Water or why Káraný is an ideal place for a brewery

Dan Hojdar

Water is one of the key raw materials used for beer production. It accounts for approximately 92% of its content and has a major influence on its final quality. In addition, since 3-10 litres of water are needed to produce 1 litre of beer, it is not possible to import water to the brewery site. Sufficient water must be available on site, either from wells, streams, rivers or piped water.

The quality and availability of water therefore played a significant role in the selection of the site for our new brewery. We considered both its origin, its quality and its treatment method. And as it turned out, Káraný is absolutely ideal for the expansion of our existing operation in terms of water.

Advantages and disadvantages of local and remote water sources

Local water from wells, streams and rivers is usually much cheaper than ordinary water. However, it is made more expensive by the almost continuous laboratory testing of its quality and by meeting the legislative requirements for drinking water. In addition, in the case of surface water and shallow wells, the water is often polluted by the effects of civilisation, especially agriculture, through which harmful pesticides, nitrates and nitrites enter the water. Often, then, a brewery cannot do without reverse osmosis, which in practice often means tailor-made industrial water production. This is neither cheap nor desirable.

In contrast, ordinary water has the advantage that its quality is guaranteed directly by the waterworks. It is responsible for its quality and compliance with legislative requirements, and it delivers the water directly to its destination via pipelines. However, the waterworks are often not located in the immediate vicinity of the point of consumption, so that the local nature of production, which is quite essential for a raw material that makes up 92 % of the final product, disappears as the distance increases.

The link between Prague Vinohrady and Káraný

At the end of the 19th century, the water quality situation in Prague was unsatisfactory. Water not boiled over could not be used as drinking water. As an alternative to drinking water, beer was much more widely used in those days, as it was certain to be boiled. Incidentally, this is one of the reasons why we find so many references to the beneficial effects of beer in historical sources.

Problems with the high morbidity of the population eventually led to the decision to build a waterworks for Prague in Káraný and finally to its launch in 1914. The location was chosen because of the rich aquifer at the confluence of the Jizera and Elbe rivers and a powerful layer of gravel sands suitable as natural filtration for the wells.

It is worth noting here that this waterworks is still the only one supplying Prague with groundwater, which is generally of much higher quality than chemically and physically treated surface water. Over time, with the arrival of the waterworks in Podolí and Želivka, Káraný’s share of the water supply to Prague declined from the original 100 % to the current approximately 25 %, supplied mainly to its northern areas.

In 2014, when we resumed brewing in the original Vinohrady brewery, we inherited the connection to the Flora water tower, which has been connected primarily to the Káraný waterworks since 1914.

Briefly about the principles of water production in Káraný

The water in the Káraný waterworks is obtained from several sources. The first is infiltration from the Jizera River. The volume of naturally infiltrated water can be technologically increased by the so-called artificial infiltration.

Another source is artesian groundwater, which flows from the area of the Jested mountain ridge, hermetically sealed by bedrock and clay stone in the overburden. It travels through the Cenomanian sandstone for about 15 000 years and is subsequently extracted in the Káraný area by 7 wells 60-80 metres deep. This fossil water that has never come into contact with any influences of civilisation. It is one of the rarest and best quality waters in the Czech Republic. It is added to the Káraný’s mix of Prague ordinary water as a „spice“ in a ratio of about 1/40.

Back to beer production

From the above it is obvious why Káraný was an obvious choice for us. When the opportunity arose to build our new brewery in „Káranka“, the original soft drink factory, we did not hesitate for a moment. This is because this place allows local production from water that is the same as in Vinohrady; from water that we have brewing experience with and that is of high quality. The whole area is in a water protection zone guaranteeing a clean environment and soil.

This combination of circumstances is enhanced by the fact that we have the possibility, using the waterworks facilities (de-ironing plant), to use 100% artesian water, to which the brewery premises in Káraný are directly connected. We will certainly take advantage of this opportunity, even though the cost of artesian water is high due to its rare origin.

Water is a precious raw material not only for brewing. It is not cheap for us either, given the quantity required. Both ecological and economic reasons have therefore led us to try to build the brewery as efficiently as possible in terms of water consumption. Our aim is not to waste water, in the initial stages of the brewery we use only 4 litres to produce 1 litre of beer. And we hope to improve this over time.

Cheers!