Water! its the main ingredient in beer so why do we pay the least attention to it? What exactly is water chemistry and why is it so vital in the overall characteristic of our beer?
Don’t let looks fool you, beneath that clear exterior lies a complex chain of chemicals consisting of salts, ions and minerals. There are two types of water: Hard and Soft, Hardness in water is a description meaning the deposits of minerals such as Calcium and Magnesium which lie in the water molecules, whereas Softness in water will have a far less concentration of these minerals present in the molecules.
Hard water has benefits to health in the form of minerals, may leave spots on dishes after drying, is also considered the preferred water to drink and can also make skin and hair dry. Soft water however has very few mineral benefits, will not leave spots on dishes after drying and is not the preferred drinking water eg: rain water.
The only guaranteed method to completely rid your water of any trace elements and basically start off with a ‘clean sheet’ is to use distilled water or invest in a reverse osmosis filtering system. Of course, you can ask your local council for a full water report or get it tested professionally. The main six ingredients that are typically found in water are as follows:
- pH & Alkalinity — knowing your pH is vital, especially when it comes to All Grain brewing because too low a pH reading (below 5.2–5.6) your beer will start tasting puckeringly sour, too high a pH reading you will start extracting tannins and be left with a astringent flavour.
- Sulfate (SO4) — Sulphates add to the beers overall hop character and will result in a more drier beer.
- Chloride (Cl) — Chlorides will bump up the malt characteristic in beer and will add to fuller beer with more malt sweetness
- Calcium (Ca) — determines water hardness
- Magnesium (Mg) — like Calcium will determine water hardness, which in turn affects yeast flocculation and also hot break during the boil
· Sodium (Na) — accentuates maltness flavour in beer, but should be used sparingly
You may or may not have heard of people using Campden tablets, a Campden tablet contains either sodium Metabisulphate or potassium Metabisulphate. They are used to sterilize beer, wine, cider, mead and a host of other beverages. Campden tablets are designed to kill traces of chlorine and chloramine in water, and will also kill off any unwanted wild yeasts or bacteria lurking around in the air.
A typical ratio is 1 tablet per 5 liters (1US Gallon). When transporting beer or wine between containers, Campden tablets are also employed as an anti-oxidizing agent. The Campden pills’ sodium Metabisulphate will trap oxygen that enters the beer or wine, preventing it from harming it.
You’re probably thinking by now, How am I supposed to measure all these minerals in the water? Well, to accurately measure your mash pH I would suggest investing in a decent pH meter. If you’re really stuck and can’t afford a pH meter, you could use litmus test strips but these are by far less accurate and should only really used in a pinch. Additionally, not all pH testers are created equal. You’ll want one that can swiftly detect pH in any environment and has dual calibration for maximum accuracy.
Brewing software is also a invaluable tool for governing what salts to add and how much, check out my previous video above for a run-down of some free brewing software sites you can check out.
Another consideration is when to add the required salts, as not all are easily soluble. One such exception is calcium chloride, this is not soluble in water and will need to be added during the mash. Personally I like to add the salts when they strike water is around 45C as this will be much easier to help the salts dissolve.
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