Are you ignoring the biggest component of beer? If so, you’re not alone. Most homebrewers have been at it for quite a while before they bother to think about their water. As long as it’s clean and tastes okay, water is easy to take it for granted.
Water doesn’t really show up on brewers’ radar until they start making all-grain batches. Even then, some people reduce water treatment to a poorly understood habit of tossing in some gypsum or maybe some Burton salts (brewing salts). It’s time to give water some serious thought.
Water Primer
The main reason brewers pick up anything about water treatment is to control mash pH, but their focus is tightly constrained to that goal. There’s a pH sweet spot, between 5.2 and 5.6, where the enzymes work most efficiently. Your grain bill has a significant impact on where your mash will end up, with darker grains pulling the pH down, but the initial water pH and alkalinity define the foundation you have to work with.