One was "ridiculously sweet."
Another had "a slightly green flavor, a kind of mustiness."
Still another, "clear, with a good taste."
Was this a wine tasting? No. Micro-brewed beer? Nope. Cheese? Uh-uh.
We're talking about water.
Four area water aficionados recently gathered at Fitger's Brewhouse to
sample six waters -- five bottled, one tap -- from Minnesota and lands
beyond. They rated the samples on their odor, flavor, mouth feel and
aftertaste.
According to standards set by the Bottled Water Web, a Web site devoted
to the bottled water industry, a high quality water should be clear, have no
aroma, taste clean, have a light mouth feel and should leave the tester
thirsty for more.
The tasters took their job seriously.
Dave Hoops, head brewer at the Brewhouse in Duluth, held his glass up to
the light, looking for any off color.
Donald Andresen, chief coffee tester at Arco Coffee in Superior, sucked
in air as he sipped in order to aerate his samples.
Jack Olin, a Duluth tap water advocate, bent studiously over his rating
sheet.
And Bob Bennett, co-owner and chef at Bennett's on the Lake in Duluth,
talked about how all the samples tasted remarkably like water.
The Duluth News Tribune organized the bottled water taste test to see how
Buhl Water stacked up against the hometown favorite, Duluth tap water. We
also threw in some national and international brands to mix things up.
Let's end the suspense -- Buhl Water came in a close second but the
company's claim of "finest water in America" can still stand because the
top-rated water was bottled from an artesian well in Fiji.
Each taster brought a different background to the test.
Hoops had made sure not to eat any breakfast so his palate would be at
its most sensitive. "We have the best water there is, right out there," he
said, gesturing towards Lake Superior.
"It's good quality water," Olin agreed. "The lake is like a big, granite
bowl of water."
Hoops treats just a small percentage of the water used in his microbrews,
and then only to bring out certain characteristics in the beer. Hard water,
for instance, makes an India Pale Ale "hoppier," he explained. About
three-quarters of the Brewhouse beer is brewed with plain old Lake Superior
water.
"Soft water is great to brew with," Hoops said.
Not so when brewing coffee, said Andresen. Soft water percolates through
coffee grounds more slowly, and draws out more of the bitter compounds. On
the other hand, water that's too hard can cause excessive buildup in your
coffee maker.
"Duluth tap water is right on the edge of being too soft," Andresen said.
Other compounds found in water can easily affect its taste. Water high in
minerals can taste metallic, while water that contains hydrogen sulfide
carries a rich odor of rotten eggs.
The testers sniffed their water delicately, smacking their lips and
rolling each sample around in their mouths.
"I think the whole thing is a phenomenon, being able to market a natural
resource that's readily available," Bennett said. He uses tap water for
drinking and cooking at Bennett's on the Lake, though he also has San
Pellegrino, a bottled mineral water available.
"You assume it's better because you pay for it," Bennett said.
Actually, much of the country's bottled water doesn't gush from a
mountain stream or spring out of a pristine hillside -- it comes from a
municipal water supply.
Americans spent about $9 billion on bottled waters in 2003, according to
the market research group A.C. Nielsen.
The two top-selling bottled waters in the United States are Dasani,
marketed by Coca-Cola, and Aquafina, a Pepsi product. Both are municipal
waters bottled in factories around the country, including Detroit -- a
source not exactly implied by the mountainous sketches on the Aquafina
label. The water is forced through a series of membranes that remove salts,
bacteria, sugars and proteins. Once it has gone through this reverse osmosis
process, the water can be labeled "purified."
Most of the testers gave Aquafina tepid reviews. Hoops thought it had "a
rough mouth feel."
But then again, "I'm a harsh grader," Hoops said. He attends a weeklong
workshop every year to help train his palate to be sharp and receptive.
Several testers were surprised with their own results.
"If I were to rate them without the blind tasting, I would have picked
Duluth tap water," Andresen said, who came up with a tie between Buhl Water,
Fiji and Chippewa for first.
