Lesson 4 - Brewing Water Composition and Impact
This lesson deals with the influences of water composition on brewing equipment, the brewing process and beer quality. It will cover the positive and negative impacts that the various compounds found in water have on beer. We will explore the recommended water specifications for brewing key beer styles. We will also examine how to correct levels of some of the key salts within water.
Lesson Sign-Off
This lesson dealt with the influences of water composition on brewing equipment, the brewing process and beer quality.
Potable water does not necessarily mean that it is suitable for brewing. Furthermore, one water specification does not fit with every beer style. Breweries that tend to concentrate on a particular beer style can usually treat all the brewing product water in the same way. However, breweries that have a range of beer styles may need to adjust the brewing product water on a brew-by-brew basis.
In the next lesson, we will discover how the pre-treated water is further treated in the brewery. This allows it to meet the required brewing product water standards. This ranges from removing inorganic and organic compounds, to adding minerals and sterilising the final water.
You should now be able to:
1. Compare the positive and negative effects that various compounds in the water have on final beer quality and the brewing process.
2. Interpret whether a water source is suitable by applying your knowledge of the recommended water composition for various beer styles.
3. Adjust water composition by correctly adding the required minerals.
A self-assessment lesson will now follow. This will give you the opportunity to determine the level to which you have met these learning outcomes.