Improve quality, taste and sustainability through better water treatment.
You know your beer, we know water
Behind every great brew is great water quality. As the main ingredient in beer, the brewing water’s mineral composition, residual alkalinity, and sulphate–to–chloride ratio all play a significant role in shaping flavour, aroma, mouthfeel, mash efficiency and fermentation performance.
Whether you're brewing a crisp lager, a hop–forward IPA or a non–alcoholic pilsner, establishing a consistent water profile makes all the difference. As well as playing a major part in taste, it supports a more efficient brewing process, which is crucial when it comes to multi–site operations or seasonal brewing. The right water treatment system will protect your equipment, reduce scaling and corrosion, optimise energy use, minimise water consumption and, most importantly, help you to consistently hit your beer style targets, batch after batch.
Optimising the brewing process through water treatment
- Reverse osmosis is a membrane process that removes dissolved substances, creating a blank canvas for brewing water.
- RO water can be used for all process steps in a brewery, as the basis for brew water to CIP and boiler feed water.
- RO is essential when reusing water in a brewery. It resets the water composition and acts as a barrier against microbiological contaminants and pollutants.
- Microorganisms can be present throughout a water network, especially in filters.
- Unwanted microbial growth can risk contamination of brew water and other product contacting water uses (e.g. rinse and CIP water).
- Ultraviolet (UV) light provides a chemical-free disinfection by inactivating microorganisms in the water.
- Well water oftens contains iron and manganese.
- These impurities can negatively influence the brew water quality and lead to scaling and biofilm formation in utility water systems.
- Aeration and sand filtration provides a simple chemical–free method of removing particles and precipitated metals from the raw water.
Water quality is absolutely critical to the flavour and consistency of Rebellion’s beers. The Grundfos RO and softening systems give us complete confidence in our water profile day in, day out and have proven very reliable from both a performance and support perspective.
Brew more with less
On average, a brewery uses around 4 litres of water to make a litre of beer. Some breweries use more than 10 litres, but the best in class use less than 3 litres and – in some instances – just 1.4 litres, as reported at the Carlsberg Fredericia Brewery in 2025.
Water reuse is rapidly becoming a benchmark of responsible brewing. Whether it’s recovering rinse water for cleaning, reusing treated effluent in cooling systems or closing the loop on utilities, circularity pays dividends.
Grundfos designs efficient water treatment systems that help brewers reduce water consumption, whilst still ensuring fit–for purpose water quality. By recapturing, treating and reusing water, breweries can lower water usage, meet sustainability goals and boost production capacity.
Crafting the ideal water profile for your beer
What is the ideal water profile for a Brown Ale or a West Coast IPA? Or even a non–alcoholic beer?
In this guide, we explore the ideal water profile for a number of different beer styles.
Key water treatment applications in brewing
Targeted water management can boost efficiency, ensure product consistency and support compliance — helping your brewery perform at its best.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much water is used for beer brewing?
On average, 298 litres of water are needed to brew 1 litre of beer, but most of this water is used in crop production. A brewery typically uses between 4–10 litres of water for every litre of beer, although some leading breweries are managing to use less than 3 litres per litre of beer. This figure is known as the water–to–beer ratio (hl/hl beer) and includes brew water, CIP water, rinse water, cooling water, boiler water and service water. By improving water efficiency through technologies such as reverse osmosis (RO), and reusing water — for example, in bottle rinsing — breweries can significantly reduce both their water consumption and environmental impact.
Why is water quality important in brewing?
Water quality impacts beer flavour, mouthfeel and stability. Key variables such as calcium content, residual alkalinity (RA), sulphate-to-chloride ratio, mash pH and total dissolved solids (TDS) determine mash efficiency, enzyme performance, yeast health and hop or malt balance. Poor control can lead to off-flavours, low efficiency and inconsistent beer quality. Water quality also directly affects process equipment through corrosion and scaling.
What is residual alkalinity in brewing water?
Residual alkalinity (RA) is the amount of bicarbonate alkalinity left in brewing water after calcium and magnesium neutralisation. High RA raises mash pH, which can reduce enzymatic conversion and lead to the extraction of unwanted tannins. Brewers lower RA using reverse osmosis (RO) water blending, dealkalisation or acid additions to reach the optimal mash pH (5.2–5.6).
How does the sulphate–to–chloride ratio affect beer flavour?
The SO₄²⁻ to Cl⁻ ratio is a key part of the water chemistry controlling beer flavour. High sulphate (>150 ppm) emphasises hop bitterness and dryness (ideal for IPAs and pale ales). High chloride (>150 ppm) enhances malt sweetness and fullness (best for lagers and stouts). Using RO water with mineral additions like gypsum or calcium chloride allows brewers to target any beer style.
Should I use RO or softening for brew water?
A water softener exchanges calcium and magnesium hardness with sodium but leaves chloride and sulphate unchanged. Reverse osmosis (RO) produces low-mineral water (<20 µS/cm), giving brewers complete control over brewing salts, mash pH and beer-style water profiles. For breweries producing multiple styles, RO is often the preferred brewing water treatment method. We want to retain the calcium in brew water to benefit from its positive effects.
Can I brew with well water?
Yes, but well water treatment is almost always necessary. Many wells have high bicarbonate alkalinity, iron, manganese or microbial contaminants. These can disrupt mash pH, cause haze or impart off-flavours. Typical treatment for well water brewing includes iron removal, activated carbon filtration, RO and UV disinfection to meet beer style targets and ensure hygienic safety.
What is the difference between mashing and dilution water?
Mashing/Sparging water: Brew water used to extract fermentable compounds from malt. It directly impacts mash pH, enzymatic activity, extract efficiency and wort flavour.
Dilution water: Brew water added post-boil to adjust beer concentration or make up for water lost during alcohol removal. It must be microbiologically safe and flavour-neutral since it is not reboiled.
How can water treatment improve beer consistency?
How do I build a water profile for a specific beer style?
Start with demineralised brewing water (RO or distilled), then add salts and/or drinking water to match the water profile for the style:
Gypsum (CaSO₄): Boosts sulphate for hop-forward beers.
Calcium chloride (CaCl₂): Boosts chloride for malt richness.
Epsom salt (MgSO₄), sodium bicarbonate: Adjust magnesium and alkalinity.
Control calcium, RA and sulphate-to-chloride ratio to hit the beer style target (Burton-on-Trent for pale ales, Pilsen for lagers, Dublin for stouts).
Can breweries reuse water?
Yes. With the right treatment, bottle rinse water, RO concentrate or final CIP rinse water can be reused for non-product processes, or even in some cases re-treated for brew water. Technologies like ultrafiltration (UF), reverse osmosis (RO) and UV/H₂O₂ advanced oxidation make reuse safe and sustainable, lowering water-to-beer ratios to world-class levels (<3 hl/hl beer).
How does Grundfos help breweries with water treatment?
Grundfos delivers complete hygienic brewing water treatment systems, from pre-filtration and softening to RO, UV, advanced oxidation and distribution — optimised for mash pH control, flavour balance and hygienic safety. We design systems to handle municipal water, well water and water reuse scenarios, with a focus on sustainability and consistent beer quality.
Ready to brew smarter?
Your water profile shapes every batch. With Grundfos water treatment solutions, you can fine-tune every step in your brewing process. Connect with our experts to optimise your water for better taste, efficiency and sustainability.