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Author Topic: Imperial Russian Stout and water salts  (Read 1424 times)

Offline jgl2ltts

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Imperial Russian Stout and water salts
« on: April 13, 2011, 08:27:47 pm »
I intend to brew a Russian Imperial Stout and would like to know if I should be concerned my water chemistry.  I've read sources that suggest a slightly alkaline mash ph to reduce tannin extraction.  I presume I may have to add bicarbonate to an otherwise soft water profile for best results.
Any experienced insight will be greatly appreciated.

Offline hoser

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Re: Imperial Russian Stout and water salts
« Reply #1 on: April 13, 2011, 08:48:42 pm »
For starters, it would be helpful to know the water you are starting with before giving you advice.

Offline Hokerer

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Re: Imperial Russian Stout and water salts
« Reply #2 on: April 14, 2011, 08:35:52 am »
In general, since stouts have so much roasted type malt in them, yes, you're probably going to need to do some adjusting.  It would most likely involve adding chalk and/or baking soda to the mash to keep your pH from getting too low.

Like someone else said, if you had a water report, you'd know the exact numbers and could use one of the spreadsheets out there to figure out the correct modifications.
Joe