| Abbey Ale |
A strong beer brewed
traditionally by Belgian abbeys for the brothers to
enjoy as "liquid bread" during their Lenten fasting. |
| Adjuncts |
Starches, other than
malted barley and wheat, such as corn, rice, and sugar,
which dilute the flavor and character of the malt and
function as cheap fermentable sugars. Samuel Adams'
beers contain no adjuncts. |
| Aftertaste |
The taste, odor and
tactile sensations that linger after the beer has been
swallowed. |
| Alcohol |
A synonym for ethyl
alcohol or ethanol. |
| Alcohol by Volume |
A measure of the amount
of alcohol in beer; used as a primary measure in Canada.
The measure of the amount of space the alcohol in a beer
takes up as a percentage of total space. |
| Alcohol by Weight |
A measure of the amount
of alcohol in beer; used as a primary measure in the
U.S. The measure of the amount of weight the alcohol in
a beer has as a percentage of total weight. |
| Ale |
A classification of beer
styles. A style made with a top fermenting yeast, ales
generally are hearty, robust, and fruity. |
| Altbier |
A traditional style of
beer brewed mainly in Dusseldorf. The German word alt
means "old" and refers to the traditional method of top
fermentation. Alt beers are dark, copper colored, brewed
from dark malts, well hopped. |
| American Ale |
An American version of
traditional ale, brewed with North American hops.
|
| American Malt Liquor |
An alternative name
given to beers in the U.S. that exceed the alcohol level
defined by law for lager or beer. |
| Aroma Hops |
Hop varieties that are
chosen for their aroma contribution to the beer. Noble
hops are classified as aroma hops. |
| Balance |
The proportion of malt
to hops in a beer. Brewers strive for a seamless balance
of the two. |
| Barley |
The grain used to
produce the malt used in brewing. |
| Barley Wine |
A top-fermented beer of
unusually high, wine-like, alcohol content.
Copper-colored or dark brown, strongly flavored, fruity,
sometimes fermented with wine or champagne yeast.
|
| Barrel |
A barrel of beer is
equal to two kegs, or 31 gallons. |
| Beer |
Generic name for
alcoholic beverages produced by fermenting a cereal or a
mixture of cereals, flavored with hops. |
| Belgian Lace |
The beautiful, white
latticework of foam from the head of the beer that is
left on the glass after a sip of beer has been taken. |
| Berliner Weisse |
A regional beer of
northern Germany, pale, top-fermented, and made with
wheat. |
| Best Bitter |
A British-style dry ale
brewed to an original gravity of the mid- to upper
1040s. |
| Biere de Garde |
French term that applies
to a strong, bottle-conditioned ale that is designed to
be laid down when fermenting. |
| Bitter |
One of the flavor
characteristics of beer, contributed by the hops. In
Britain, the draft equivalent of pale ale -- golden
brown, top-fermented beer that's usually highly hopped,
dry and lightly carbonated. Accounts for about 80% of
draft beer sales in English pubs. |
| Bittering Hops |
Hop varieties that are
used to contribute bitterness to the beer. |
| Bitterness Units/IBUs |
An international system
of units for measuring and expressing the hop bitterness
in beer. |
| Black Malt |
Malted barley roasted at
high temperatures. Used in stouts and dark beers to
contribute dark color and a burnt flavor. |
| Black and Tan |
A mix of equal parts of
dark and pale beers such as porter and pilsener, or
stout and bitter. |
| Bock |
A very strong lager
traditionally brewed in winter to celebrate the coming
spring. Full-bodied, malty, well-hopped. |
| Brown Ale |
A British-style,
top-fermented beer which is lightly hopped and flavored
with roasted and caramel malt. |
| Body (or Mouthfeel) |
The density of a beer -
the amount of mouthfeel experienced by the drinker.
|
| Boiling |
Wort is boiled in the
brew kettle, typically for 90 minutes. During this time,
the wort is spiced with hops. Boiling stops all mash
enzyme activity, it extracts bitter and aromatic
substances from the hops, it boils off any harsh grainy
odors, and it precipitates the trub which helps clarify
the wort. |
| Bouquet (or aroma,
nose) |
The aroma or fragrance
of the beer. |
| Brewing |
The art of making beer.
|
| Brew Kettle |
One of the vessels used
in the brewing process, used to boil the wort.
|
| Caramel Malt |
A sweet, coppery malt
which imparts both color and flavor to beer. Gives a
golden color and a nutlike flavor to beer. Used
frequently in darker ales. Also called crystal malt. |
| Carbonation |
Sparkle caused by carbon
dioxide, either created during fermentation or injected
later. |
| Cask Ale |
Ale conditioned in the
cask -- unpasteurized draft ale which completes its
maturation in the pub cellar as opposed to pasteurized,
filtered and chilled kegged ale. Served at room
temperature. |
| Cask
Conditioned/Bottle Conditioned |
Beer with the yeast left
in the brew to complete the fermentation in the cask or
bottle. |
| Chocolate Malt |
Similar to black malt
but roasted to a lesser, chocolate-brown color.
|
| Cold Break |
The precipitation of
protein and tannin material to a fine coagulum during
the cooling stage. Also, haziness caused by protein
matter which must be strained after the cooling process.
|
| Conditioning Tank |
An airtight tank in
which a beer's secondary fermentation occurs. |
| Cooling |
The wort is cooled to
the desired temperature for starting fermentation in a
holding tank or whirlpool. |
| Craft Beers |
Beers made by small,
independent brewers with only traditional brewing
ingredients such as malt, hops, yeast and water, and
brewed with traditional brewing methods. |
| Cream Ale |
An American style,
blending pale golden, mild, light-bodied ale and lager. |
| Crystal Malt |
Synonym for caramel
malt. |
| Dark Bock |
A bock beer brewed with
dark roasted malt. |
| Dark Mild |
An English term for
mildly hopped ales that are brewed with roasted malt.
Most are dark brown in color and full bodied, but have a
relatively low alcohol content. |
| Decoction |
A brewing process used
for bottom-fermenting beers in which portions of the
wort are removed, heated, then returned to the original
vessel. |
| Dextrin |
Unfermentable sugars
that yeast is unable to metabolize, that are left in the
beer. Dextrins are responsible for the body in the
finished beer. |
| Diatomaceous Earth |
The refined skeletons of
ancient marine organisms, which are frequently used as a
filtration medium. |
| Diacetyl |
A compound produced by
yeast as a normal product of fermentation. At proper
levels, diacetyl is an essential flavor component of
some beer styles. A clearly detectable level of diacetyl
may indicate poor brewing practices. It is perceived as
a buttery or butterscotch flavor. |
| Dortmunder |
A gold-colored,
bottom-fermented beer from Dortmund, Germany's largest
brewing city. |
| Double Bock (or
Dopplebock) |
A stronger bock beer,
though not necessarily double the strength. The original
of the style was brewed by the Italian monks of the
order of St. Francis of Paula in Bavaria to help them
though their Lenten fast. |
| Double Bock (Dark) |
A double bock brewed
with dark roasted malt. |
| Double Bock (Pale) |
A double bock brewed
with malt that has been dried instead of roasted. |
| Draft Beer |
Keg beer served on tap. |
| Dry Beer |
A term for light-bodied
brews with little aftertaste and more alcohol. |
| Dry Hopping |
The process of adding
extra hops to the beer during fermentation to enhance
its aroma. |
| Dry Stout |
The Irish version of
stout, slightly more bitter and higher in alcohol than
the English sweet stout. |
| Dunkelweizen |
A dark wheat beer. |
| Eisbock |
The strongest of the
bock beers. Produced by lagering beer in very cold
cellars to the freezing point of water, and removing
some of the iced water, thereby increasing the alcoholic
strength of the beer. |
| Esters |
Fruity flavors, such as
grapefruit, banana, and peach, produced by the yeast
during fermentation. Ale yeasts are known for the
production of esters. |
| Ethyl Alcohol (or
alcohol, ethanol, grain alcohol) |
A colorless, combustible
and potable liquid soluble in water, chloroform, and
methyl alcohol. The intoxicating element in beer, wine,
and spirits. |
| Fermentation |
The process of the yeast
converting the simple sugars in the wort in a complex
sequence of 13 discrete steps to alcohol and carbon
dioxide. Fermentation can take up to seven days.
|
| Faro |
A blend of equal parts
of two types of lambic beer, sweetened with sugar and
sometimes colored and diluted with water. Practically
extinct. |
| Fermenter |
A vessel used in the
brewing of beer, the place where the yeast converts the
simple sugars in the wort to alcohol and carbon dioxide.
|
| Filtration |
Beer is still slightly
cloudy after lagering, and requires filtering to remove
any remaining yeast and other insoluble materials to
achieve a brilliant clarity. |
| Four Vessel Brewing |
Traditional decoction
brewing method requiring a mash cooker, a mash tun, a
lauter tun, and a kettle. Mashing is carried out in the
mash tun, and starts at a low temperature while portions
of the mash are taken out and boiled in the cooker and
later returned to the mash tun, thus gradually raising
the temperature of the entire mash. The mash is
afterwards filtered in the lauter tun and the resulting
wort is boiled in the copper kettle. |
| Framboise |
Raspberry lambic. |
| Freshness Dating |
The visible coding of
beer bottles with a freshness date so that consumers
know that they are receiving fresh beer. |
| Fuggles Hops |
Noble English hops grown
in East Kent, England, used to make Samuel Adams ales. |
| Germination |
The stage in the
beer-making process in which the steeped barley grains
are drained and allowed to sprout for seven to nine
days. |
| Goldings Hops |
Noble English hops grown
in East Kent, England, used to make Samuel Adams ales.
Named after the farmer who originally identified the hop
type. |
| German Beer Purity
Law/Reinheitsgebot |
A law dating back to
1516, requiring beer to be totally pure with only water,
yeast, malt, and hops allowed as ingredients. |
| Gueuze |
A Belgian beer style
that blends a fresh lambic with an old lambic, creating
a second fermentation. |
| Hallertau/Mittelfrueh
Hops |
Noble, Bavarian lager
hops grown in Germany, used to make Samuel Adams Boston
Lager. Bavaria's Hallertau region has only 400 acres of
hop growing land with the perfect soil and climate for
growing Mittelfrueh hops. |
| Head |
The foam at the top of a
beer. The head is the protein which is pushed out of
suspension by the bubbles. |
| Hefeweizen |
An unfiltered wheat
beer. |
| Hops |
The flower of a
perennial vine, and one of the four ingredients of beer.
Hops are the universal spice of beer. Hops, like grapes
used in wine, are varietal. Some varieties contribute
mainly bitterness, while others are prized for their
fine aromas. |
| Imperial Stout |
Russian Stout
|
| India Pale Ale |
An ale brewed in England
for British troops stationed in India in the 18th
century. It was brewed very strong to survive a voyage
that could take as long as six months. Highly hopped.
|
| Irish Red Ale |
An Irish ale, noted for
its reddish color, full body, and sweetish, sometimes
buttery palate. |
| Keg |
A keg of beer is equal
to 6.88 cases of beer or 1,984 ounces. |
| Krausening |
A secondary
fermentation. A small portion of young, still actively
fermenting beer and yeast is added to a tank of beer at
the end of primary fermentation. Since such a small
supply of wort is being introduced, the new yeast has a
limited food supply. It quickly exhausts the available
sugars and is then forced to scavenge among a range of
secondary compounds for more food. This eliminates
strong and potentially offensive odors and flavors,
producing an elegant and balanced flavor, and adding
smoothness and body. |
| Kriek |
A Belgian beer style
produced by steeping cherries in young lambic or gueuze
to produce a second fermentation. |
| Lager |
A classification of beer
styles made with a bottom fermenting yeast, lagers
generally are smooth, elegant, crisp, and clean. |
| Lagering (or aging,
cold conditioning, rRuh storage) |
A period of one to many
weeks following or including fermentation in which the
temperature of the beer is slowly reduced. This helps
reduce the harsher secondary products of fermentation,
while clarifying and mellowing the beer. |
| Lambic |
Wheat beer originally
produced in the Bruxelloise region of Belgium with a
strong acidic character from the spontaneous
fermentation from wild yeast. |
| Lautering/Mash
Filtration |
The separation of solids
(the mash) from the liquid malt extract called wort. |
| Lauter Tun |
One of the vessels used
in the brewing process, used to filter the liquid wort
from the solid mash. Lauter Tuns usually have a false
bottom which opens up to filter the mash. |
| Light Ale |
In England, an
alternative term for bottled bitter. In Scotland, a dark
ale of low gravity. |
| Malt, Malted Barley |
One of the four
ingredients of beer. Malt is barley which has been
moistened, allowed to germinate, and then dried. The
variety of barley, the extent to which it is allowed to
germinate, and the temperature at which it is dried all
influence the character, the color, and the flavor of
beer. |
| Malt Liquor |
A beer of higher alcohol
content than regular beer. On average, it contains 4.5
to 6.0% alcohol by weight, and by law is deemed too
alcoholic to be labeled lager or beer. |
| Marzenbier |
In Germany, before the
advent of refrigeration, beer was brewed in winter and
the last batch, brewed in March, was made especially
strong to survive the many months of maturation before
it was drunk at the end of summer. Now commonly called
Oktoberfest. |
| Mashing |
The process of combining
the ground malt with water. Mashing is performed at
either a constant temperature, or a series of rising
temperatures, depending on the brewing equipment, the
raw materials being used, and the type of beer being
brewed. The mashing process determines the composition
of the wort. |
| Mash |
Ground malt blended with
water. |
| Mash Tun |
The first vessel used in
the brewing process, the mash tun is used to combine the
ground malt with water and to heat the mash to the
desired temperature. |
| Milling |
The first step in the
brewing process. Barley malt is crushed, not ground,
between pairs of rollers in a mill. This separates the
husk from the meal body and also fractures the meal
body, preparing the malt for mashing. |
| Munchener (or Munich,
Munich Dark, Munich Pale) |
A bottom-fermented beer
produced in Munich since the mid-10th century. There are
two versions -- helles bier, a paler beer, and dunkel
bier, closer to the original dark style. Both styles are
distinctively malty. |
| Noble Hops |
Rare, unique hop
varieties that are prized for their quality flavor and
aroma characteristics. Grown only in four small areas in
Europe; three in Germany, and one in Bohemia. |
| Oatmeal Stout |
A style of stout brewed
with oatmeal. Oatmeal was used for its nutritive
qualities as well as its ability to impart fullness of
body and flavor. |
| Oktoberfest (or
Octoberfest) |
A bottom-fermented
Vienna- or marzen-style beer, originally brewed for
Germany's Oktoberfest celebration. Copper-colored, malty,
and sweet. |
| Old Ale |
In Britain, a
medium-strong dark ale most often consumed in winter. |
| Original Gravity |
The density of the wort
prior to fermentation, expressed as a ratio as compared
to the density of water. A measure of the amount of
solids in the wort. |
| Oxidation |
When a packaged beer is
stored for a period of time, it stales, or oxidizes.
Different beers stale at different rates and develop off
flavors. The rate of oxidation goes up as the
temperature goes up. Oxidation is familiar to drinkers
as a papery or cardboard like character in both taste
and aroma. |
| Pale Malt |
A form of crystal malt
used with pale beers. |
| Pale Ale |
An amber or
copper-colored, top-fermented beer brewed with pale
malts. Similar to bitter but drier, hoppier and lighter.
|
| Pale Bock |
A bock beer brewed with
malt that has been dried instead of roasted.
|
| Pale Mild |
An English term for
mildly hopped ales that are brewed with malt that has
been dried instead of roasted. The resulting brew is
lighter in color and has a lighter, less hearty flavor.
|
| Pasteurization |
Beer must either be
pasteurized or sterile-filtered to protect it from the
continued growth of any stray yeast or other beer loving
micro-organisms. |
| Pilsner |
A general name for pale,
golden-hued, highly hopped, bottom-fermented beers. The
original was first brewed in the Bohemian town of Pilsen
in 1842. |
| Pitching |
Adding yeast to the wort. |
| Porter |
A very dark,
top-fermented beer first brewed in London in 1722 by a
man named Harwood as a substitute for a then popular mix
of ale, beer, and two penny beer. Called Entire, the
beer was advertised as being richer and more nourishing
than ale, and was intended for porters and other heavy
laborers who would find in it the strength to accomplish
their tasks. Its color comes from roasted, unmalted
barley. |
| Rauchbier |
A dark, bottom-fermented
beer produced by a few breweries in Bavaria. Unique
smoked flavor from the use of malts dried over an open
fire. |
| Roasted Malt |
Some malts are roasted
to varying degrees to produce a range of specialty malts
called caramel, chocolate, and black malts. These malts
affect the color and the flavor of beer. |
| Russian Stout |
In Britain, a very
strong stout originally brewed from 1760 to World War 1.
Present day Russian stout is non-pasteurized and matured
in casks for two months, then bottle-aged for a full
year. Also called Imperial Russian stout or Imperial
stout. |
| Saaz Hops |
Bohemian Noble hops from
the Czech Republic used in several Samuel Adams styles.
|
| Saccharomyces
Carlsbergensis (or lager yeast, bottom fermenting yeast) |
The yeast strain used to
make lagers, a bottom fermenting yeast. This yeast
strain settles to the bottom of the tank during
fermentation. |
| Saccharomyces
Cerevisiae (or ale yeast, top fermenting yeast) |
The yeast strain used to
make ales, a top fermenting yeast. This strain rises to
the top of the tank during fermentation. |
| Saison |
An amber or
copper-colored top fermented beer from Belgium and
France, once brewed in summer but now available all
year-round. Naturally conditioned in burgundy-shaped one
liter bottles. |
| Scotch Ale |
A top-fermented beer of
Scottish origin. Traditionally strong, very dark, thick
and creamy . |
| Seasonal Beers |
Special beer styles
brewed for a specific season (i.e. Oktoberfest, Winter
Lager, etc.). |
| Six Row Barley |
A type of barley used by
most major brewers. Six row barley has less flavor than
two row barley, the barley used in Samuel Adams. |
| Sparge |
To wash out all soluble
products from the mash prior to boiling. |
| Specific Gravity |
A measure of the density
of a liquid or solid, as compared with that of water.
Brewers use gravity to measure the fermentation's
progress -- the more fermentable sugars, the higher the
gravity; the more alcohol, the lower the gravity. |
| Spruce Beer |
A brew produced in North
America and Northern Europe by fermenting molasses and
other sugars with the exudate of spruce trees, sometimes
with malt. |
| Steam Beer |
A beer produced by
hybrid fermentation using bottom yeast fermented at top
yeast temperatures. Fermentation is carried out in long
shallow vessels called clarifiers, followed by warm
conditioning and krausening. The style is indigenous to
America and was first produced in California at the end
of the 19th century, during the Gold Rush. At one time
there were 27 breweries making steam beer in California.
Now trademarked by Anchor Brewing. |
| Stock Ale |
A strong ale brewed to
be stored for a long time. Indigenous to America. |
| Stout |
A very dark, heavy,
top-fermented beer made from pale malt, roasted unmalted
barley, and often caramel malt. Stout was first
introduced by Guinness as an extra stout version of
their porter. The new stout was darker, hoppier and
richer than porter, which it gradually overtook in
popularity. A distinction is drawn between sweet stout
and dry stout -- although both are highly hopped, sweet
stout is less bitter than dry stout. |
| Strong Bitter |
A British-style dry ale
brewed to an original gravity in the 1050s, and having a
higher alcohol content than a "Best" bitter. |
| Strong Scotch Ale |
Scotch ale brewed to a
higher original gravity and having a higher alcohol
content than regularly brewed Scotch ale. |
| Sweet Stout |
The English version of
stout as opposed to the dry stout of Ireland. It has a
slightly lactic flavor and is less alcoholic than dry
stout. |
| Tannins |
Organic compounds
contained in certain cereal grains and other plants. |
| Terminal Gravity |
Synonym for specific
gravity. |
| Trappist Beer |
Any beer brewed in one
of the six remaining brewing abbeys, five of which are
in Belgium, and one in the Netherlands. Top-fermented,
dark amber, and fairly strong, they are
bottle-conditioned. Origin dates back to the Middle
Ages. |
| Trub |
Suspended particles
comprised of proteins from the malt and tannins from the
hops which help to clarify the wort. |
| Two Row Barley |
The type of barley used
to brew Samuel Adams. Two row barley is more expensive
than six row barley, the type used by most major
brewers, and it has more flavor. |
| Vienna Type |
A reddish-amber,
sweetish, malt-accented lager, originally brewed in
Vienna. |
| Water |
One of the four
ingredients of beer. The only requirement for water used
in brewing is that it be drinkable. Chemically speaking,
brewing water should be non-alkaline and of a certain
hardness, prerequisites easily attained with the proper
treatment. |
| Weihenstephan |
The oldest brewery in
the world. Now a brewery and brewing school located just
outside Munich. |
| Weissbier |
A German term for wheat
beers. Weisse means white, and such beers are usually
very pale and cloudy, with a white foam. |
| Weizenbier |
A German term for
top-fermented wheat beers, especially those of the
south. |
| Weizenbock |
A German term for a
wheat beer of bock strength. |
| Wheat Beer |
Any beer containing a
high proportion of malted wheat. All wheat beers are
top-fermented and many are bottle conditioned.
|
| Witbier/White |
A traditional wheat beer
originally brewed in the Belgian towns of Hoegaarden and
Louvain. |
| Whirlpool |
A vessel used in the
brewing process, used to remove the trub from the wort. |
| Wild Yeast |
Any airborne yeast. Now
available in cultured form. |
| Wort |
The liquid malt extract
that is filtered from the mash during lautering. A
sweet, amber colored, clear liquid, wort is basically
food for the yeast. |
| Yeast |
One of the four
ingredients of beer. Yeast is a single cell organism
whose metabolism converts the sugars contained in the
malt into alcohol and carbon dioxide. One species,
SaccharomycesC "Saccharomyces cerevisiae" is used to
make ale, and another, Saccharomyces, "Saccharomyces
carlsbergensis", is used to make lager. |
| Zymurgy |
The science of brewing
beer. |
