Why is brewing water chemistry difficult?

Some brewers look at brewing water chemistry and walk away. It seems too hard to comprehend!

Well, they could be right; it is a hard subject to master. This article will help illustrate why brewing water chemistry may seem difficult and why you might not be so dense after all.

The problem with understanding brewing water chemistry is that there are so many aspects to it. The figure below shows the major components of wort: the water supply, the mash grist, and any added minerals. Each of those components has contributors that affect our ultimate brewing targets…the flavor and pH of our wort.

As you can see in the figure, there are at least a half dozen contributors that affect wort flavor and pH. It is this large number of contributors that make the average person pull out their hair and give up on this subject. But understanding a problem is the first step in solving it. So take a moment with the figure to begin your trek toward understanding the aspects to how each of these components: Water, Grist, and Chemicals affect your wort. Each will be discussed in upcoming articles and we will work at helping you understand how those contributors affect your wort and beer.