TOPIC:

"a_friend_in_mead":2gw35gtl wrote: [quote:2gw35gtl]Calcium improves efficiency, but at the time, the the regions that brewed the best beer did not understand the chemistry[/quote:2gw35gtl]
I presume it comes down to efficiency. You could get all your beer from the few places on earth that have great water without treatment. But it would cost an awful lot more.

I am happy that brewers can add calcium if it makes the beer a lot cheaper. As I am for them to add yeast for the same reason (as long as some still brew lambic)[/quote:2gw35gtl]

There's more to it than mere efficiency and economics. Calcium is needed in all stages of brewing. While its presence in sufficient quantities makes for more economical use of malt, a lack of it doesn't just mean more malt must be used, it means that sugars won't be broken down effectively and are sparged into the wort. The yeast can't do anything with them so the body is altered and hazes form. It throws out OGs and fermentation profiles.

Calcium is also needed for good break formation, without it hazes form. Yeast also need it for fermentation. So, the point I was making earlier about times past when brewers didn't understand the chemistry suggests they would have noticed that certain waters produced great beer. Burton again is the classic example because of the high gypsum. The beers were brilliantly bright and no doubt the brewers noticed that far less malt was required than other regions.

[quote:129fuas7]Hendrixcat

There's more to it than mere efficiency and economics. ...
The yeast can't do anything with them so the body is altered and hazes form. It throws out OGs and fermentation profiles. [/quote:129fuas7]

In terms of economics I also meant that if all the (unhazey) beer in the world had to come from a few select locations its price would rise. As the supply decreased price would go up.