The following resources have been written by Melbourne Brewers members and are shared here with their permission.
Papers & Presentations
Water & Ingredients
- Key concepts in water treatment — Tony Wheeler
- Acid in beers — Braden Jackman
Beer Styles & History
- History and development of English bitters and pale ales — Tony Wheeler
Fermentation
- Yeast starters — Chris Taylor
Water Chemistry
Water chemistry isn’t glamorous, but it’s one of the biggest levers you have for improving consistency and hitting style targets. Your water’s mineral content affects mash pH, enzyme activity, hop bitterness perception, and yeast health — so it’s worth understanding even if you’re not actively adjusting it yet.
The key ions: calcium, magnesium, sodium, chloride, and sulphate. Different styles use these differently — a Burton-style IPA is sulphate-forward for that dry, mineral bitterness, while a malt-forward mild or stout benefits from higher chloride. If you’re brewing with straight tap water, you’re already working with a particular mineral profile whether you realise it or not.
Melbourne water is very soft — it’s almost deficient in calcium, which is near-essential for mash enzyme health, yeast flocculation, and oxalate precipitation. The practical upshot: virtually every Melbourne brewer benefits from adding calcium regardless of style.
Watch This
Hayden gave a great talk on Water Chemistry at the January 2023 Club Meeting.
Watch the Water Chemistry talk on YouTube
Download This
Key concepts in water treatment — A comprehensive guide written by Tony Wheeler
Melbourne Water Profile
The following data from the South East Water Quality Report shows the concentrations in ppm (parts per million) of the ions of importance in brewing. This is from a single year but is pretty representative of the soft water in Melbourne.
| Ion | Min (ppm) | Mean (ppm) | Max (ppm) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calcium (Ca²⁺) | 3 | 5 | 13 |
| Magnesium (Mg²⁺) | 1 | 2 | 26 |
| Sodium (Na⁺) | 4 | 8 | 73 |
| Bicarbonate (HCO₃⁻) | 6 | 12 | 110 |
| Chloride (Cl⁻) | 6 | 12 | 93 |
| Sulphate (SO₄²⁻) | 1 | 3 | 10 |
| pH | 6.4 | 7.5 | 8.5 |
Some outlying maxima are a little disconcerting, but hopefully they are rare. The mean concentrations for practical water treatment are so low as to be considered zero. It soon becomes evident that Melbourne water is calcium deficient and requires calcium addition for all brewing. The same applies to rainwater.
January 2023 exBEERiment
At the January 2023 Club meeting, we conducted a Brulosophy-style exBEERiment.
The test compared a German Pilsner made with Melbourne Water against a German Pilsner made with significantly higher calcium, sulfate and chloride.
This was similar to a past xBmt where tasters were able to tell apart a Pilsner made with pure RO water from one where the water was adjusted with minerals.
Recipe Details
| Batch Size | Boil Time | IBU | SRM | OG | FG | ABV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20L | 70 min | 25 IBUs | 4.8 SRM | 1.052 | 1.011 | 5.4 % |
Fermentables
| Name | Amount | % |
|---|---|---|
| Pilsner (Weyermann) | 5 kg | 97 |
| Cara Pils(Weyermann) | 150 g | 3 |
Water Adjustments
| Name | Mineral Adjusted | Melb Water |
|---|---|---|
| CaSO4 | 2.5 g | - |
| CaCl2 | 2 g | - |
| MgSO4 | 2 g | - |
| Lactic Acid | 2 ml | 2 ml |
Water Profile
- Water Profile (Adjusted batch): Ca: 60 | Mg: 9 | Na: 6 | SO4: 90 | Cl: 61
- Water Profile (Mel Water): Ca: 5 | Mg: 1 | Na: 6 | SO4: 3 | Cl: 10
Hops
| Name | Amount | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Tettnanger | 25 g | 60 min |
| Hallertau Mittelfruh | 25 g | 60 min |
| Tettnanger | 25 g | 5 min |
| Hallertau Mittelfruh | 25 g | 5 min |
Yeast
| Name | Lab | Attenuation | Temperature |
|---|---|---|---|
| German Lager I | Omega | 72% | 50°F - 60°F |
Results
12 Club members participated in this xBmt. Each participant was served two samples of the Mineral Adjusted beer and 1 sample of the Melbourne Water beer in opaque white cups. They were asked to identify the unique sample. At this sample size, 8 tasters (p<0.05) would have had to identify the unique sample to reach statistical significance. Unfortunately only six made the correct choice. These results indicate participants in this xBmt could not distinguish a Pilsner made with Melbourne Water from one made with water built up to desired water profile.
Triangle Test
| Testers | Needed to be correct for Significance | Correct if only Random |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | 8 | 4 |
| Actual # correct | Out of 12 Testers | P-Value |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | 12 | 0.17 |
Comments
As the brewer, I have done several triangle tests of these beers and have not been able to differentiate reliably. They look and taste the same. It will not stop me from adjusting my water chemistry in the future, but at least in this trial, there seems to be little difference between these two beers.
More resources will be added over time. If you’re a member and would like to contribute a paper or presentation, get in touch via the Contact page.