Glossary of Common Beer Terms

Alcohol by Volume (ABV)

A measurement of the alcohol content of a solution in terms of the percentage of volume of alcohol per volume of beer. To calculate the approximate volumetric alcohol content, subtract the final gravity from the original gravity and divide by 0.0075.

Alcohol by Weight (ABW)

A measurement of the alcohol content of a solution in terms of the percentage weight of alcohol per volume of beer. This measure is always lower than ABV.

Ale

Ales are beers fermented with top fermenting yeast (often Saccharomyces cerevisiae). Typically fermented at warmer temperatures than lagers, often served warmer.

Aromatic Hops

Refers to hop additions that take place later in the boiling process. Shorter amount of time spent in the boil kettle will provide more aromatic characteristics from the hops rather than bittering characteristics.

Astringency

A characteristic of beer taste mostly caused by tannins, oxidized phenols, and various aldehydes. Astringency can cause the mouth to pucker and is often perceived as dryness.

Barley

A cereal grain derived from a type of grass (Hordeum vulgare). Used as a base malt in the production of beer and certain distilled spirits.

Bitterness Units (BU)

Same as International Bitterness Units (IBU). The measure of the bittering substances in beer (analytically assessed as the milligrams of isomerized alpha acid per liter of beer, in ppm). This measurement depends on the style of beer. Light lagers typically have an IBU rating between 5-10 while IPAs can often have an IBU rating between 50-70.

Bottom Fermentation

A fermentation method characterized by the tendency of yeast cells to sink to the bottom of the fermentation vessel. Larger yeast is considered to be bottom fermenting compared to ale yeast that is top fermenting. Beers brewed in this fashion are commonly called lagers or bottom-fermented beers.

Brewpub

A restaurant-brewery that sells 25% or more of its beer on site. The beer is brewed primarily for sale in the restaurant and bar and is often dispensed directly from the brewery’s storage tanks.

Bung Hole

Only including this because of how ridiculous it sounds. The round hole in the side of a cask or older style keg, through which the vessel is filled with beer and then sealed with a bung.

Cask & Cask Conditioning

A barrel-shaped container for holding beer. Cask conditioning involves storing unpasteurized, unfiltered beer for several days in cool cellars of about 48-56F (13C) while conditioning is completed and carbonation builds.

Color

The hue or shade of a beer, primarily derived from grains, sometimes derived from fruit or other ingredients in beer. Beer styles made with caramelized, toasted or roasted malts or grains will exhibit increasingly darker colors.

Conditioning

A step in the brewing process in which beer is matured or aged after initial fermentation to prevent the formation of unwanted flavors and compounds.

Craft Brewery

A brewery that produces small amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and is often independently owned.

Small: Annual production of 6 million barrels of beer or less (approx. 3% of U.S. annual sales). Beer production is attributed to a brewer according to rules of alternating proprietorships.

Independent: Less than 25% of the craft brewery is owned or controlled by a beverage alcohol industry member that is not itself a craft brewer.

Draught Beer

Beer drawn from kegs, casks, or serving tanks rather than from cans, bottles, or other packages. Sometimes used synonymously with “on tap.”

Dry Hopping

The addition of hops late in the brewing process to increase the hop aroma of a finished beer without significantly affecting its bitterness. Dry hops may be added to the wort in the kettle, whirlpool, hop back, or added to beer during primary or secondary fermentation or even later in the process.

Fermentation

The chemical conversion of fermentable sugars into approximately equal parts ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide gas, through the action of east. The two basic methods of fermentation in brewing are top fermentation, which produces ales, and bottom fermentation, which produces lagers.

Filtration

The passage of a liquid through a permeable or porous substance to remove solid matter in suspension, often yeast. Sometimes beers are “unfiltered.”

Final Gravity

The specific gravity of a beer as measured when fermentation is complete. Also known as final specific gravity, finishing gravity, and terminal gravity.

Flocculation

The behavior of suspended particles in wort or beer that tend to clump together in large masses and settle out. During brewing, protein and tannin particles will flocculate out of the kettle, coolship or fermenter during hot or cold break. During and at the end of fermentation, yeast cells will flocculate to varying degrees depending on the yeast strain, thereby affecting fermentation as well as filtration of the resulting beer.

Fresh Hopping

Also known as wet hopping. The addition of freshly harvested hops that have not yet been dried to different stages of the brewing process. Fresh hopping adds unique flavors and aromas to beer that are not normally found when using hops that have been dried and processed per usual.

Gose

Pronounced like “goes-uh” or “goze-uh". A warm fermented beer that originated in Goslar, Germany. It is usually brewed with at least 50% of the grain bill being malted wheat. Dominant flavors include a lemon sourness, a herbal characteristic, and a strong saltiness. Typically low in alcohol content, around 4-5% ABV.

Grisette

A low-alcohol beer that is light in body, with a noticeable tartness similar to other farmhouse ales and in some ways to the gose beers of Germany. Originates from the mining regions along the borders of France and Belgium.

Grist

Ground malt and grains ready for mashing.

Gruit

An herb mixture used for bittering and flavoring beer, popular before the extensive use of hops. Gruit or grut ale may also refer to the beverage produced using gruit.

Hops

A perennial climbing vine that yields flowers of soft-leaved pine-like cones. There are over 100 types of hops cultivated around the world. Hops contribute bitterness, aroma, and flavor and inhibit the growth of bacteria in wort and beer. They are added at the beginning (bittering hops), middle (flavoring hops), and end (aroma hops) of the boiling stage, or even later in the brewing process (dry hops).

India Pale Ale (IPA)

A hoppy style beer within the broader category of pale ale.

Brut IPA: A crisp, dry IPA. To make a brut IPA, brewers add the enzyme amyloglucosidase to remove sugars.

Double IPA: A crisp, dry IPA, the Brut IPA was invented by Kim Sturdavant, head brewer at San Francisco's Social Kitchen and Brewery.

New England IPA (aka Hazy IPA, Juicy IPA): Characterized by juicy citrus and floral flavors, with an emphasis on hop aroma with lower bitterness. They also have a smooth consistency or mouthfeel, and a hazy appearance.

Triple IPA: Triple IPAs are characterized by higher hop flavours and higher alcohol content, with alcohol content usually over 10% ABV.

West Coast IPA: known for being low in malt content, very clear, and dry with a focus on the hops.

International Bitterness Units (IBU)

The measure of the bittering substances in beer (analytically assessed as the milligrams of isomerized alpha acid per liter of beer, in ppm). This measurement depends on the style of beer. Light lagers typically have an IBU rating between 5-10 while IPAs can often have an IBU rating between 50-70.

Lager

Any beer that is fermented with bottom-fermenting yeast at colder temperatures. Often associated with crisp, clean flavors and are traditionally fermented and served at colder temperatures than ales.

Lagering

Storing bottom-fermented beer inc old cellars at near-freezing temperatures for periods of time (weeks to years), during which time the yeast cells and proteins settle out and the beer improves in taste.

Malt

Processed barley that has been steeped in water, germinated on malting floors or in germination boxes or drums, and later dried in kilns for the purpose of stopping the germination and converting the insoluble starch in barley to the soluble substances and sugars in malt.

Mash & Mashing

Mash is a mixture of ground malt and hot water that forms the sweet wort after straining. Mashing is the process of mixing crushed malt with hot water to convert grain starches to fermentable sugars and non-fermentable carbohydrates that will add body, head retention and other characteristics to the beer. Mashing also extracts colors and flavors that will carry through to the finished beer, and also provides for the degradation of haze-forming proteins. Mashing requires several hours and produces a sugar-rich liquid called wort.

Microbrewery

A brewery that produces less than 15,000 barrels of beer per year with 75% or more of its beer sold off-site.

pH

Abbreviation for potential Hydrogen, used to express the degree of acidity and alkalinity in an aqueous solution. Usually expressed on a logarithmic scale ranging from 1-14, with 1 being most acidic, 7 neutral, and 14 the most alkaline.

Pilsner

A type of pale lager, taking its name from the Bohemian city of Pilsen. Pilsners are very light and golden in color, mild in flavor with a hint of malt.

Primary Fermentation

The first stage of fermentation carried out in open or closed containers and lasting from two to twenty days during which the time the bulk of the fermentable sugars are converted to ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide gas.

Saison

A pale ale that is highly carbonated, fruity, spicy, and often bottle conditioned. Classified as a farmhouse ale and typically has moderate levels of alcohol.

Secondary Fermentation

The second, slower stage of fermentation for top fermenting beers, and lasting from a few weeks to many months, depending on the type of beer.

Stout

A dark, top-fermented beer with a number of variations, including dry stout, oatmeal stout, milk stout, and imperial stout. Made with roasted malts. A contentious topic, stout & porter are often used synonymously.

Top Fermentation

Characterized by the tendency of yeast cells to rise to the surface of the fermentation vessel. Ale yeast is top fermenting compared to lager yeast, which is bottom fermenting. Beers brewed in this fashion are commonly called ale or top-fermented beers.

Turbidity

Sediment in suspension; hazy, murky.

Wet Hopping

Synonymous with fresh hopping.

Wort

The bittersweet sugar solution obtained by mashing the malt and boiling in the hops, which becomes beer through fermentation.

Yeast

During the fermentation process, yeast converts the natural malt sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide gas.