Sparge ph

[raiderman]

I came across the brewer for Fellows microbrewery at the Cambridge beer festival, smashing all cascade pint by the way. it was though very smooth and his comment was that he uses less water treatment for his sparge water - only using 25% of the amount of CRS he'd use for the mash. He reckons the higher alkalinity produces a smother run off which carries through into the finished beer. Certainly it was a cracking pint. As a totally non scientific one man and his bucket kind of brewer I'll give this a try, but does anyone of a more rational, scientific sort of bent think theres anything in this?