Brewing Waters of the World

Dave Draper, ddraper@laurel.ocs.mq.edu.au, April 10, 1995


Comments and Acknowledgments

Dear Friends, about a month ago I asked for tips on the characteristics of brewing waters for various styles, and got several very helpful responses--thanks to Scott Bickham, Al Korzonas, Fredrik Stahl, and another respondent who faxed me a copy of the water table from Papazian's Companion, but whose name I have STOOPIDLY lost. Sorry!!! Below, I list the collected data. The bulk of them come from Fredrik's collection; and a few other data were added from other sources, all as noted below the table. I hope this info proves as useful to others as it has to me.

Quick comment--it can be argued that these days modern breweries treat their water away from that of the old days, but I would suggest that because the classic styles developed in these brewing cities largely before such practices came to the fore, adjusting our waters to match these profiles is defensible.

Data


City            Ca++    CO3--   Cl-     Mg++    Na+     SO4--
Burton 1        268     275     36      62      54      638
Burton 2        270     197     40      60      30      640
Burton 3        295     300     25      45      55      725
Dortmund 1      225     221     60      40      60      120
Dortmund 2      250     550     100     25      70      280
Dublin 1        119     156     19      4       12      53
Dublin 2        118     319     19      4       12      54
D"usseldorf     40              45              25      80
Edinburgh 1     140     140     34      60      80      96
Edinburgh 2     120     225     20      25      55      140
K"oln           104     152     109     15      52      86
London City     90      82      10      6       22      24
London Well     52      104     34      32      86      32
Munich          75      148     2       18      2       10
Pilsen 1        7       14      5       2       2       5
Pilsen 2        10              3       4.3     3       4
Vienna          200     118     12      60      8       125

Sources

Burton 1        "Brewing & Malting Science", 1:206, Hough et al.
Burton 2        "Pale Ale", p58, Foster.
Burton 3        Papazian, Homebrewer's Companion
Dortmund 1      "Brewing Lager Beer", p55, Noonan
Dortmund 2      Papazian, Homebrewer's Companion
Dublin 1        "American Handy Book", 2:790, Wahl-Henius, 1902
Dublin 2        Al Korzonas
D"usseldorf     Source Unknown
Edinburgh 1     "Fermentation Technology", p. 13, Westermann and Huige
Edinburgh 2     Papazian, Homebrewer's Companion
K"oln           Bob Bloodworth, HBD 26 Jan 95
London City     "Fermentation Technology", p. 13, Westermann and Huige
London Well     "Fermentation Technology", p. 13, Westermann and Huige
Munich          "Brewing Lager Beer", p55, Noonan
Pilsen 1        "Brewing Lager Beer", p55, Noonan
Pilsen 2        "American Handy Book", 2:790, Wahl-Henius, 1902
Vienna          "Brewing Lager Beer", p55, Noonan