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