A Glossary of Beer Brewing Terms
Just like any other activity, brewing beer has its own set of terms and descriptions that are not easily understood when you first hear them. When I began my research into brewing beer at home (home brewing) I had a very hard time understanding the various terms used by the experts I was reading. To make it easier, I put this little glossary together for my own use and it helped quite a bit. I hope you will find it helpful as well.
ABV – “Alcohol By Volume”. The percentage of alcohol in a beer. Usually 5%, some beers have as much as 30% abv.
ALE – A type of beer defined by the temperature and the strain of yeast used in the fermentation process
CARBOY – A glass, or food grade plastic container used for fermentation of home brewed beer, also known as a “demijohn”
CLARIFYING AGENT – A substance added to beer to produce a clear final brew. Common ones are some types of seaweed and gelatin
COPPER – Name for the kettle used to boil the sweet wort. So named because most were originally made from copper
CORNY KEG – A U.S. keg containing 5 gallons when full
DRAUGHT – Pronounced “draft”. This is a method of serving beer from a pressurized container or “keg”
FERMENTATION – The process where the yeast converts the sugars in the wort to alcohol and carbon dioxide
FULL KEG – A U.S. keg containing 15.5 gallons when full
GRAIN BILL – Collectively, the grain materials used in brewing. Its not uncommon for a recipe to use 10 or more different grains
GRIST – Crushed malted barley
HEAD – he foamy substance on the surface of beer produced by bubbles of carbon dioxide
HOPBACK – A small vat filled with hops used by some breweries to add additional flavor and filtering to the wort
HOPS – A critical ingredient used in the brewing process. Hops are clusters of female flowers from the Hop plant
HYDROMETER – A tool used to determine the alcohol content of a home brewed beer (abv)
KEG – A container used to store and transport beer, usually made from steel, aluminum, or wood
LAGER – The most popular type of beer in the world, it is produced by using bottom-fermenting yeast and a lower fermentation temperature
LAMBIC – A type of Belgian beer fermented using wild instead of cultured yeasts
LAUTER TUN – The traditional container used for the separation of the extracted wort
LAUTERING – Separating the liquid wort and residual grain
LEES – The dead yeast and other particles on the bottom of the container after fermentation and aging, also referred to as “trub”
LIQUOR – Brewer’s term for the hot water used in the mashing process
MALT – Grains, usually barley, used in brewing beer.
MALT EXTRACT – Also known as “DME”, this is a high density substance derived from base malt and used used exclusively in home brewing
MALT/MALTING – A process used on cereal grains where the grains are made to germinate by soaking in water and then dried
MASH TUN – A dedicated vessel made specifically for the mashing process
MASH/MASHING – The mixing of the source of starch (most often malted barley) with hot water
PONY KEG – A U.S. keg containing 7.75 gallons when full
RACKING – Transferring the beer from one container to another
SPARGING – Washing the grain after the mashing process is complete
STOUT – A type of beer produced by using roasted malts and barley and brewed with top-fermenting yeasts
TORPEDO KEG – A U.S. keg containing 5.23 gallons when full
WORT – A sugary liquid resulting from the mashing process
WORT SEPARATION – Separating the used grain form the wort and sparge water
YEAST – A live fungus that, when added to the brewing process, allows the process of fermentation
There are other, less often used phrases out there that you will stumble over every now and again. But, if you become familiar with the terms listed here you will be able to understand well over 90% of what you read.
Author: Jesse L Moore
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Cellphone news