Water Treatment

Other than water PH is what mineral content is present in your tap water if that is what you are using. You would have to send out for a water report to know what you are dealing with. Some minerals have a negative and sometimes horrible affect on the beer taste. I always use Ozarka Drinking water since the mineral report is posted on their website and I know what im working with everytime. I adjust the water with what I need to suit the style Im brewing. Working blindly with water can give some negative effects on the final product, especially when using tap water with all grain brewing. Even with extract brewing you can make better beer simply by switching to distilled water since the malt extract already has minerals added to it when it was produced. By using tap water you could be doubling or tripling the amount of minerals to the wort.

 

You are from Massachusetts. Where do you get your water from? quabbin, out near boston, or well water?

 

Monday Night Brewing in Atlanta changes their water to fit the style they are brewing... They change the water to mimic English water for their Eye Patch English IPA and they do it for their other styles too which I always thought was pretty cool.

 

It's called Burtonising and brewers have been doing it for over 150 years.
Water profile is of great importance, explaining the great historical brewing centres. Arthur Guinness began as an ale brewer , the water was unsuitable for ales so he decided to brew Porters instead (actually he imported a family of Porter brewers from London) and the rest is history.

 

I would think that just about every professional brewer adjusts their water. I would be very surprised to find out differently.

 

It really depends on how good the finished product is. I don't do a lot to my water supply since I'm pretty satisfied with the beers I make. Sometimes I'll adjust to tweak it, but if the beer coming off the production line (or bottling bucket) is already tasting great, where does the pursuit of perfection stop? Adjusting water profile might change things, but it may be better to some and less so to others. If the general consensus is that there's room for improvement, adjustments should definitely be made on any scale.

 

If you are interested there is a whole book on the subject of brewing water and how to treat it.
Water

The ones who know brewing science do.

 

I think you've phrased this question very awkwardly. It sounds like you're thinking that there is a "better" way to brew beer, and if a brewer doesn't use the "better way" then their beers should be shunned, even if you like them. And conversely, if a brewer does use the "better way" you should pretend to like them even if you don't.

There may be something to this. It may be that by learning more about water quality and styles and who does and who doesn't, your palate will develop and you'll be able to appreciate some beers more than others where previously you couldn't tell the difference. But the way you've phrased the question makes it seem like you're only interested in some hipster list of what you're supposed to like and what you're supposed to look down your nose at.

 

If it's exactly how you want it to taste, no, you should not tinker with the recipe. If the beer is missing a certain je ne sais quoi...tinker away. This is what pilot systems are for.

 

Some breweries adjust the pH down using gypsum or CaCl2, so the calcium lowers pH, and how much of either is added will adjust the SO4 and chloride for the beer being brewed. Getting the mash pH right is important.

Kettle salt additions can also be done for further flavor additions.

 

Why would you mess with something if it tastes EXACTLY how you want it to taste? That would make it taste different.

I see what you're saying...if you think there's a shadow of a hope that a beer could be even better, why not try? I get that. But I'm saying if it tastes the way you want it to taste, regardless of it possibly being "better" to others' taste buds, why mess with it?

 

I have heard from many brewers in my town of Collingswood, NJ that our water has a great balance of minerals for brewing but I am curious what these components are.

 

Ive heard heavy water can be good for brewing.

 

Minerals in the local soil or rock structure will dissolve, and the brewing ions of interest are:
Calcium, Magnesium, Sodium, Chloride, Sulfate, and bicarbonate.

Some hardness(Ca and Mg) is good, alkalinity (HCO3) is not so good.

There are limits on each ion that one wants for various beer styles.