Beer Terms

A.E.: Apparent extract. Percentage of sugars after fermentation (or during). 'Apparent' due to influence of alcohol on the percentage of sugar measurement.

Abbey Beer: Originally a beer brewed by monks in a monastery, the term now applies to beers from brewers who have acquired an abbey's rights. An abbey beer is often a strong, top-fermented ale.

adjunct: A starch source for brewing other than malt. Examples: corn, rice.

alcohol free beer: Beer with an alcohol content of no more than 0.5% vol. The beer is produced by removing the alcohol or arresting the process before fermentation is complete.

ale: Beer brewed using the top fermentation process, where yeast cells rise to the top of the brewing tank, to be skimmed off when fermentation is complete. Ales commonly use darker malt and have a higher alcohol content and richer flavor than lagers produced by bottom fermentation.

all malt beer: A beer made entirely from barley malt, with no addition of sugar or unmalted grains such as corn or rice.

alt bier: German style which is similar to the English bitter.

amber beer: A common term for beers whose color is midway between dark and pale. The amber color is obtained by the use of special caramelized malts. Most amber beers are top fermented.

B.M.E.: Brewing Material Efficiency. A calculation which compares the actual extract received divided by the potential extract available.

barley wine: An extra-strong ale (often exceeding an alcohol content of 10% vol.).

barrel: An English unit of measure for beer. A barrel of beer is equivalent to 31 gallons (117.4 l) By way of comparison, a barrel of oil is 55 gallons. Beer is not shipped by the barrel, however. The familiar full-sized keg is a half-barrel (15.5 gallons/58.7 l), and a "pony" keg is a quarter-barrel (7.75 gallons/29.3 l).

bitter: A highly-hopped ale.

bock: German term for extra-strong beer. Bocks are often dark but may also be wheat beers.

bottle conditioning: Refermentation in the bottle, triggered by the addition of a little yeast and sugar.

bottom fermentation: The process used in the production of pils or lager beers, using yeasts which sink to the bottom of the tank at the end of fermentation. The fermentation temperature is lower than for top fermented beers, at between 5 degrees C and 10 degrees C.

carbohydrate: A class of organic compounds containing carbon, hydrogen and oxygen (sugars, starch, alcohol, etc.).

centrifuge: Device used 'in-line' to remove yeast and other suspended particles from beer.

chill haze: A visible haze produced in beer by reaction of proteins and tannins.

chillproof: Used to prevent chill haze.

Christmas beer: A special beer produced only for the winter season. Christmas beers are usually strong with a darker colour and higher alcohol content.

conversion: The point in time/temeprature in the mash mixer when the malt enzymes are converting starch to sugar.

D.E.: Diatomaceous earth. A powder used to filter beer.

D.M.S.: Dimethyl sulfide. A garlic or cooked corn-like flavor compound. An undesired (typically) flavor component.

dark lager: A bottom-fermented dark beer. The dark color is produced by the use of caramilized malt. Dark lagers are popular in Germany and Eastern Europe.

diacetyl: A buttery compound produced by yeast and bacteria. An undesired flavor component.

doppelbock: literally "Double" bock. Containing a higher alcohol content than regular bock.

dry beer: Beer of the pils type containing less residual sugar, made by a special process. As a result the beer has a slightly higher alcohol content, a light, crisp flavour, and no aftertaste.

dunkel: German for "dark."

ESB: Extra Special Bitter. First made by the Fuller's Brewery in England, but the style has been appropriated by many other brewers.

enzymes: Special proteins whose function is to speed up or make possible certain chemical processes. Special malt enzymes convert starch to sugars.

ester: An aromatic compound produced by yeast during fermentation. Contributes to the beer aroma spectrum.

fermentation: The process where yeast utilizes the sugars present in wort and converts them to the major by-products of alcohol and carbon dioxide.

framboise: A variety of gueuze similar to kriek, using raspberries instead of cherries.

gueuze: A blend of old and young lambic, which triggers a new fermentation.

H.F.C.S.: High fructose corn syrup. Sweet sugar syrup commonly used in soft drinks.

hectolitre: Literally, one hundred litres (26.4 gallons). The standard metric unit of measurement for large quantities of beer.

hefeweizen: An unfiltered wheat beer.

hell: German for "pale." Term indicates a golden and often malt-accented lager.

hops Perennial plant producing flowers which are harvested and used in beer production, imparting the bitter and some of the aroma flavor to beer.

ice beer: A lager which requires an extra step in the brewing process after fermentation. The beer is chilled to -4 degrees C to allow ice crystals to form. Thanks to a proprietary process, the beer flows freely through the crystals, which are then removed. Adding this extra step gives the beer a slightly higher alcohol content and a smoother taste.

Imperial stout: Extra-strong stout (alcohol content often above 10% vol.) first popular in Czarist Russia.

IPA: India Pale Ale. A highly-hopped and above-average strength brew.

krausening: Refers to secondary fermentation. Wort is initially fermented for 5-6 days and then transferred to a Krausen cellar, where fresh wort is mixed with the previously-fermented liquid and fermented again at lower temperatures for longer periods.

kriek: A blend of lambic and kriek lambic. Kriek lambic is produced by adding cherries to young lambic for 4 to 8 months.

lager: Beer produced using the bottom fermentation process, where the yeast cells sink to the bottom of the tank during fermentation, and are then drawn off when fermentation is complete. Most lagers are of the pils type. Other examples are Dortmunder, bock, dark lager and Vienna.

lambic: A Belgian wheat beer, defined by Royal decree, produced in a small area near Brussels where the wort is spontaneously fermented by airborne yeast. Young lambic is drunk after 3 to 12 months and is mildly sour. Old lambic is drunk after 2 to 4 years when the sourness is more pronounced. The commercial product is a blend of the two, called gueuze.

lautering: Separation of wort from the mash.

light beer: Beer with less alcohol (between 1 and 4% vol), or fewer calories (-30%), or both.

Maibock: A bock released in the late spring, often pale and hoppy.

malt: The end result of the transformation of a barley seed via the malting process.

maltose syrup: Syrup used in the brewhouse. An alternate carbohydrate source which can be used in place of corn grits.

Marzenbier: Traditionally brewed in March and released in September and October. Generally a reddish color with malty taste.

mild: A lightly-hopped ale, though also refers to lightly-hopped lagers in Germany.

Munich-style: A malty lager of average strength.

O.E.: Original extract. The percentage of sugars in the wort after kettle strike out (prior to fermentation).

old ale: Generally dark and medium strong, though some are very strong.

oud bruin: Literally "old brown", this is a dark brown, bottom fermented beer with an alcohol content of 2-3.5% vol. It tastes sweet or very sweet. This type of beer can be found almost only in the Netherlands, and can be compared with the Belgian table beers.

pale ale: Bronze-to-copper-colored ale. It is pale when compared to porter.

pH: Scale used to indicate the concentration of hydrogen ions in a solution. Low pH = acidic. High pH = basic.

pils/pilsener: A pale lager beer, highly hopped. It takes its name from the town of Pilzen in Czechoslovakia where the bottom fermentation process producing a pale beer was invented in 1842. Lager is often used as a synonym for pils.

°Plato: Degrees Plato. A term used to indicate the sugar concentration of wort or beer. The formula is grams of sugar/100 grams of solution.

porter: Dark brown or black ale with a medium-to-strong hop content. In rare occasions some porters are brewed as lagers.

PPB: Parts per billion. Commonly used to express concentrations of dissolved oxygen gas or D.M.S.

PPM: Parts per million. Commonly used to express concentrations of diacetyl or sulfur dioxide.

protein: Consists of amino acids linked together to form long chains. Depending on structure, these chains can be functional. Enzymes are an example of functional proteins.

rauchbier: A German beer (usually lager) brewed with smoked malts.

Scotch ale: Smooth, malty ale. Often extremely strong.

specialty beer: Any unusual or interesting beer which appeals to beer connoisseurs and drinkers who like to experiment.

spontaneous fermentation: Fermentation which relies on spontaneous action by airborne yeasts, as happens in the Zenne valley near Brussels.

steely ends: Unmodified hard starch end of malt kernel (the portion of the malt grind used in the cereal cooker).

stout: Dark-brown to black ale. Sweet stouts have a lesser hop content, dry stouts have a higher hop content.

sulfur dioxide: A substance produced by yeast. In high concentrations it can produce an off, sulphury flavor.

table beer: A traditional light beer with an alcohol content of about 1.5% vol., commonly drunk with meals at home.

tannins: A compound which, when bound to protein, can form a haze in beer. Tannins origininate in the malt.

triple: An extra-strong, hoppy golden ale.

top fermentation: The process used in the production of ales, using yeasts which rise to the top of the fermentation tank, to be skimmed off when fermentation is complete. Fermentation temperatures are higher than for bottom fermented beers, at between 15 degrees C and 25 degrees C.

Trappist beer: A strong pale to brown top-fermented beer that is bottle conditioned. Trappist beers are brewed in one of Belgium's five remaining brewing abbeys - Chimay, Orval, Rochefort, Westvleteren and Westmalle - or in the Schaapskooi abbey brewery in the Netherlands.

Vienna-style lager: An amber coloured bottom fermented beer in the Austrian tradition, lightly hopped and fairly strong, which is now brewed in South America and Mexico.

vorlauff: Brewhouse term to describe the clarification step at the start of the lautering process (wort extraction from mash).

wheat beer: Any beer containing a high proportion of malted or unmalted wheat. Wheat beers are top-fermented, and many are bottle-conditioned by the addition of yeast. Such beers are traditionally brewed in Belgium and Germany. Belgian wheat beers contain 30-50% wheat and include Hoegaarden White and also the gueuzes.

white beer: Belgian-style wheat beer from the region Leuven - Tienen - Hoegaarden. Belgian white beer is bottle conditioned, and is typically produced with malted barley, a high proportion of wheat, and spices.

wort: Liquid extracted from a mash of malt or malt and adjunct.

Y.F.E.: Yeast fermentable extract. A test to determine the remaining fermentable sugars in beer.

Y.I.S.: Yeast in suspension.

yeast: Single-cell organism with numerous species in nature. Specific strains of yeast are used by brewers to ferment wort to produce beer.