Beer Terminology
Certain beer-related terminology is good to know both for reading and understanding all that is discussed in this guide, and for navigating your way through the beer aisles in the store as well as beer lists in pubs and restaurants. Before proceeding with the alphabetical list, however, we must take a detour to “B” to get started. Enjoy the list.
Beer Geek —Upbeat self-proclamation of many beer enthusiasts, this refers to individuals who have a strong interest in and a strong or growing knowledge of beer. Both men and women can travel the road to beer geekdom, which often begins with some type of beer epiphany. Many people enjoy sharing their personal story of “the beer that got me into craft beer.” Remember, this is a continuum, with different levels of beer geekness—all unofficial and all relative. Readers of this book likely fall somewhere in this continuum. But fear not, for it is a journey—a very fun journey. Perhaps you’ve had your epiphany, or perhaps yours awaits you. Know that there is no such thing as a grand master triple-black-belt imminent poobah beer geek. There is always something to learn, always something to discover and always a new beer to try. Most important, you need not be one tiny bit beer geek now—or ever—to enjoy the beer in your glass. You don’t need to know what style it is or how to describe it. If you know you like it, that’s the key to unlocking the door to all of the rest.
ABV — Abbreviation for “alcohol by volume.” It is the measurement of the percentage volume of alcohol per volume of beer. The higher a beer’s ABV, the stronger (higher) the alcohol in the beer. When considering ABV of a given beer and how it stacks up in the beer universe, good points of reference for American beer drinkers are Bud Light, Miller Lite or Coors Light—all of which are 4.2 percent ABV.
ABW — Abbreviation for “alcohol by weight.” It is the percentage weight of alcohol per liquid volume and for a long time was the measurement used in the United States; however, most American brewers have now adopted ABV.
Adjunct — Essentially any ingredient used in beer other than the four core ingredients: water, malt, hops and yeast. Herbs, spices, fruits, pumpkins, honey, other grains such as oats and rye and anything else are all adjuncts. Corn and rice are widely used adjuncts and are most associated with their use by large commercial brewers; however, they craft brewers may use them judiciously as well.
Attenuation — The reduction or lowering of fermentable sugars in the beer during fermentation. This process reduces the density or gravity of the beer. A beer that’s “well attenuated” contains very little residual sugar after fermentation. During fermentation, the yeast feasts on the sugary wort (see subsequent entry), converting sugars to alcohol and carbon dioxide (carbonation). In a well-attenuated beer, the yeast doesn’t leave much, if any, food (sugars) on its plate when it stops eating (fermenting) the sugars. Higher attenuation often results in beers with a clean, dry finish.
Barrel Aging — An old process of aging beer in wooden barrels or casks. Still practiced today by brewers throughout the world—especially in Europe and the United States—the process has always been for the sake of flavor. The process could mellow the beer or even introduce new flavors. U.S. brewers often age beer in used bourbon or whiskey barrels from which the beer will take on some aroma and flavor of the spirit, which definitely adds character of the beer. Wine barrels are also popular today for aging beer. While barrel aging, brewers may purposefully inoculate the beer with a Brettanomyces yeast strain or a friendly lactic acid bacteria to produce a funky, musty, barnyard character or a sour acidity common to many Lambics, Wild Ales and other sour-style beers. The aging period may be one to several months or up to a year or more, after which the beer is removed from the barrel and bottled (or put into another cask or keg) for shipment and consumption.
Bomber — An American colloquial reference to a 22-ounce size bottle commonly used by craft breweries to package their beer for distribution and retail sale in beer stores. Sometimes referred to as “dinner size” they’re designed for serving at the table with meals.
Bottle Conditioning — A beer that goes through an additional fermentation in the bottle. The beer-making process includes, at a minimum, a primary fermentation period in the brewery’s fermentation vessel(s). But for some beers, the brewer intentionally adds more yeast and/or more fermentable sugars in the bottle prior to capping or corking in order to have the beer ferment more in the bottle. This process often adds complexity of aromas and flavors to the finished product and naturally carbonates the beer. It can increase the ABV, too. Also called “living beers,” with active, living yeast in the beer doing its job on the sugars, bottle-conditioned beers evolve with age and are often suitable for cellar aging. Many Belgian ales and American craft beers are bottle conditioned. “Cask conditioning” is related and refers to this same process for casked beers.
Cask and Firkin — Another term for keg, referring in this context to the cask/keg from which the finished product is served (not the aging barrel). Most casks today are metal, although some smaller casks may be made of wood. A Firkin is a nine imperial (U.K.) gallon (10.8 U.S. gallon) cask made of wood or metal that is most associated with cask conditioned ales. A Firkin will be shipped to a pub where it is tapped and the beer is served directly from the Firkin into a glass. The bartender will draw the beer from the Firkin often using a hand pump, called a Beer Engine. The Beer Engine has a long handle that is manually pulled, engaging the pump which draws the beer out of the Firkin through a tube and spout and into the glass.
Cicerone — Pronounced “sis-uh-rohn,” designates persons with proven expertise in selecting, acquiring and serving today’s wide range of beers. Similar to sommelier certification for wine, only those who have passed the requisite test of beer knowledge and tasting skill can call themselves a Cicerone. The Cicerone Certification Program Web site is www.cicerone.org.
Craft Brewery — A small, independent and traditional brewery, according to the Brewers Association. “Small” refers to annual production of six million barrels of beer or less. “Independent” means the brewery is less than 25 percent owned or controlled by an alcoholic beverage industry entity that is not itself a craft brewery. “Traditional” means the brewery’s highest volume selling brand—or at least 50 percent of its sales volume—is brewed using either 100 percent malt, or any adjuncts used are to enhance rather than lighten the flavor. For perspective, Boston Beer company, brewers of Samuel Adams, is the largest American craft brewer and brewed 2.5 million barrels in 2011.
Extreme Beer — According to Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, who wrote the book “Extreme Brewing,” as being in one or both of two camps: 1) Beers brewed with an inordinate amount of traditional ingredients, e.g., Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA, and 2) Beers brewed with non-traditional ingredients, e.g., Dogfish Head Theobroma. Somewhat rare just five years ago, today beers from multiple breweries are considered “extreme” by this definition. (Note that high ABV, alone, does not classify a beer as “extreme”).
Fermentation — The process by which yeast converts dissolved sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide (CO2). Some yeasts produce esters during fermentation, which are aroma and flavor compounds that become part of the beer’s character. Many esters are desirable fruity and spicy notes; however, not all estery compounds are desirable or appropriate for the beer style, such as diacetyl, an aroma or flavor of butter/butterscotch, or phenol (phenolic) an aroma or flavor of an adhesive bandage, medicine, plastic or smoke caused by the introduction of undesirable bacteria or wild yeast in the beer.
Gravity — The density of the dissolved sugars in the malty liquid wort in which the yeast will feast on the sugars causing fermentation, thus creating beer. Brewers take gravity measurements using an instrument called a hydrometer. Original gravity (OG) is the measurement taken before yeast is added to the brew to start fermentation. Final gravity (FG) is the measurement reading after fermentation is complete. The OG number is higher than the FG number. When yeast ferments sugars into alcohol it leaves less sugar, which means less gravity. Since alcohol is less dense than dissolved sugars, this also contributes to a lower FG. The difference between OG and FG provides a simplified estimation of the ABV produced by fermentation. For the curious and/or the Beer Geek (see previous entry), one formula is:
The term “high gravity beer” generally translates to “high alcohol/high ABV beer.” Generally, a higher OG means more sugars for the yeast to ferment into alcohol, and thus the finished product will have a correspondingly higher ABV. High gravity beers generally offer copious flavors from the use of generous malt levels and/or other fermentable sugars in the recipe. Yeast esters created during fermentation add to the beer’s overall character, as does the alcohol that’s produced.
Grist — The milled grain or mixture of grains used in the brewer’s beer recipe. The grains may be malted or un-malted. Grist Bill and Grain Bill are associated terms that refer to the quantity of each grain in the mix—the grain blend—used in the beer recipe.
Growler — A 64-ounce reusable jug-shaped bottle, typically with a small handle or finger loop at the neck, that consumers use for fill-ups of fresh draught beer at breweries, brew pubs, restaurants and beer retailers (where allowed by law) to enjoy their beer at home. Some breweries may pre-package their beer in growlers during regular production for distribution to retailers. Most commonly made of glass, new designs have emerged made of alternative materials such as stainless steel. The closures are generally either a screw cap or a hinged flip-top. Some bottles of other shapes and sizes with reusable caps may also be called growlers in the context of use as a beer container.
Gruit — A mixture of herbs and spices such as rosemary, yarrow, myrtle and other berries, which were historically used in beer for flavor and preservative qualities prior to the general use of hops. Such herbs and spices are still used in some beers today in addition to hops.
Hop Bine — Yes, bine with a “b.” Wine grapes grow on vines; hops grow on bines. Unlike vines, however, which climb and attach using tendrils and other means of permanent attachment, bines grow up a vertical support by spiraling around it, with stiff hairs, or bristles, that leverage against the support. At the end of the growing season, bines die back down off the support to a hardy root system in the ground, which will sprout and grow bines again the next growing season.
Noble hops — An unofficial, yet widely used, designation referring to several hop varietals from Germany; namely Hallertauer Mittelfrƒh, Hersbrucker, Tettnanger and Spalter, and one varietal called Saaz from the Žatec region of the Czech Republic. Used in beer for centuries, these hops are characterized by their relatively low alpha acids (bitterness) and high essential oils (aroma, flavor), thus elegantly contributing herbal, floral aromas in beer with less pungent bitterness than many New World hop varietals.
Dry Hopping — A process in which brewers put hops into the beer after the boil and fermentation phases of the brewing process. Whole cone, crushed or pellet hops may be used. The purpose is to capture more of the aroma and flavor in the beer from the essential oils in the hops, which tend to evaporate during the boiling phase and can be overrun during the vigor of fermentation. Many American craft breweries offer beers that have been dry hopped and are so indicated on the product label, as hoppy beer lovers consider it a desirable feature.
Wet Hopping — Steeping freshly harvested, non-dried hops in the beer. Less common than dry hopping due to increased difficulty, the objective is to capture the most pure, unadulterated hop aroma and flavor from the freshly harvested, “wet” hops. Wet hopping is more challenging to accomplish since the process must begin within hours after hop harvest (the hops will otherwise spoil if not dried). Thus, the timing of the brew and the proximity of the hops to the brew, or ability to get the fresh hops to the brew house quickly after harvesting, are all factors. Wet-hop beer may also be referred to as “fresh-hop” or “green-hop” beer.
IBU — The abbreviation for international bittering units. It is the measure of bitterness in beer from hops, expressed on a scale of 1 (lowest bitterness) to 100 {alternatively up to 120} (highest bitterness). Alpha acids in the hop flower/cones extracted during the boiling phase of the brewing process impart the bitterness in the beer. Often, the longer the boil, the higher the beer’s IBUs. Other factors apply as well, including the quantity of hops and the hop varietal(s) used. Some beer IBU references are:
Stout has higher IBUs than the Pale Ale, and Barley Wine has higher IBUs than the IPA. This is true of these styles from many breweries. Yet, for most, the perceived bitterness in Pale Ale and the IPA will be higher than in the Stout and the Barley Wine, respectively. This is due to the stronger malt presence in the Stout and Barley Wine, which balances and masks the hop bitterness. Hop bitterness and corresponding IBUs are distinct from any roasted malt bitterness.
Imperial — Often used interchangeably with “Double,” in the beer’s description or name and indicates a stronger version of the beer style. For example an American Double / Imperial India Pale Ale (IPA) is a stronger version of an American IPA. The roots of imperial in relation to beer are in the Russian Imperial Stout (see Stout section). The adoption and broader use of this term is most ascribed to American craft brewers who picked up on the “imperial” reference to a higher gravity, bolder version of Stout and began applying it to their higher gravity interpretations of other styles.
Session Beer — The opposite end of the alcohol spectrum from an imperial beer. Defined by the Brewers Association, it can be a beer of any style with alcohol strength of 5.1 percent ABV or lower, while exhibiting a balance of flavors and high drinkability. “Session” in this context, refers to the general ability of an average person to consume more than one of these beers during a social drinking session—say, one to three hours—without an adverse impact from the alcohol or overpowering the senses.
Seasonal Release — Beers released by breweries to coincide with certain seasons of the year. Adopted by many American craft breweries, brewers have since built seasonal beers into the largest selling category of the craft beer movement.
Special Release — Additional brewery offerings that are neither year-round, nor seasonal. Brewers generally offer two types of special release beers: 1) beers made available each year on a rotating basis, in finite quantities, that are not tied to any particular season, such as Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine, and 2) a small batch, limited offering that is brewed once and available only once. When it’s gone, it’s likely gone forever, such as Stone Anniversary Ale, which is a different beer style each year. Special releases are a popular way for beer lovers to try different beers and experience some small batch offerings.
Vertical — Referencing the tasting of two or more vintages of a beer. Most people taste in the order of newest to oldest vintage. The vintages do not need to be sequential. Typically, vintage brews are high-gravity beers produced in limited quantities and labeled or stamped with the year (vintage) of production. For example, Brooklyn Brewery annually brews a limited release, vintage-dated Black Chocolate Stout, which usually arrives in stores in late fall. At 10 percent ABV, it can be cellar aged (or kept refrigerated) for years. For those with the patience to wait, tasting through a vertical of multiple vintages of this or other age-able beers is an interesting, tasty experience. As with some wines, some beers taste better with age. Keep in mind that not all beers are suitable for aging. Consult the bottle label or brewery’s Web site for “drink by” dates or aging recommendations.
Wort — The liquid that remains after the mashing phase of the brewing process. It is the wort into which the hops are added for the boil phase and the yeast is pitched for the fermentation phase to make beer.
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