In early June 1997, Jacques Bertens sent me 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.
City Ca++ CO3-- Cl- Mg++ Na+ SO4-- Burton 1 268 275 36 62 54 638 Burton 2 270 197 40 60 30 640 Burton 3 295 300 25 45 55 725 Dortmund 1 225 221 60 40 60 120 Dortmund 2 250 550 100 25 70 280 Dublin 1 119 156 19 4 12 53 Dublin 2 118 319 19 4 12 54 D"usseldorf 40 45 25 80 Edinburgh 1 140 140 34 60 80 96 Edinburgh 2 120 225 20 25 55 140 K"oln 104 152 109 15 52 86 London City 90 82 10 6 22 24 London Well 52 104 34 32 86 32 Munich 75 148 2 18 2 10 Pilsen 1 7 14 5 2 2 5 Pilsen 2 10 3 4.3 3 4 Vienna 200 118 12 60 8 125 Belgian towns: Ca++ CO3-- Cl- Mg++ Na+ SO4-- Antwerp 90 76 57 11 37 84 Poperinge 8 528 206 2 380 124 Eeklo 138 255 65 28 115 8 Luik 98 134 142 14 110 14 Brugge 132 326 38 13 20 99 Gent 114 301 38 17 18 84 Willebroek/Rumst 68 143 60 8 33 70 Mechelen 116 330 36 14 16 62 Beerse 41 91 26 8 16 62 Brussels region 100 250 41 11 18 70
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 D"usseldorf Source Unknown Edinburgh 1 "Fermentation Technology", p. 13, Westermann and Huige Edinburgh 2 Papazian, Homebrewer's Companion K"oln 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
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.
Last modified Thursday, 12 June 1997