Water
Water is essential to all life on Earth. Beer is over 80 percent water. Needless to say we are glad we have it, but what choices do we have to make about the water that goes into our beer? Most water is rarely completely pure, but often has a large number of things disolved in it.
There are a handful of ions relevant to the brewing process. There are ions that affect the mash chemistry either by buffering or altering the pH. Some ions are necessary cofactors for mash enzyme activity.
Ion | Mash | Fermentation | Finished Beer |
Calcium | Lowers pH. Needed for enzymatic activity | Essential nutrient for yeast metabolism | |
Magnesium | Lowers pH | Essential nutrient for yeast cell division | Enhances flavor at low concentrations |
Sodium | Salty flavor creates perception of roundness | ||
Carbonates | Buffers the acidity from dark grains | ||
Chloride | Very weakly basic | ||
Sulfate | Weakly basic | Enhances hop bitterness |
Salt | Formula | Ca2+ | Mg2+ | Na+ | HCO3– | Cl– | SO42– |
Baking Soda | NaHCO3 | 75 | 191 | ||||
Burton Salts | (mixture) | 44 | 11 | 27 | 105 | ||
Calcium Chloride | CaCl2 | 72 | 128 | ||||
Chalk | CaCO4 | 105 | 158 | ||||
Epsom Salt | MgSO4 | 26 | 103 | ||||
Gypsum | CaSO4 | 62 | 148 | ||||
Kosher Salt | NaCl | 110 | 170 |
References
- ^Noonan, Gregory. 1986. Brewing Lager Beer. Boulder: Brewer's Publications.
- ^Palmer, John. "15.4 Using Salts for Brewing Water Adjustment." How to Brew. Retrieved 2012-12-19. http://www.howtobrew.com/section3/chapter15-4.html
- ^Morebeer.com. Retrieved 2012-12-19. http://morebeer.com/search?search=salt