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Brewing Terminology
 Aroma - One of the important characteristics imparted to beer by hops.
Adjuncts - Term used to describe cereals, which, when used in conjunction with malted barley, provide a useful and economical secondary source of fermentable sugar. These adjuncts include maize, wheat and rice.
Barley - Cereal which, when malted is the major raw material for producing beer.
Beer - The name beer probably originates from the Anglo Saxon 'baere' which means barley.
Cask - A barrel shaped container for storing beer, made of wood or metal.
Conversion - The first of five processes involved in the brewing of beer, whereby unfermentable starch in the malt is converted to fermentable sugar.
Copper - Large vessel in which wort is boiled for one to two hours with the addition of hops.
Crystal Malt - A medium roasting gives this malt a golden brown colour.
Dry Hopping - Adding a small quantity of hops to the cask, which helps to reintroduce some of the aroma which may have been lost when the wort was boiled in the copper.
Extraction - The second of the five processes used in the brewing of beer, whereby the malt is soaked in order to bring the sugars into solution.
Fermentation - The fourth of the five processes used in the brewing of beer, whereby the sugar in the solution is converted to alcohol and carbon dioxide by the addition of yeast. The process usually lasts about a week.
Fuggles, Goldings - Important British hop varieties.
Grist - Malted barley, which has been crushed in a mill prior to washing in a mash tun.
Hop - Plant used for flavouring beer. The seed cone of the female plant is used, imparting bitterness, aroma and tannin.
Hopped wort - Wort which has been boiled in a copper with hops.
Humulus lupulus - The botanical name for the hops plant.
Keg - A pressurised metal container used for storing beer. Because the beer is kept under pressure of carbon dioxide there is no spoilage, this also results in a beer with higher gas content than cask beer.
Kilning - An important step in the malting process, whereby germinated barley is dried in a kiln. By applying differing amounts of heat during the kilning process, various types of malt can be produced, which in turn influence the flavour and colour of the beer produced.
Liquor - Term used to describe the water used in the brewing process.
Maize - a cereal used in conjunction with malted barley to provide a source of fermentable sugar.
Malt or Malted Barley - Barley grains, which have been germinated in order to convert starch to sugar, and then dried in a kiln. In its malted form, the barley provides a rich flavour the to the beer.
Mash-tun - Large vat with a false bottom where grist is washed with hot water to provide fermentable sugars.
Mashing - Process whereby grist is soaked in water at 65°C for about two hours to release the sugar into solution.
Mild - Mildly hopped ales which are generally low in alcohol.
Priming - The addition of a small amount of sugar after fermentation to encourage secondary fermentation.
Saccharomyces Cerevisiae - One of the most important strains of yeast used for brewing. Particularly popular in Britain. It forms a thick foamy head on the surface of the fermenting wort.
Sparging - Once the wort has been run-off, any remaining malt husks in the mash-tun are sprayed with water. This is known as sparging and rinses out the remaining sugar.
Steep - Containers in which barley is soaked in order to stimulate germination.
Barley - Cereal which, when malted is the major raw material for producing beer.
Tannin - One of the flavouring elements imparted to the beer by hops. Although most beers are only lightly tannic, this is vital to the feel and taste of the brew.
Water - One of the vital ingredients in brewing. Hard water, rich in minerals is ideal for brewing bitters. Soft water is best for lager beers. The water used for brewing is referred to as liquor.
Wheat - A cereal which is used in addition to, or instead of, malted barley as a source of fermentable sugar in beer production.
Wort - Sweet liquid obtained by mixing grist with hot water in a mash-tun and extracting.
Yeast - Converts the sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide. Two main types of yeast are used, suited to different conditions and producing different styles of beer Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomyces carlsbergensis.
Yeast Crop - A thick foamy layer which forms on the surface of fermenting beer.
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