Mineral Impacts - Barley Breeding Program | Montana State University

Mineral Impacts on brewing process and flavor:

Alkalinity	Arguably the most important wort chemistry aspect to the brewer because it has the biggest impact on mash performance. Alkalinity values provide insight to the buffering capacity of a malt.
Calcium	Some form of calcium is often added in the brewhouse. Calcium helps lower mash pH, can improve enzyme activity, reduces oxalate (preventing the formation of beer stone), and increases yeast flocculation and diacetyl reduction. Monitoring calcium concentration in wort can be a tool for consistent beer production
Chloride	Chloride is associated with palate fullness and contributes to the perception of beer body. Excessive chloride may inhibit yeast flocculation and promote can corrosion. Important in ratio to Sulphate.
Iron	Iron in beer can be detrimental to organoleptic characteristics, stability, and quality. Thus the iron content of beer should be as low as possible. Levels above 0.2 mg/l during wort production can lead to incomplete saccharification, hazy worts, and hampered yeast activity
Magnesium	Enhance beer character with sour astringent flavor. Key yeast nutrient (helps under stress)
Phosphate	Phosphate compounds are prevalent in malt and are important pH buffers in brewing, useful for reducing mash pH. High levels are found in brewery wastewater, where it must be treated.
Potassium	Malt naturally has high potassium contributions. Potassium can taste salty at high concentrations – brewers utilizing potassium softened water may have issue if malt contributions are high.
Silica	Silicates can be extracted from malt husks. High levels can cause slow runoff and haze in beer. Silica can combine with calcium and magnesium to produce heavy scale in pipes and can foul reverse osmosis membranes.
Sodium	Can round out beer flavor, accentuating the sweetness of malt, especially in association with chloride ions. Low sodium will create a cleaner flavor while high levels may taste harsh and excessively sour.
Sulfate	The sulfate ion accentuates hop bitterness, making the bitterness seem drier and crisper. Important in ratio to Chloride. Sulphates positively affect protein and starch degradation, which promotes filtration and trub sedimentation. High levels may lead to poor hop utilization and harsh, salty, laxative characters in finished beer.
Total Hardness	Carbonates can result in less fermentable worts, unacceptable wort colors, difficulties in filtration, and less efficient separation of protein and tannin elements in hot and cold breaks.
pH	Brewers typically target a mash pH range of 5.0 – 5.6. This is important as starch converting enzymes will have maximized performance in this range.