ance
to the brewer. Certain waters, for instance, those contaminated to any
extent with organic matter, cannot be used at all in brewing, as they give
rise to unsatisfactory fermentation, cloudiness and abnormal flavour.
Others again, although suited to the production of one type of beer, are
quite unfit for the brewing of another. For black beers a soft water is a
desideratum, for ales of the Burton type a hard water is a necessity. For
the brewing of mild ales, again, a water containing a certain proportion of
chlorides is required. The presence or absence of certain mineral
substances as such in the finished beer is not, apparently, a matter of any
moment as regards flavour or appearance, but the importance of the role
played by these substances in the brewing process is due to the influence
which they exert on the solvent action of the water on the various
constituents of the malt, and possibly of the hops. The excellent quality
of the Burton ales was long ago surmised to be due mainly to the well water
obtainable in that town. On analysing Burton water it was found to contain
a considerable quantity of calcium sulphate--gypsum--and of other calcium
and magnesium salts, and it is now a well-known fact that good bitter ales
cannot be brewed except with waters containing these substances in
sufficient quantities. Similarly, good mild ale waters should contain a
certain quantity of sodium chloride, and waters for stout very little
mineral matter, excepting perhaps the carbonates of the alkaline earths,
which are precipitated on boiling.

The following analyses (from W.J. Sykes, _The Principles and Practice of
Brewing_) are fairly illustrative of typical brewing waters.

_Burton Water_ (Pale Ale)
Grains per Gallon
Sodium Chloride 3.90
Potassium Sulphate 1.59
Sodium Nitrate 1.97
Calcium Sulphate 77.87
Calcium Carbonate 7.62
Magnesium Carbonate 21.31
Silica and Alumina 0.98
_Dublin Water_ (Stout).
Sodium Chloride 1.83
Calcium Sulphate 4.45
Calcium Carbonate 14.21
Magnesium Carbonate 0.90
Iron Oxide and 0.24
Alumina
Silica 0.26
_Mild Ale Water_.
Sodium Chloride 35.14
Calcium Chloride 3.88
Calcium Sulphate 6.23
Calcium