Beer
Dictionary
Basic
Beer Terms
Ale:
A beer brewed from hops, malt, and top-fermenting yeast.
Varies from pale to dark amber in color, texture is smooth,
and sweet, flavor is fruity, stronger, and more bitter than
beer.
Amber: A beer named
for its reddish-brown color, ranging from pale to dark.
Barley wine: A dark,
rich, bittersweet beer with higher alcohol content.
Bitter: Amber ale with
a fragrant bouquet whose dry, sharp flavor is produced from
hops.
Bock: A strong, malty
lager varying from pale to dark brown in color with an alcohol
content around 6 percent by volume.
Brewpub: A brewery alongside
an eatery or pub that sells beer on site.
Brown ale: Nutty, malty
ale that’s dark brown in color with flavors ranging
from dry to sweet.
Burton: Strong ale that’s
dark brown in color with roasty malt flavors.
Cooper: Woodworker who
crafts wooden beer kegs.
Dopplebock: A version
of bock, meaning “double bock,” with a stronger
alcohol content, varying from 8 to 13 percent by volume.
Draft (draught): A method
of dispensing beer from a keg, cask, or bright tank.
Hard cider: A sweet
fermented drink made from apples.
Hefeweizen: A refreshing,
frothy wheat beer that is lighter in body, flavor, and alcohol
content.
Holiday beer: A special
seasonal brew varying from amber to dark brown in color
with sweet flavor and often special spicy, fruity, or herby
notes.
India Pale Ale (IPA): A
pale ale that is profusely hoppy.
Kolsch: A mildly malty
West German ale that is very pale in color and a bit tart
in flavor.
Lager: A crisp, clean
beer made with bottom-fermenting yeasts at near freezing
temperatures for longer periods of time than ales.
Malt liquor: A malty
lager that’s pale in color with an alcohol content
above 5 percent by volume, as defined in the United States.
Pale ale: A highly hopped
beer made from high-quality malt that’s dry in flavor.
Pilsner: A beer brewed
from bottom-fermenting yeast. Very pale in color with a
dry, hoppy flavor and aroma.
Porter: Ale brewed from
well-roasted barley. Dark brown in color, full-bodied in
texture, and bittersweet or chocolaty in flavor.
Pub: An abbreviation
for “public house,” a gathering place that serves
beer and often other alcoholic beverages on site.
Publican: A pub owner
or manager.
Stout: A rich beer brewed
from full-flavored roasted malts andtop-fermenting yeast,
sometimes with caramel sugar and high hop content. Dark
brown in color, full-bodied in texture, and slightly burnt
in flavor.
Wheat
beer: A
beer brewed with wheat malt. Pale in color, medium-bodied
in texture, and slightly tart in flavor.
Beer
Brewing Terms
Additives:
Enzymes,
antioxidants, and preservatives added to a beer to preserve
it or improve its shelf life.
Alcohol: Ethyl alcohol
or ethanol, which results naturally from fermentation.
Anaerobic: An organism,
or yeast in the case of beer, that thrives without oxygen.
Aroma hops: A hop variety
chosen for its enhanced bouquet.
Barley: A grain that
is malted for use in the mash during the brew process.
Bottle conditioning: The
method of secondary fermenting or maturing in the bottle,
which can develop a beer’s complexity.
Bottom-fermenting yeast: One
of two strains of yeast used in brewing beer, essentially
lagers, that responds best at lower temperatures and ferments
more sugars for a cleaner flavor.
Black malt: Partially
malted barley that is roasted at high temperatures and used
to give beer its dark color and roasty flavor.
Brew kettle: A receptacle
in which mash is boiled with hops.
Bright beer tank: See
conditioning tank.
Bung: The plug used
in the opening of a keg or cask.
Caramel: A less expensive
cooked sugar used to add color and alcohol content to a
beer.
Caramel malt: A sugary,
amber-colored malt used to sweeten beer and increase head
retention.
Carbonation: The natural
carbon dioxide sparkle or bubble in beer that is produced
in fermentation or injected artificially afterward.
Cask: A barrel-like,
and often metal, receptacle for holding beer.
Cask conditioning: The
method of secondary cask fermenting or maturing, which can
develop a beer’s carbonation.
Chill haze: A haziness
that appears in beers at low temperatures, due to protein-tannin
compound precipitation.
Chill proof: Beers treated to resist chill haze.
Conditioning: The method
of warm or cold secondary fermenting or maturing, which
can develop a beer’s carbonation or complexity of
flavor.
Conditioning tank: A
receptacle or vessel used for conditioning beer.
Copper: See brew kettle.
Dextrin: An unfermentable
carbohydrate found in malted barley, which gives beer its
flavor and mouthfeel.
Dosage: A quantity of
yeast and/or sugar added to the bottle or cask to facilitate
conditioning.
Dry-hopping: The method
of adding dry hops to fermenting or aging beer to increase
hop quality or aroma.
Enzymes: The natural
grain proteins that convert the malted barley starches to
sugars or maltose in the heating phase of mashing.
Ethanol: A type of alcohol
formed from yeast during fermentation.
Fermentation: The activation
of yeast, which converts sugar into ethyl alcohol and carbon
dioxide.
Filter: The brewing
method by which impurities in the wort are removed. Yeast
in suspension is often removed.
Final specific gravity: The
measurement of a beer’s density after fermentation,
as compared to water.
Fining: A substance
that attracts suspended particles in beer and provides clarification.
Grist: The mixture of
milled grains to be used in a specific brew.
Heat exchanger: A mechanism
used to quickly reduce the wort temperature.
Infusion: Mash-making
method in which malt is soaked in water and kept at one
temperature.
Keg: A barrel or container
for beer.
Lagering: The method
of maturing at cold temperatures.
Lauter: The method of
extracting malt sugars from the wort by raking through the
mash tun.
Lauter tun: See mash
tun.
Liquor: The water infusion
used in malting, mashing, or sparging.
Malt extract: The processed
mash now in the form of syrup or powdered sugar, with maltose
and dextrins, which is then reactivated with water for fermentation.
Malting: The method
of converting barley grain starches to maltose in order
to begin fermentation.
Maltose: The fermentable
malt sugar, which is water-soluble.
Mash: The resulting
mixture that comes from soaking and cooking barley malt
in water, wherein the fermentable sugars are released.
Mashing: The process
of making mash.
Mash tun: A preparation
tank used for turning mash into wort.
Mead: Substance produced
when honey, water, yeast, and other possible additives like
spices, herbs, or fruit are fermented.
Microbrewery: A small
brewery that makes its own beer and sells less than 15,000
barrels a year.
Original gravity: See
specific gravity.
Pasteurization: The
method of heating beer to stabilize its microscopic organisms
and their effects.
Pitch: The method of
adding yeast to the wort.
Priming: The method
of adding sugar to the beer in maturation to promote a secondary
fermentation.
Secondary fermentation: The
method of warm or cold secondary fermenting or maturing,
which can develop a beer’s carbonation or complexity
of flavor.
Sediment: The yeasty
substance at the bottom of a bottle of conditioned beer.
Sparge: The method of
spraying the grist with hot water at the end of the mash
in order to remove soluble sugars.
Specific gravity: The
measurement of a beer’s density before fermentation,
as compared to water.
Terminal gravity: See
final specific gravity.
Top-fermenting yeast:
One of two strains of yeast used in brewing beer, essentially
ales, that responds best at warmer temperatures, ferments
fewer sugars for a sweeter flavor, and sustains higher alcohol
concentrations.
Tun: A large receptacle
or vessel used in brewing beer.
Wort: The mixture of
grain sugars filtered from the mash tun.
Wort chiller: See heat
exchanger.
Yeast: A fungi that
is added to wort, which aids in turning fermentable sugar
into alcohol and carbon dioxide.
Beer
Tasting Terms
Acidic:
A sour or sharp flavor characteristic.
Alcoholic: Warming effect
of ethanol and higher alcohols.
Aroma: The nose or smell
of a beer, ranging from fruity to malty, flowery to spicy,
and more.
Astringent: A quality
that produces a drying, puckering sensation of the gums
and tongue.
Bacterial: A flavor
suggestive of mold or mustiness often due to spoilage.
Balance: When a beer's
elements, including the bouquet and palate are in perfect
proportionate agreement with one another.
Bitter: A twinge or
strong sensation noticeable at the back of the tongue.
Body: The texture and
weight of a beer as perceived in the mouth. A beer may have
thin or full body.
Bouquet: The nose or
smell of a beer, ranging from fruity to malty, flowery to
spicy, and more.
Bright:
A visual quality, describing a beer’s clarity or color.
Cabbage-like: An aroma
or flavor suggestive of cabbage often due to rotten wort.
Chlorophenolic:
An
aroma suggestive of plastic, usually resulting from chemical
reactions between chlorine and phenol compounds.
Clove-like: A spicy
flavor suggestive of clove often due to wild yeast.
Creamy:
The texture and weight of a beer with good natural carbonation.
Dank: An aroma suggestive
of mold.
Dry: A beer that finishes
sharp in the mouth, not sweet.
Ester: Complex flavor
mix produced naturally in fermentation, ranging from fruity
and spicy to flowery.
Finish: The lingering
aftertaste that remains in the mouth after swallowing a
sip of beer.
Fruity:
A
sweet aroma or flavor suggestive of bananas, apples, pears,
citrus, strawberries, and more.
Grainy: A flavor suggestive
of raw grain or cereal.
Hang: A long-lingering
bitterness or harshness that remains in the mouth after
swallowing a sip of beer.
Hoppy: An aroma suggestive
of hops.
Hops: The herb added
to fermenting beer or boiling wort to produce a bitter flavor
and aroma.
IBU (International Bitterness Units): A system
that measures hop bitterness in beer.
Light-Struck: A taste
fault suggestive of skunk, usually caused by overexposure
to light.
Medicinal: A flavor
or aroma suggestive of chemical, plastic, smoke, or cloves,
usually resulting from wild yeast or sanitizer residue.
Mouthfeel: The texture
and weight of a beer as perceived in the mouth. A beer may
have a thin or full mouthfeel.
Musty: A stale or mildewy
aroma or flavor.
Nose: See bouquet.
Oxidized: A rotting
or stale flavor, usually resulting from overexposure to
air or high temperatures during aging.
Palate: The complex
taste or notes found in a beer, determined by well-proportioned
hop, malt, and fruit.
Phenolic: A flavor or
aroma suggestive of medicine, plastic, smoke, or cloves,
usually resulting from wild yeast or sanitizer residue.
Salty: A flavor suggestive
of table salt.
Shelf life: The period
of time a beer remains at peak drinkability.
Skunky: A taste fault
suggestive of skunk, usually caused by overexposure to light.
Solvent-like: A flavor
or aroma suggestive of acetone, usually caused by high temperatures
of fermentation.
Sour: An intense acidic
or vinegary sensation along the sides of the tongue.
Sulfur-like: An aroma
or flavor suggestive of sulfur or rotten eggs, usually resulting
from a sulfur compound in some yeast varieties.
Sweet: A sugary taste
quality noticeable at the tip of the tongue.
Tangy: An intensely
piercing impression along the sides of the tongue.
Tart: An intensely sharp
sensation along the sides of the tongue caused by acidic
tastes.
Units of bitterness: See
IBU.
Vinous: An aroma or
flavor suggestive of wine.
Winy: Having the rich,
fruity essence of a fine wine.
Yeasty: A flavor suggestive
of yeast, usually resulting from beer sitting too long on
sediment.
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