The Importance of Water in Brewing Water can be defined chemically as H2O but rarely pure and is an essenti al component

of any brewery. Virtually every step, from raw material to finished product involves the use and/or transfer of water. These include but are not li mited to (1): o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o Rinsing Bottles Kegs Tanks Sanitization Ozonated water Dilution of alkalitic and acidic acids C.I.P. Temperature regulation Heat - steam Cooling - heat exchange Mashing pH Enzymes Sparge Irrigation Clean up Fermentation Yeast nutrients Domestic Potable Bathroom First Aid

With such a vide variety of applications of water in a brewery, consumption can be massive and expensive, roughly equating to 6.0hL of water for 1.0hL of beer ( 2). Additionally, water plays a huge role in beer stability throughout the brewi ng process due to its unique chemical composition. One of waters most important qualities is that of a solvent. Due to its molecular makeup, water has the ability to dissolve a wide variety of substances that it comes in contact with (3). This really is the basis of brewing as a num ber of important ions for brewing come from those substances, such as (4): Calcium: affects pH, helps enzyme activity and yeast viability Magnesium: yeast nutrient and enzyme activity Carbonates: affects mash pH Sulfates: flavor Chlorides: bitterness With varying amounts of ions present in water it can be defined as soft or hard. Hard water can be defined as having high amounts of magnesium and calciu m with bicarbonate, sulphate and chlorides and soft having lower levels of trace ions(5). Hard water provides a challenge to brewers as it can lead to a build up of scale formation within pipes and tanks and provide a possible source of bacterial con tamination. Furthermore, due to ion charge can make a more alkaline wort which w ill affect conversion rates, darken wort and reduce extract. However, some beer styles have been made because of the water composition particular to that region , such as Dublin, having high amounts of calcium and bicarbonate. Stout, a dark malty beer is brewed with darker malts which typically hav e a higher acidity then paler malts, providing a more suitable balance for mash pH(6). This is important for a brewer when trying to brew certain styles as they may ne ed to treat the water to a similar ion composition to that of the region. Depend ing on the source of water, brewers can adjustments accordingly. Ground and run

off water can contain a high amount of microbiological contaminants needing trea tment (U.V., chlorine, ozone). Well water can contain the same contaminants and varying amount of ions and should be tested regularly for ion composition. Munic ipal supplies are the most consistent but may need filtering such as activated c harcoal and sediment. In conclusion, water constitutes the majority of beer, greater then 90% and therefore a brewer should be very familiar with its properties and how those affect the final outcome of beer and be able to make adjustments accordingly.