Burton-on-Trent brewing water profile
Burton-on-Trent sits on gypsum-bearing strata, and the wells that supplied its Victorian breweries drew some of the hardest brewing water ever used at scale — calcium around 275 ppm and sulfate over 600 ppm. That mineral load is why Burton pale ales could be hopped so aggressively yet finish crisp rather than harsh, and why by the 1800s brewers everywhere were adding gypsum to imitate the town — a practice still called Burtonisation.
| Ion | Concentration (ppm) |
|---|---|
| Calcium (Ca²⁺) | 275 |
| Magnesium (Mg²⁺) | 40 |
| Sodium (Na⁺) | 25 |
| Sulfate (SO₄²⁻) | 610 |
| Chloride (Cl⁻) | 35 |
| Bicarbonate (HCO₃⁻) | 270 |
Brewing with this profile
Use this profile as a historical reference point rather than a literal target: the enormous sulfate level suits assertively hopped English pale ales and IPAs, but most modern brewers land somewhere below it. The residual alkalinity is near zero despite high bicarbonate — the calcium cancels it — which is exactly why the water worked for pale beer.
Suits: English IPA · Burton pale ale · ESB
Brew with this profile →The calculator loads this target, compares it against your source water ion by ion, and computes the mineral and acid additions to close the gap — with a live mash pH prediction.
Historical city profiles are factual water chemistry compiled from published references (Palmer & Kaminski, Water: A Comprehensive Guide for Brewers, 2013, and the historical brewing literature). Style-based profiles are brewwtr originals derived from published style guidance. Derived values use Kolbach's residual alkalinity (1953).