What about the water?

There have been controlled tests run with water for pizza, and the whole idea that ny water makes better pizza is hogwash (according to some double mind tests). I am no brewer, but I suspect the same is true for beer.

 

EVERY time i've been on vacation to another city (or when I lived in Columbus, OH for college) the water tastes like complete shit. city water as a whole tastes like complete shit to me.

i live in rural NJ and have a deep well, my tap water honestly tastes fantastic. if i drink it in a water bottle it tastes as good as commercially sold bottled water. the only way for me to drink city water is filter it in a Brita kind of thing.

with that being said, San Francisco makes great sourdough because of their water profile.

also the east coast, particularly NJ/NY do make the best pizza in the country. it may not be the water but it is something about the locale. maybe it's water, maybe it's culture/history. Dominos/other fast food pizza places are not good pizza. it's like saying McDonald's makes a great burger.

 

A Burton water profile is most favorable for many homebrewers, but it also depends on the style of beer, and flavor profile you are trying to attain. I think most smaller craft breweries have a set water profile that they use, and some of the places that are in high demand like Treehouse and Hill Farmstead have this aspect of their brewing process really dialed in.

 

Adding to what @pinyin said. Depending on the style of beer being brewed, the most important starting point is the water pH and that can easily get overlooked.

 

I think many of these breweries use RO water and add chemicals from there.

 

Brewer's treat the water. A starting point is great but after that it is science. People just really want beer to have terrior. Water is constantly used as a way but it's not.

 

Water chemistry is one of the most important aspects of brewing. pH and chemical natures of the water are key in both a successful mash and correct flavor profile.

 

Hill Farmstead immediately comes to mind. There's something about the well water. I can taste that mineral tang at the finish in all their beers.

 

The water is very important but different sources of water can be treated to make the water the same. I'm sure the water in Chico CA. is different than the Water in Mills River NC to start with but by the time both are treated the water is the same.

 

I like many of the Samuel Smith beers, but don't like their use of well water at their Tadcaster brewery as it has a moderate mineral bitterness. Same goes for Cervejaria Kaiser Xingu. Just don't get why you would want that taste in a beer. Sam Smith brags that they've used the same well water at their Tadcaster brewery since 1758.

As an aside, most people are not aware that a vast majority of bottled water is simply city tapwater with no further filtration by the bottler. If you polled most folks they would say it is highly filtered or even Reverse Osmosis.

 

I've heard a few people claim that Lawson's SOS has tasted different since it's been produced by Two Roads in Connecticut. All parties blame it on the water. One of these persons has a close relationship to the brewer/owner of highly regarded brewery in Vermont who also claims that the difference is the water.

 

Breweries that know what they are doing treat the water. RO is one way to get there, as it can have very low mineral content, then minerals are added to hit the right pH, and to get the desired flavor. Acids are used to drop pH, bases are used to raise pH. Certain salts can be added to the kettle for flavor. Sierra Nevada was mentioned, and Mills River has a very low mineral content. The bucket of salts I saw in Mills River was much bigger than that for Chico (both were brewing SNPA those days).

If you are really interested buy a copy of "Water" by Palmer. Lots of chemistry, so be warned.

 

Interesting topic and one I've thought about for a long time. And Florida is my example too where the drinking water isn't very good but yet there are great breweries there. It is clearly treated to get the desired effect.

 

While the water may taste good it does not 100% translate to being good brewing water.

A few years ago while I attended the National Homebrewers Conference in Grand Rapids I had the opportuity to drink beer that was brewed with untreated local water and that beer did not taste very good. Even in Grand Rapids there is a need to treat the water for brewing.

Cheers!

 

When touring the Weyerbacher brewery, the person giving the tour mentioned that if the brewery was across the street, the beer would taste different due to the water.

Also, I was told that the Sam Adams brewery in Breinigsville, PA treats the water so that it has the same mineral content as the water in their Boston brewery so that the beers taste the same.

 

Do you know if that well water is treated in any way?

 

Sure, I like the idea of a brewer using water from a single local source as that adds character and uniqueness to their beer, but that's the Romantic in me more than the epicure.

On the other hand I like the idea that a brewery can open up locally and by properly manipulating the water chemistry reproduce a style of beer that belongs historically to another region of the World.

They grow very good Pinot Noir grapes in Oregon but the same cannot be variably grown here. Even if the dense grape cluster survived the native molds of our sub-tropical humidity, other growing conditions would produce fat, over ripe, watery grapes that could only be made into flat, relatively tasteless wine.

Conversely, a local brewer, using correct malt, noble hops and brewing technique, can treat local water and produce a fairly creditable copy of a traditional pils.

 

Water is one of the key elements of beer. If the water is off, there could be a problem with the beer.

Locally, the city water I drink, comes from the Mississippi River. I would assume that the local brewer, Beaver Island, uses city water. A lot of their beers have an undesirable aftertaste, that I strongly suspect comes from not filtering the city water enough.

BTW, I filter my personal water with a gravity filter system that pulls out things like fluoride, chlorine, and anything else that's in the water. I notice a sharp difference between the filtered water, and the unfiltered water.

My 2 cents.

 

If you tour a brewery and see bags of Gypsum and Calcium Chloride, what do you think those are for? They aren't making plaster. ;-)

Sometimes you can see where they treat the water with filters, RO systems, even column strippers to deaerate the water.