Knights of the Mashing Fork



Brewing Waters of the World

Comments and Acknowledgments

Back in March 1995 we asked the HBD readership for tips on the characteristics of brewing waters for various styles, and got several very helpful responses. Below, is a list of the collected data that were forwarded. The bulk of them come from Fredrik Stahl'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.

In early June 1997, Jacques Bertens sent a collection of water profiles from ten towns and cities in Belgium. The first four listed below came from a brewing course he took at Leuven (Belgium) and the rest come from the local water companies in question. These profiles fill the biggest gap in the list of brewing cities-- information on Belgian waters. I'm sure we're all very grateful to Jacques for doing the legwork on compiling these profiles and for then volunteering them onto my page so that we can all take advantage of his efforts. Thank you Jacques!

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++ HCO3-- Cl- Mg++ Na+ SO4--
Brabant111 315 40 12 14 74
Burton 1268 275 36 62 54 638
Burton 2270 197 40 60 30 640
Burton 3295 300 25 45 55 725
Dortmund 1225 221 60 40 60 120
Dortmund 2 250 550 100 25 70 280
Dublin 1119 156 19 4 12 53
Dublin 2 118 319 19 4 12 54
Dusseldorf40 60 45   25 80
Edinburgh 1140 140 34 60 80 96
Edinburgh 2120 225 20 25 55 140
Koln 104 152 109 15 52 86
London City90 82 10 6 22 24
London Well 52 104 34 32 86 32
Munich 75 148 2 18 2 10
Nor. France137 200 30 12   40
Pilsen 1 7 14 5 2 2 5
Pilsen 2 10   3 4.3 3 4
St Louis21.9 21 20.6 10.7 19.6 66.9
Vienna 200 118 12 60 8 125
Yorkshire105 153 30 17 23 66
Belgian City Ca++ HCO3-- Cl- Mg++ Na+ SO4--
Antwerp 90 76 57 11 37 84
Ardennes 3.5 11 5 1.3 3 28
Beerse 41 91 26 8 16 62
Brugge 132 326 38 13 20 99
Brussels region 100 250 41 11 18 70
East Flanders 134 306 47 22 52 76
Eeklo 138 255 65 28 115 8
Gent 114 301 38 17 18 84
Luik 98 134 142 14 110 14
Mechelen 116 330 36 14 16 62
Poperinge 8 528 206 2 380 124
West Flanders 114 370 139 10 125 145
Willebroek/Rumst 68 143 60 8 33 70
Belgian Breweries Ca++ HCO3-- Cl- Mg++ Na+ SO4--
Achel 64 157 24 7 12 28
Chimay 70 216 21 7 7 21
Hoegaarden 109 171 53 12 16 82
Orval 96 287 13 4 5 25
Rochefort 82 240 17 10 6 32
Westmalle 41 91 26 8 16 62
Westvleteren 114 370 139 10 125 145

Noteworthy beers and breweries from the Belgian towns

Antwerp				De Koninck
Popering			St. Sixtus, Van Eecke; Belgian hopgrowing region
Eeklo				Bios (western Belgium)
Luik				(Eastern Belgium)
Willebroek/Rumst		Moortgat, makers of Duvel; Palm
Mechelen			Het Anker, makers of Gouden Carolus
Beerse				Westmalle
All others are from western, northwestern, or central Belgium.

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
Dusseldorf     		Source Unknown
Edinburgh 1     	"Fermentation Technology", p. 13, Westermann and Huige
Edinburgh 2     	Papazian, Homebrewer's Companion
Koln           		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


Last modified Thursday, 24. May 2007