Brewing Terms
Below is a glossary of brewing terms. Refer to this page if you have any problems with understanding some of the terms used on this site.
Ales Beers distinguished by use of top fermenting yeast strains such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae The top fermenting yeast perform at warmer temperatures than do yeast stains used to brew lager. and their byproducts are more evident in taste and aroma. Traditionally they are low in carbonation and are served warm. Traditional (Medieval) ales contained no hops (see below).
Beer Name given alcohol-containing beverages produced by fermenting grain, specifically malt, and favoured with hops. The three major beer styles are lagers, ales, and speciality beers. Speciality beers are brewed with various non-standard ingredients.
Bitter A bitter is an ale flavoured with hops (which impart bitterness). This was unknown in Britain before 1545 when Dutch immigrants imported the practice of adding hops to beer.
Black Malt Partially malted barley roasted at high temperatures. Black malt gives a dark colour and roasted flavor to beer.
Brew Kettle The vessel in which wort from the mash is boiled with hops. Also called a copper.
Cask-conditioning Secondary fermentation and maturation in the cask at the point of sale. Creates light carbonation.
Conditioning Period of maturation intended to impart "condition"(natural carbonation). Warm conditioning further develops the complex of flavors. Cold conditioning imparts a clean, round taste.
Dosage The addition of yeast and/or sugar to the cask or bottle to aid secondary fermentation.
Dry-hopping The addition of dry hops to fermenting or ageing beer to increase its hop character or aroma.
Fermentation This is the process of producing alcohol and carbon dioxide through the actions of yeast on grain-based sugars.
Fining A process of producing a bright beer by clearing the beer of unwanted haze or yeast, by adding ingredients such as isinglass or gelatin..
Filtering The process of passing beer through a porous substance to clarify it. This process occurs after fermentation.
Specific Gravity The weight of a liquid relative to the weight of an equal volume of water. Specific gravity must be checked before and after fermentation. Used as an indication of the amount of alcohol present in the finished beer.
Grist Dry mixture of barley malts and adjuncts used in mashing.
Hopping Rate The amount of hops added to a specified volume of wort. Often referred to in BUs (bittering units).
Hops One of the four principal ingredients of beer, hops are flower cones added to boiling wort or fermenting beer as a bittering agent, a preservative, and an aromatic.
Hydrometer A thermometer-like device used to measure the specific gravity to determine the proportion of potential alcohol in the beer.
Infusion Simplest form of mash, in which grains are soaked in water. The infusion method of mashing involves mashing a single time at a constant temperature, as opposed to other, more complex mashing techniques that involve mashing more than once at different heat levels.
Isinglass Material made from fish bladders used to clarify beer.
Lager From the German word for storage. This represents a family of beers produced with bottom fermenting yeast strains, Saccharomyces uvarum (or carlsbergensis) at colder fermentation temperatures than ales. This cooler environment inhibits the natural production of esters and other byproducts, creating a crisper tasting product.
Lauter To run the wort from the mash tun. From the German word to clarify. A lauter tun is a separate vessel to do this job. It uses a system of sharp rakes to achieve a very intensive extraction of malt sugars.
Length The amount of wort brewed each time the brew house is in operation.
Liquor The brewer's word for water used in the brewing process, as included in the mash or, used to sparge the grains after mashing.
Malt(ing) The process by which barley is steeped in water, germinated ,then kilned to convert insoluble starch to soluble substances and sugar. The foundation ingredient of beer.
Malt Extract The condensed wort from a mash, consisting of maltose, dextrins and, other dissolved solids. Either as a syrup or powdered sugar, it is used by brewers, in solutions of water and extract, to reconstitute wort for fermentation.
Malted Barley The basis of beer. Malted barley is created by germinating (sprouting) barley for optimum starch content and enzyme development, then drying it quickly. This provides starches that convert to sugars, which then ferment into alcohol and CO2.
Mash (Verb) To release malt sugars by soaking the grains in water. (Noun) The resultant mixture.
Mash Tun The double-jacketed, stainless-steel vessel in which grist is soaked in water and heated in order to convert the starch to sugar and extract the sugars and other solutes from the grist..
Mashing The preparation of the wort, the liquid base of beer. Mashing converts starches to sugars by mixing malted barley with hot water.
Mead Meads are produced by the fermentation of honey, water, yeast and optional ingredients such as fruit, herbs, and/or spices. According to final gravity, they are categorized as: dry (0.996 to 1009); medium (1010 to 1019); or sweet (1020 or higher). Wine, champagne, sherry, mead, ale or lager yeasts may be used.
Pale Ale This is the process of producing alcohol and carbon dioxide through the actions of yeast on grain-based sugars.
Pitch[ing] The process of adding yeast to the wort in the fermentation tank.
Priming The process of adding sugar to the brew to create carbonation, either in the bottle or keg.
Racking The process of separating the fermented beer from the yeast cells at the bottom of the fermenting vessel. Also the transfer of finished beer to kegs. Broadly, moving beer from one vessel to another.
Secondary fermentation Stage of fermentation occurring in a closed container from several weeks to several months.
Sediment Yeast material at the bottom of the bottle formed as a result of conditioning the beer in the bottle. Not a sign of bad beer.
Specific gravity A measure of the density of a liquid or solid compared with that of water (1.000 at 4°C).
Sparge To spray grist with hot water in order to remove soluble sugars (maltose). This takes place at the end of the mash.
Sparging Rinsing the mashed grains to ensure complete extraction of the sugars from the mash.
Top-fermenting Yeast (also known as Ale Yeast). Top-fermenting yeast works better at warmer temperatures and are able to tolerate higher alcohol concentrations than bottom-fermenting yeast. It is unable to ferment some sugars, and results in a fruitier, sweeter beer.
Trub Proteins in barley filtered during the wort boil.
Tun Any large vessels used in brewing.
Wort The solution of grain sugars strained from the mashing process (the mixing malted barley with water). Wort is the beginning of all beers and at this stage is called 'sweet wort'. Later this becomes brewed wort, fermenting wort and finally beer.
Zymurgy The science/art of yeast fermentation.
Like all the main sections on this site the recipes in this 'Brewing' section are broken down into the main beer types. Simply click on the type of beer on the left-hand column (eg 'Mead') to be taken to a page that lists all the recipes for that particular drink type.
You can also easily find any of the recipes on this site using the recipe search page.
Need to convert any measurements on this site? I have conversion pages available for Volumes, Mass/Weight and Temperatures available.
