The water in the softening process and the brewing water both need to be tested for enhanced water quality. In order to monitor the working condition of the softening plant, attention also needs to be paid to the assessment of the total hardness.
For plant water with large variations in composition, special attention needs to be paid to controlling the quality of raw and softened water. De-hardening equipment for lime water is difficult to adapt to changes in hardness; for ion exchange equipment, carbon dioxide degassing towers have the function of balancing water quality. The change of brewing water from hard water to soft water, such as residual alkalinity from 1.783mmol/L hard water to 0.1783~0.3566mmol/L soft water, leads to changes in the intrinsic quality of beer due to the change in water quality.
Beer brewed with softened water is light in color and has the right taste, but sometimes it is uncomfortable and lacks mellowness. The lower pH value of the wort results in lower alpha solubility, giving a lower hop bitterness. Therefore, it is best to test for bitterness with a small fermentation until the test results are close to the product value and then confirm the amount of hops to be added. In most cases, the amount of hops that need to be added is more than 10%. If we brew a light storage beer with softened water or malt beer, it is advisable to use a strong smelling malt and switch to 3.0 EBC malt when the color is at 3.5 EBC to get good results. With water treatment, protein breakage is good, wort filtration is fast, saccharification rate is high, PH value is ideal, protein agglutination is sufficient, and it can also be combined with final fermentation. The wort color is lower because of the appropriate composition of polyphenols and only a few substances are ejected from the wheat.