Water

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Water (also called brewing liquor) is a beer ingredient that is frequently underestimated. Besides H2O, water normally contains dissolved salts and dissolved oxygen gas, both of which influence every part of beer production and ultimately affect beer flavor and quality.[1][2] Therefore, attention to the brewing water is necessary for making excellent beer, and small steps can lead to large improvements. Learning about "water chemistry" may seem complicated, but brewers should not be intimidated. Calculations are easily handled by modern brewing software, so just a little knowledge can go a long way.

All-grain brewers have a few goals with regard to water adjustment: The first is to establish a proper mash pH. The second is to manipulate the salt levels to optimize flavor. We are a long way off from fully understanding the impact of water flavor ions on the palate of beer, so the guidelines for this second goal are a little nebulous.[3] A possible third goal (for low oxygen brewing) is to remove dissolved oxygen. Last but not least, brewers using municipal tap water must be remove the chlorine in order to avoid off-flavors. Besides these adjustments, brewers need to measure the correct volume(s) of water and heat it to the correct temperature in order to prepare it for mashing.

Water for extract brewing will be discussed separately. (?)

Sources of brewing water[edit]

Small-scale brewers have a few options when it comes to choosing the source of water as a beer ingredient. Reverse osmosis (RO) purified water or tap water are generally the best sources of water for brewing. RO water is the most flexible because it is free from minerals, and it's easy to produce with a RO system. Tap water contains dissolved minerals, so it can be problematic to use for brewing a variety of beer styles, depending on the mineral levels. When using tap water, the brewer must obtain a water report in order to determine the levels of minerals present, and monitor for changes because they can shift over time. An additional water report is needed whenever a change is detected.

Read the full guide: Water sources

Remove chlorine[edit]

Municipal tap water is treated with chlorine compounds for the purpose of disinfection. These chlorine compounds will react with phenolic compounds in the wort, causing the formation of harsh, Band-Aid®-like off-flavors, which can be detectable in beer even in very small amounts. Therefore, the water needs to be dechlorinated before mashing. The easiest way to remove the chlorine is to add a small amount of sulfite, which will neutralize chlorine and chloramines into harmless byproducts.

Read the full guide: Remove chlorine from tap water

Remove dissolved oxygen[edit]

Water naturally contains dissolved oxygen gas (abbreviated DO), which is a major source of oxygen that can be introduced into the wort during mashing. The oxygen then "activates" and reacts with the malt components, a process called oxidation. Oxidation has a wide variety of negative effects on the brewing process and beer quality. To avoid these problems, the DO should be removed (through a process called deaeration) prior to mashing. This is part of a holistic low oxygen brewing method. For scall-scale brewers, water dearation is simple to accomplish with the help of the brewer's best friend: yeast!

Read the full guide: Remove dissolved oxygen from water

Adjust minerals and alkalinity[edit]

Summary

Read the full guide: Water mineral adjustment

Water volume[edit]

For small-scale all-grain brewing, it's a good idea to use recipe software to calculate the amount of water required for mashing (in order to obtain the desired quantity of beer at the end). Liquid is lost throughout the brewing process, which affects how much water is needed at the beginning. The volume of water required depends on the desired beer volume (batch size), the recipe, the brewing system, and the brewing methods. Because of this, it's beneficial to understand how each part of the brewing process affects the volume of beer. Taking volume measurements can help to accurately and consistently brew the desired amount of beer with minimal waste. When measuring volume while brewing, be aware that water expands when it is heated and contracts when it cools.

[Volume of packaged beer] = [Volume added] – [Volume lost]

Volume added:

  • Mash water - Water used during mashing includes the strike water and any water that is added by additional infusions (i.e. step mashing). Approximately 0.42–0.48 US gallons of water is needed for each pound of malt (3.5–4 L/kg).[4]
  • Sparge water - If sparging, the total required water should be evenly split between the mash and sparge.[4][5]
  • Water for dilution or dissolution - Water can be used to dilute the wort or beer to achieve a lower s.g. or alcohol level. Water used to dissolve additives also counts toward volume.
  • Sauergut - Sour wort can be added during mashing or boiling to help control brewing pH and add flavor.
  • Yeast starter - The wort used for yeast starters adds to the total amount of wort.
  • Fruit juice - In fruit beer, the juice adds volume (the solids do not).
  • Priming sugar solution - Sugar for bottle (or keg) priming for natural carbonation is often first dissolved in water.

Volume lost:

  • Water left in the HLT - Water in the Hot Liquor Tank (HLT) may not fully drain into the the MLT. This should be fairly simple to measure.
  • Grain absorption - The spent grains are still wet after lautering, meaning some wort is lost. In order to find your grain absorption rate, you can weigh the spent grain after lautering to see how much the weight increased.
  • Wort left in the MLT - Wort in the Mash Lauter Tun (MLT) may not fully drain into the boil kettle.
  • Evaporation during heating, mashing, chilling - Evaporation from hot water or wort lowers volume.
  • Vaporization during boiling - Water is vaporized (turned to steam) during wort boiling (or pre-boiling for water deaeration).
  • Wort and trub left in the kettle (including hop absorption) - Trub is typically left behind in the boil kettle, whirlpool, or removed from the fermenter after settling.
  • Water or wort left in tubing, pumps, chiller, and any other equipment - Loss or water, wort, or beer can occur due to a variety of brewing equipment.
  • Sediment and beer left in the fermenter (and bottling bucket) - Not all of the beer is drained from the fermentation vessel.

Keep in mind that the volume of water used for mashing needs to physically fit within the mashing vessel, along with the grist plus thermal expansion of the water. Each pound of grain adds roughly 0.34 US qt of volume (700 mL per kg).[4]

Water temperature[edit]

The strike water must be heated to where it will reach the target mash temperature when combined with the grist in the mashing vessel. Both the grist and the mashing vessel will cool the water, so the strike water temperature must be somewhat higher than the target mash temperature. This calculation can be easily handled by software. However, some guesswork is involved with how much the mashing vessel will decrease the temperature. When first brewing on a new system, it's helpful to use a calibrated thermometer to see whether adjustments to strike water temperature are needed for subsequent batches. Generally, the target mash-in temperature should be that of the first rest.[4]

Boiling point[edit]

The boiling point of water changes based on the atmospheric pressure, and therefore it is different at different elevations. Higher elevations have lower boiling point due to the decrease in atmospheric pressure.

Water Boiling Point vs. Altitude
Altitude Boiling Point
(ft) (m) (°F) (°C)
-1000 -305 213.9 101.1
-500 -152 213.0 100.5
0 0 212.0 100.0
500 152 211.0 99.5
1000 305 210.1 98.9
1500 457 209.1 98.4
2000 610 208.1 97.8
2500 762 207.2 97.3
3000 914 206.2 96.8
3500 1067 205.3 96.3
4000 1219 204.3 95.7
4500 1372 203.4 95.2
5000 1524 202.4 94.7
5500 1676 201.5 94.2
6000 1829 200.6 93.6
6500 1981 199.6 93.1
7000 2134 198.7 92.6
7500 2286 197.8 92.1
8000 2438 196.9 91.6
8500 2591 196.0 91.1
9000 2743 195.0 90.6
9500 2896 194.1 90.1
10000 3048 193.2 89.6
10500 3200 192.3 89.1
11000 3353 191.4 88.6
11500 3505 190.5 88.1
12000 3658 189.7 87.6
12500 3810 188.8 87.1
13000 3962 187.9 86.6
13500 4115 187.0 86.1
14000 4267 186.1 85.6
14500 4420 185.3 85.1
15000 4572 184.4 84.7
15500 4724 183.5 84.2
16000 4877 182.7 83.7
16500 5029 181.8 83.2
17000 5182 180.9 82.7
17500 5334 180.1 82.3
18000 5486 179.2 81.8
18500 5639 178.4 81.3
19000 5791 177.6 80.9
19500 5944 176.7 80.4
20000 6096 175.9 79.9
20500 6248 175.1 79.5
21000 6401 174.2 79.0
21500 6553 173.4 78.6
22000 6706 172.6 78.1
22500 6858 171.8 77.7
23000 7010 171.0 77.2
23500 7163 170.2 76.8
24000 7315 169.4 76.3
24500 7468 168.6 75.9
25000 7620 167.8 75.4
25500 7772 167.0 75.0
26000 7925 166.2 74.5
26500 8077 165.4 74.1
27000 8230 164.6 73.7
27500 8382 163.8 73.2
28000 8534 163.1 72.8
28500 8687 162.3 72.4
29000 8839 161.5 72.0

See also[edit]


Potential sources

References[edit]

  1. ↑ Narziss L, Back W, Gastl M, Zarnkow M. Abriss der Bierbrauerei. 8th ed. Weinheim, Germany: Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA; 2017.
  2. ↑ Montanari L, Mayer H, Marconi O, Fantozzi P. Chapter 34: Minerals in beer. In: Preedy VR, ed. Beer in Health and Disease Prevention. Academic Press; 2009:359–365.
  3. ↑ Howe S. Raw materials. In: Smart C, ed. The Craft Brewing Handbook. Woodhead Publishing; 2019.
  4. ↑ a b c d Kunze W. Hendel O, ed. Technology Brewing & Malting. 6th ed. VLB Berlin; 2019.
  5. ↑ Fix G. Principles of Brewing Science. 2nd ed. Brewers Publications; 1999.
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