Water is one of the most crucial components when brewing beer. There is this common saying that “if your water tastes good and contains no chromium, it should be good for making beer.” This is indeed true for most beers because the water contents will ultimately affect your beer in a number of ways, such as its pH and flavors. So, can you brew beer with well water?
Sure, you can, but the beer is likely to be of poor quality compared to using, say, filtered water or RO water. The best thing is to avoid brewing beer with well water. The main reason for this is that well water contains chloramines and chlorine that create bad flavors, such as salty, medicinal, metallic, or astringent, in the finished beer. Furthermore, chloramines and chlorine can also react with yeast used to brew beer. In this post, we will take a closer look at the use of water in the beer brewing process and answer the common questions.
How Important is Water in Brewing Beer?
Water used in brewing is very important in defining the ultimate quality of beer. Indeed, it impacts the beer in three main ways. First, it affects the pH of beer, which determines the way beer is expressed on the palate. Second, it provides seasoning, from sulfate to chloride ratio. Third, the water can also result in cause off-flavors, mainly from chlorine or contaminants.
The bottom line is that the water used for brewing should be as clean as possible and free from odors that can compromise the quality of beer. At this point, one might ask, “What exactly is the right type water to use in brewing?” Consider going for water that is moderately hard and with mild alkalinity (low-to-moderate).
It is true that beer can be brewed using any form of water, but its adjustments determine whether it will be just good or excellent. Here, it is vital to appreciate that brewing beer is a form of cooking, and simply adding some seasoning cannot be used to improve things if the recipe was poor. So, make sure to start with the appropriate type of water as the primary ingredient.
There is a general conception that the best water is the one that comes from the mountain or spring water. Well, this is true, and we are going to tell you the reason. Mountain spring water is considered good for brewing since it is very low on minerals, which allows most brewers to add the minerals that they consider crucial for their beers. For example, the water of Pilsen, the origin of Pilsner is very soft, and brewers in the area added some salt to raise the hardness to the recommended brewing levels, about 150 ppm (calcium carbonate).
What PH Should Water Be for Brewing Beer?
The pH of a beer directly impacts the brewing process, from the hop extraction to enzyme function and yeast vitality. Before pointing out the recommended pH that the water for brewing should have, it is important to get deeper into the concept of hydrogen ions balance.
pH is a term used to indicate the level of alkalinity or acidity in a solution. The pH of the water you use for brewing beer directly impacts the enzyme’s activities and is particularly important for amylases, the enzymes that are used for saccharification (breaking down complex carbohydrates) and liquefaction (conversion of straws into liquids). Note that different enzymes work at different pH levels, and it is important to ensure your mash meets it. The recommended pH for brewing water should be within the range of 5.2-5.5.
pH in Brewing: The Buffering Effect of Phosphates
To achieve the preferred levels of pH when brewing beer, it is crucial to understand how living organisms’ systems work, especially homeostasis. While the environment around living organisms keeps changing, the internal environment rarely changes because the organisms are able to maintain stability in their internal systems. To maintain pH at the right levels, human beings rely on buffers, which makes it possible for the body to run normally even after taking products with high or low pH.
Take the case of a glass of pure water, which is considered neutral with a pH of 7. Naturally, some molecules will dissociate to form OH- ions and H+ ions, but their numbers will always remain equal because the water is pure. If a liquid with H+ is added into the glass of pure water, the number of H+ will go up while that of OH- ions will remain the same, increasing its acidity. However, a buffer can be used to pull down the pH so that it remains within the right range. The same analogy of buffers is applied in brewing.
Malted barley used in brewing beer is rich in phosphates that act as an acidic buffer. So, how does it work? When you combine a mash of grain with water, it causes buffering by the phosphates to help the mixture achieve the pH level of about 5.2-5.5. This means that even if you water with high or low pH, the buffering component will ultimately change it. Note that the optimal pH of the mash is 5.2-5.5, but it needs to be kept relatively low for the optimal performance of the enzymes. While the actual pH of the water might not matter much, the ion concentration is critical.
Ion Concentration and pH
The most crucial ions to take note of when brewing are magnesium, calcium, bicarbonates, and carbonates. Calcium is the most important ion because it can compromise the ability of the phosphates to buffer and reach the recommended level of 5.2-5.5. Magnesium is like calcium in many ways but not as effective in countering the phosphates buffering effect.
Note that the concentration of calcium should be balanced with the amount of carbonate-bicarbonates. Particularly, bicarbonates are very strong alkalis and can push the pH of mash to very high (unacceptable) levels. The carbonates and bi-carbonates ions should be kept low, preferably lower than 50ppm.
Is Hard Or Soft Water Better For Brewing Beer?
Water hardness is the quantity of magnesium and calcium dissolved in it. Simply put, hard water has a lot of magnesium and calcium, while soft water does not. This is why companies that sell soften water work by replacing magnesium and calcium with potassium and sodium.
Now, here is the challenge for brewers. Earlier on, you remember we pointed out that the best brewing water should not have moderate hardness. To be more specific, the best water for brewing should have a total hardness of approximately 150 ppm (calcium carbonate). Most water softeners remove the hardness in water used for brewing beer, but the alkalinity is left high.
Alkalinity and hardness in water are opposites. See – hardness is the presence of magnesium and calcium in water, while alkalinity is the presence of bicarbonate and carbonate concentration. If the water used for brewing has high alkalinity, it pushes up the pH of beer, which ultimately causes problems with the flavor.
Notably, the main issue when brewing might actually not be the pH of the water being used for brewing, but the wort and mash chemistry. The grain selected for brewing can actually impact the pH. For instance, brewers who use dark roasted malts can easily neutralize the alkalinity of the brewing water to hit the right pH.
As you can see, understanding the pH of the brewing water is helpful, but what is more critical is the mineral composition and the impact on beer pH.
What Water is Best for Brewing Beer?
This is another question that keeps coming up to brewers because water is an important component of the brewing process. Therefore, you should ensure to only use the right type of water. To answer the question, we will look at different types of water, from distilled water to rainwater.
- Tap Water
Many people take tap water directly because it is the easiest source of clean water. Therefore, they also use it for brewing beer. The rule of thumb when using tap water is that if the water is clean for drinking, you can use it to brew. However, the main issue with tap water is that it might have a lot of chemicals, ultimately impacting the quality of your brew.
The chemical of greatest concern when using tap water is chlorine, which is used as a disinfectant. If you only have access to tap water, consider using it, but a better option for brewing would be spring water or filtered water.
- Distilled Water
This water is not recommended for brewing beer. Distilled water is prepared by boiling and condensing the vapor into liquid form. Therefore, it is free from all minerals, which are useful in promoting the growth of yeast. If you are preparing all-grain beer, avoid using distilled water. However, we must indicate it is a little different if you are brewing with malt. Because malt contains minerals, it is still possible to use distilled water for beer. However, it is advisable to simply avoid using it and stick to filtered water.
- Filtered Water
When talking about filtered water here, we refer to any water that has been taken through a single filter, such as PUR filtration or Brita filtration system that people simply hook to their taps. The filtered water works well for most brewing processes. Because the filtration systems, such as PUR filters, are slow when connected to a tap, you might need to plan ahead to filter enough water for brewing your beer. Consider filtering your water the entire night if you need a lot of beer or a couple of hours before starting the brewing process.
- Well Water
If you only have well water, it might be possible to use it for brewing beer, but again, its hardness might be too high. It might also have other impurities that can impact the quality of beer. So, consider sticking to the filtered or RO water if it is possible to avoid well water.
- Rainwater
While using eco-friendly brewing with rainwater is encouraged, we must indicate that it is not the best for making top-quality beer. There is a risk of harmful pollutants getting absorbed into the rainwater, and you should consider avoiding it.
- Bottled Water
This can be a good source of your brewing water, but you need to be prepared to pay more every time that you want to brew beer.
An important point to note when brewing beer is that if you are using malt, you can go with a wider range of water types compared to using all-grain. Malt extracts have more minerals that help with the growth of yeast, so, it might be possible to use even distilled water.
Can You Use RO Water to Brew Beer?
Yes, you can. Reverse osmosis (RO) is a method of water purification used to remove contaminants from unfiltered water by passing it through a filter and semi-permeable membrane under pressure. The filter blocks contaminants and allows water molecules to pass through. This method is considered a great option to remove large sediments and chlorine from the water passing through.
As we mentioned earlier, chlorine, which is commonly used to treat water, can compromise the effectiveness of the yeast work when brewing. It is also responsible for bad flavors, such as medicinal or metallic, in beer.
This implies that RO water is indeed a great option for brewing because it is free from chlorine. Besides, RO does not remove all the minerals, which we have pointed out, are crucial for the effective functioning of yeast when brewing beer.
Conclusion
In this post, we have demonstrated that if you want to brew quality beer, it is prudent to focus on getting the right ingredients. Particularly, you need to ensure that the water is of high quality, meaning that it has moderate hardness and correct pH. Furthermore, it should be free from contaminants, especially chloramines and chlorine, which can impact the functioning of yeast and cause unwanted flavors.