Beer Glossary

Sugar obtained by slow crystallization of a concentrated sugar syrup, white or brown. It is used in particular in strong Belgian beers to raise the alcohol content without making the body of the beer heavier.

In France, a small beer bottle. In Canada, the word refers to aluminum cans.

Malt whose starch has been converted into sugars and then caramelized inside the grain by heating the malt while it is still moist. It gives beer color, roundness and caramel notes.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is produced while beer ferments. When a beer is poured, the pressure difference between the beer and the air encourages the gas to be released, which creates the foam.

This process consists of adding carbon dioxide, which makes conventional beer foam.

Equipment used when hops serve as a filter: the centrifuge separates the solid elements from the rest.

The beer of the Gauls, brewed from barley or other cereals and, before hops were adopted, flavored with plants and spices (see Gruit). The word comes from the Latin cervisia, itself of Gaulish origin.

Stemmed glass shaped like a wide bowl, used in particular for Trappist and abbey beers. Its wide opening releases the aromas and shows off the foam.

Seasonal beer brewed for the end-of-year holidays, generally rounder, maltier and often stronger than the brewery's usual beer, sometimes spiced.

Making a liquid clear by removing foreign suspended matter. This can be done by centrifugation, but also by filtration, for example.

Cardboard square on which a beer glass is set to protect the table from moisture or drips from the glass. It also serves as an advertising medium for beer brands and has become a passion for many collectors.

Tank in which the beer rests at a low temperature after the main fermentation, for several days to several weeks, to mature, clarify and become saturated with carbon dioxide (see Lager).

After the wort is boiled, it is cooled so that the yeast can be pitched at a temperature at which it is active. The aim is to start fermentation quickly.

Cooling coil: piping installed in fermentation tanks, usually traditional open tanks, through which ice-cold water circulates to control the fermentation temperature.

Large, shallow vessel into which the wort is transferred after all the brewing stages. It stays there overnight to be inoculated by microorganisms from the surrounding air: this process is used in particular to produce lambics. The wort is then stored in oak casks (which give it woody aromas) to ferment.

The trade, business and workshop of the cooper (who makes or repairs casks), and all the items the cooper makes.

Beer produced by a small independent brewery that designs its own recipes and controls its own production. In French, people also speak of “craft” beer, from the English craft beer (see Microbrewery).

A beer's cream is made up of proteins. When you drink a demi, with each sip some traces of the cream remain on the side of the glass. This shows whether the demi was served well.

Modern stainless steel fermentation tank, cylindrical with a conical bottom: the yeast that settles in the cone can easily be recovered. It allows fermentation and conditioning in the same tank.