This was my case. I still have yet to tackle fermentation temperature management. I’m sure it’ll make a huge difference in my beers when I solve that issue, but water was critical for me. My tap water has <1 ppm calcium.
My comment has more to do with risk vs reward. Poor cleaning and sanitation=dumped beer. Poor yeast management and fermentation control = nasty off flavor so, headaches, or dumped beer.
Some can get pH right with little effort with their water and what they are brewing. Going for a lighter/darker style and the may have problems. I was getting pH right and not having the flavor ions right way back when. Then I leaned more. You can make OK beer without too much water effort in some cases, but not all. Yes, you need water treatment knowledge and skills to get those 40+ beers most times.
There are pro Brewers that make beer without a pH meter and water treatment. I know some places!
We spent 4 nights up by Traverse City, and all of the local beers I tries had a chalky finish that did not play well with the beers, especially hoppy beers. The Brown ales at two wee pretty neutral from the chalky standpoint, as one might guess. The glass of water would taste chalky in those places, so I am certain it is the water. Martin could do a trip up there and pay for it consulting. All of the breweries were full, so the general public is not highly in tune with this defect.
To play devil’s advocate, what is the last thing? Water may be a brewers problem, but if I was troubleshooting his beer, water would be the last item on a check list.
It would come after this; “I used campden, used tried and tested recipes, my technique, yeast handling and sanitation were all sound…yet I could not produce beer that was acceptable.”
I think the important point is to not leave water off the check list.
[quote=“tesgüino, post:23, topic:20637, username:tesguino”]
[quote=“mabrungard, post:19, topic:20637, username:mabrungard”]
+1. I would think that would be the pathway that most all-grain brewers follow.
I have come across this so many times in new breweries opening up by me. It’s like they still follow the old mantra that acceptable public water makes good beer which is not always the case.
New Brewers can get up to speed so much faster on all aspects of brewing today vs. when I started, especially on the water aspects in brewing. I hear there is a book and a spreadsheet that make it much easier. 
The pros that don’t pay attention do bother me, as the beers I am paying money for should be better.
+1. I find that my home-brewed beers many times can be of higher quality than some local breweries offerings. Yet they can charge $5/pint…
For me, it would be brand of ingredients.
[quote]Water may be a brewers problem, but if I was troubleshooting his beer, water would be the last item on a check list.
It would come after this; “I used campden, used tried and tested recipes, my technique, yeast handling and sanitation were all sound…yet I could not produce beer that was acceptable.”
[/quote]
Why would it be last (unless you had direct experience with his water)? Why are you using campden without knowing what’s in your water? Tried and tested recipes are nice if you’re using the same water profile that they were tried and tested with. What are you sanitizing with? If you’re adding sanitizers to your tap water, how is their efficacy being changed by it?
[quote]I think the important point is to not leave water off the check list.
[/quote]
I would argue that unless you’re using RO water, having some sort of water analysis is where brewers should start the check list, with the caveat of consulting experienced homebrewers drawing from the same water source being a decent substitute for an actual lab analysis.
+2
We have a lot of bad breweries in New Hampshire imo. It’s sometimes surprising to actually get a good beer, especially if one is not fond of British styles.