Beer Brewing Water (1)

Views: 8521 Author: Alice Publish Time: 2022-11-17 Origin: Site

Water is the main raw material in beer brewing. Brewing water is called "the blood of beer", and generally includes saccharification water and water for washing wheat grains. The characteristics of world-famous beers are all determined by the water quality of their respective brewing water. The brewing water not only directly affects the whole brewing process, but also determines the quality and flavor of the product.

Water contains a certain amount of various cations and anions, and these ions have a unique influence on the action of enzymes in the saccharification process, the transformation of substances, the composition of wort, the fermentation process and the quality of beer.

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Water quality requirements for beer brewing water:

NO.	Water quality content	Unit	Ideal requirements	Maximum limit	Disadvantages caused by exceeding the limit
1	Color		Colorless	Colorless	Colored water is heavily polluted water and cannot be used for brewing beer
2	Transparency		Transparent, no precipitation	Transparent, no precipitation	Affect the transparency of wort, and beer is prone to turbidity and precipitation
3	Taste	mg/l	20^。C, 50^。C No smell	20^。C, 50^。C No smell	Polluted beer, bad taste
4	Total dissolved salts	mg/l	150-200	Below500	The water is too salty and the beer tastes bitter and harsh
5	PH value		6.8-7.2	6.5-7.8	Difficulty in saccharification and poor taste of beer
6	Organic Matter (Potassium Permanganate Oxygen Consumption)	mg/l	0-3	Below 10	Water that exceeds the limit is heavily polluted water
7	Carbonate hardness	mmol/l	0-0.71	Below 1.78	It is malt mash to reduce acid, resulting in a series of shortcomings such as difficulty in saccharification, and the concentration is too high, which affects the taste
	Non-carbonate hardness	mmol/l	0.71-1.78	Below 2.5	Appropriate amount is beneficial to saccharification and taste, and the wort is clear; excessive amount will cause rough taste of beer
	Total hardness	mmol/l	0.71-2.5	Below 4.28	Some countries and regions also have high-hardness water to brew special-flavored wine, which is an exception. To brew colored beer, the hardness of the water can be higher. The above limit refers to light-colored beer.
8	Iron salt (calculated as Fe)	mg/l	Below 0.3	Below 0.5	Iron smell, leading to darker wort color, affecting yeast growth and fermentation, causing beer tannin oxidation and beer turbidity
8	Manganese salt (as Mn)	mg/l	Below 0.1	Below 0.5	A small amount is beneficial to the growth of yeast, and an excessive amount will cause the beer to lack luster and taste rough
9	Ammonia nitrogen (calculated as N)	mg/l	0	0.5	The presence of ammonia indicates that the water source is polluted, and exceeding the limit is seriously polluted water
10	Nitrate nitrogen (calculated as N)	mg/l	Below 0.2	0.5	There is a danger of hindering fermentation, part of the nitrate can be reduced to nitrite
10	Nitrite nitrogen (calculated as N)	mg/l	0	0.05	NO2 is a carcinogen and has the following hazards: Cause functional damage to yeast and change the taste of beer; cause functional damage to yeast and change the properties of yeast; affect the saccharification process.
11	Chloride (as Cl)	mg/l	20-60	80	Appropriate content, the taste of beer is soft and smooth; promote the action of amylase during saccharification; increase the spark of yeast, if it exceeds the limit, it will easily cause premature aging of yeast and make beer with a salty taste, and it is easy to cause corrosion of equipment
12	Free Chlorine (calculated as Cl2)	mg/l	Below0.1	Below 0.3	Destroy enzyme action during saccharification, and form chlorine and chlorophenol odors in severe cases
13	Silicate (as Sio3)	mg/l	Below 20	Below 50	The wort is unclear; micelles are formed during fermentation, which affects yeast fermentation and beer filtration; causes colloidal turbidity; makes beer taste rough
14	Other heavy metal ions (Pb2+, Zn2+, Cu2+, Sn2+, etc.)	mg/l		Conforms to drinking water standards	Trace amounts of copper and zinc are beneficial to the metabolism of beer yeast; trace amounts of zinc are beneficial to reducing diacetyl, aldehydes and volatile acids in beer; but generally speaking, excessive heavy metal lithium ions are harmful to yeast Toxicity, constant enzyme activity and easy to cause beer turbidity
15	Total number of bacteria		None	Conforms to drinking water standards	Exceeding the limit, harmful to human health
15	Coliform bacteria		None	Conforms to drinking water standards	Exceeding the limit, harmful to human health
16	Sulfate	mg/l	Below 200	240	Too much will make the beer bitter