Water, one of the four essential ingredients, is of great importance if you want to produce premium beer! That is why our brewing team completely purifies water from heavy metals, chlorine, and minerals with the help of a reverse osmosis system.
RO water gives you the perfect playfield. You can build your water profile from scratch. Depending on the distinct beer styles we want to produce, we add certain food minerals to get the most suitable water profile. Water adjustment plays a significant role in making a difference between a good beer and a great beer.
IONS: A quick refresher in chemistry
These are the most common ions in brewing water:
Calcium is the principal ion that determines hardness. It promotes protein coagulation during brewing and aging. Besides that, it is working on clarity and yeast sedimentation during beer aging while ensuring the purity of flavor without filtration. Ca gives stability to the finished beer.
Sulfates emphasize the hop character of the beer. No wonder we may find large quantities of sulfates in hoppy beer styles such as Pale Ale and Indian Pale Ale!
Chlorides are there for accentuating the malty flavor and aroma in beer. Thanks to them, taste becomes fuller and sweeter. Be sure to use them when the goal is to enhance the malty aroma in red and dark beers or get the thicker taste in light beers. To sum up, Chlorides enhance fullness and malt sweetness.
Magnesium is essential for yeast nutrition. It improves the taste of dark beers such as Porter and Stout, while bicarbonates neutralize the acidity of dark malts.
Contrarily, Sodium is usually unwelcome in the process of brewing. We exclude it with the help of reverse osmosis. When present, Sodium gives a salty taste and sometimes an unpleasant bitterness and metallic taste.
You learned the basics, so start exploring and dare trying your first home-brew.
Happy Brewing!
