125th Anniversary Review: Water sources and treatment in brewing

At one time the raw water naturally available influenced the development of typical regional beer styles. With the development of reliable and efficient water treatment technologies, breweries became independent of the local raw water quality. The proliferation of large breweries is still closely linked to progress in water treatment. The prevailing question is always how to best condition the raw water for the different purposes within the brewery in the most efficient way. The raw water starting points are very different and can range from well water, to surface water, to municipal water, and in some cases to more exotic water sources such as rain or even treated wastewater. The impact of different water ions on the brewing process is discussed, with a special focus on technological requirements, as well as microbiology and corrosion issues. The requirements of divergent water types commonly used for brewing, dilution, service and boiler feed water, and available treatment steps based on examples of large‐sized plants are discussed, including traditional methods such as lime softening and ion exchange, as well as more recent treatment systems. Membrane technology is highlighted, as it has had a great impact on treatment technology. Following the success story of reverse osmosis, and more recently developed ultrafiltration, there is now more focus on special applications such as the substitution of lime saturators to produce clear lime water with membranes. This requires higher performance and robustness of the membranes. Finally, some future challenges for water treatment in breweries are outlined. Copyright © 2012 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling