5 Homebrew Con Videos On Water for Brewing

While water is the ingredient that makes up the most of beer, it is often lesser-explored than malt, hops, and yeast.

These 5 videos present various topics on water in the brewing process. For more videos on making beer, mead, and cider, check out the Homebrew Con Seminars Archive.

1. Water Made Easy

Beer consists mostly of water. Most homebrewers understand the vital importance of brewing water but can be intimidated by the wealth of information available. This talk will focus on simple steps that all-grain brewers can take with regard to their water so they can make better beer.

2. Waste Not, Want Not: Water Conservation for the Homebrewer

Homebrewers spend a lot of time and effort to improve their brewing efficiency, seeking to make best use of quality ingredients and even replicating the water profile for a favorite beer. But one area that is often overlooked is efficiency in using water. A typical homebrewer can use 30 gallons or more of water to produce a five-gallon batch, including water passed through a wort chiller and for clean-up. This presentation will examine how water is used throughout the brewing process, explore how the brewing and distilling industries are seeking to recycle and reduce waterwaste, and suggest ways to reduce water use at home without impacting the quality of the final product.

3. Putting Brewing Water in Perspective

Brewing water can have a noticeable effect on beer flavor. This seminar reviews the science behind these effects and demonstrates them with three different waters used to brew the same beer recipe. The base waters and the beers will be served to the audience for evaluation.

4. Everyone’s Second Favorite Liquid: Basic Water Comprehension for Homebrewing

Brewing water can be an intimidating topic for homebrewers. In this talk, we will cover the water basics every brewer should know and learn how to improve your beer through water treatment. This session will be light on chemistry and big on practical advice.

5. Water Chemistry and Beer pH

Join John Palmer, author of How to Brew, Water and Brewing Classic Styles, as he dives into the subject of brewing water. Topics include the effect that brewing water chemistry has on mash pH, beer pH and beer flavor. Seminar attendees will sample two beers from the same recipe that were brewed with different waters. The beers have been judged by National Homebrew Competition judges, and those results will be presented and discussed.