Understanding your brewery’s water and finding the best way to express a quality profile is essential to brewing your best beer. Water influences nearly every aspect of the final product — from flavor and bitterness to mouthfeel and stability — but a brewer needs to understand water’s role before they can control pH, taste, aroma, and even the physical stability of beer.
Historically, local water sources shaped what we now know as “classic styles,” making certain styles regionally distinct. Today, you can now aim to meet the diverse tastes of consumers by adjusting water profiles, ensuring every style’s flavor is authentic and true to its origins.
“The character of the water determines the efficiency and flavor of the wort,” said Christopher O’Connor, Vice President of Brewing Operations at Prost Brewing Co. A baseline knowledge of water content allows any brewer to make crucial adjustments, from softeners and carbon filtration to tweaking mineral concentrations.
“Great beer always starts with great water,” the team at Denver Beer Co. said. “In this case, we need to make adjustments to our base water to enhance our water and fit the profile of the style we are trying to achieve.”
Crooked Hammock’s Larry Horwitz said he is reminded of a conversation led by beer expert Dr. Michael Lewis, formerly of the UC Davis beer program, who noted that water is often the only truly local component in beer.
“I thought was really poignant and relevant,” Horwitz said. “We’re a group of people who, I think, cares about the planet and sustainability and trying to try to be responsible about using local product when we can.
“The water that we use comes from nearby, which is pretty awesome.”
This emphasis on local water aligns with the brewing industry’s growing focus on sustainability and local sourcing. Brewers in the US benefit from regulated, drinkable water, thanks to EPA standards, which ensure safety and desirable qualities like clarity and taste. Most water supplies are sanitized with chlorine or chloramination, allowing brewers access to high-quality water — a fortunate, but essential factor, for the industry’s success.
The water treatment process for Prost was designed to maximize these attributes.
Two-stage water softeners, also called ion exchange units, are in place to remove calcium, magnesium, and other minerals from process water. Resin beads inside the softener trap the calcium and magnesium and exchange them for sodium or potassium.
“These ion exchange units are important for hardness removal because hard water can cause scaling issues for pipes, boilers, and heat exchangers,” O’Connor said. “It is important to note that softeners do not remove carbonates, and they do not increase chloride levels in the water because the brine used to displace calcium and magnesium ions from the ion-exchange column is flushed as part of the regeneration cycle.
“Luckily our carbonate levels in Northglenn are low/moderate, so carbonate removal is not a high priority for us.”
O’Connor said from a practical point of view, Prost chose two-stage water softeners so that when one is regenerating, the other can carry the rest of the process load.
“Ensuring our water supply is never down to the production facility,” he said. “Redundancy in utility design is consistent throughout the infrastructure of the facility.”
The reduction in overall calcium and magnesium allows the brewery to rebuild water profiles however they see fit.
“Essentially (its) giving us the ability to reintroduce gypsum, Epsom salts, and Calcium Chloride at whatever level is required to hit our target ranges for each beer style,” O’Connor said. “Calcium and magnesium are essential to brewing, but the levels required are something we want control of.”
Prost also monitors carbonate levels regularly so there is no impact from the residual carbonate levels along with UV Sterilization/0.2um filtration.
“We regularly monitor the effectiveness of this treatment process and we have been very pleased with the results to date,” O’Connor said. “As time goes on and our water tables change we will evaluate the effectiveness of our pre-treatment but for the time being we are very happy with the results this method of water treatment has produced.
Phoenix Brewing Co. has considered RO filtration but Duncan Macfarlane feels the Mansfield, Ohio municipal water supply is sufficient and has been very consistent through regularly monitoring and testing the water supply.
Denver Beer said the water tends to be low mineral and relatively neutral in pH.
“Because of this we perform sand and carbon filtration then we add salts and food grade acid, to the mash and boil, to achieve the profile and finish pH we are looking for,” they said.
Castle Danger Head Brewer Patrick McMahon said they pay close attention to the water’s pH and alkalinity, then focus on adding certain salts to impact that particular recipe on how they see fit.
For small or emerging breweries, understanding and managing water quality is critical to get a jump start on consistency. While many newer breweries may lack advanced water treatment systems, some affordable strategies and tools can help establish a solid water profile.
Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) filtration is kind of the baseline brewers should be using, O’Connor pointed out. GAC filtration systems are one of the most effective ways to remove chloramines from water and make a great-tasting beer.
“Activated carbon filtration can improve the taste, hue, color, and aroma,” O’Connor said. “This is done by reducing the organics and residual disinfectants from the water supply.”
For a deeper understanding of water composition, smaller breweries can call their municipal water supply for a basic water profile and information on seasonal or well-water fluctuations.
READ MORE: Adjusting Your Water Profile
“Call your municipal water supply to obtain a water profile and ask if the surface and well blending changes and when,” Macfarlane said. He also said nearby breweries can also offer insights if they share the same water source.
Regular testing is ideal, but if professional lab testing is out of reach, there are low-cost alternatives. O’Connor recommends a pool chemistry water testing kit, which can be easily found online.
“It’s a titration method that will get you in the ballpark,” he said. Though not as precise as professional testing, a basic pH/conductivity meter paired with pool test kits can give a new brewery enough insight to make informed adjustments. Investing in a pH probe for daily checks is key, as pH levels can directly affect any mash efficiency and flavor.
Adjusting water chemistry is an essential step in crafting high-quality beer, but many brewers, especially those new to the process, make mistakes that can negatively impact their final product. The first common mistake is adjusting water without a clear baseline.
“Adjusting your water chemistry without knowing a baseline is a common mistake I’ve seen,” O’Connor said.
Without a baseline water profile, adjustments are essentially guesswork and can lead to inconsistencies in flavor, bitterness, and mouthfeel.
Knowing the baseline allows for targeted adjustments and, as O’Connor points out, ensures reproducibility across batches, which is crucial for maintaining quality. Each brewer should define their water chemistry goals based on the beer style and desired flavor profile.
Another frequent issue is misunderstanding or overusing salts and acids. The Denver Beer team cautions against overusing additives, as this can lead to harsh or unbalanced flavors. Online calculators and guides can be helpful resources, but knowing your target profile and approaching adjustments carefully will yield the best results.
“You may not hit exactly every note on the flavor profile the first time, but you should be close,” they said.
Another key factor is balancing salts, like chloride and sulfate, which affect mouthfeel and bitterness.
“Too much chloride means a sweeter, fuller beer, while too much sulfate will increase hop bitterness and create a drier finish,” said Sean Stewart, Quality Manager at Castle Danger. He also recommends making small adjustments and monitoring the impact on each batch to refine the desired flavor.
Also, consider the malt bill when adjusting pH. Darker malts can naturally lower pH, so over-adding acids may make the beer overly acidic.
Water chemistry might seem complex, but it’s one of the most impactful ways to elevate your beer. With a solid understanding of water treatment, brewers can control essential aspects of flavor and consistency, ensuring every pint meets the high standards of today’s discerning beer drinkers.
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