess there could be something to it. Before I started messing around with water chemistry I did this for every light lager I brewed.