Beer Glossary

Said of a beer that, if it is not brewed at the abbey today, was brewed there (at best) a few years ago, or more generally is brewed not far from a monastery (or sometimes its ruins...). Today, few Belgian abbeys (apart from the Trappists) still brew a commercial beer themselves. In Germany, some abbeys still produce beer. Belgian abbey beers usually stand out for their quality: they are almost always top-fermented, refermented in the bottle, fairly strong and smooth.

Alcohol content is expressed as a percentage of alcohol by volume.

Alcohol content is generally expressed as a percentage (%) of alcohol by volume. For alcohol, the percentage by volume equals the Gay-Lussac degree (8.5% ABV = 8.5°); it should not be confused with the Balling, Plato or Régie degrees, which measure the density of the wort (see Degree).

English-style top-fermented beers. This category includes beers of various colors, more or less dark. They are generally fruity. It includes bitter, brown ale, light, mild, pale, old and scotch ale.

Bitter compounds found in the lupulin of hops. Poorly soluble, they isomerize during wort boiling into iso-alpha acids, which give beer most of its bitterness. The alpha acid content of a hop variety, expressed as a percentage, lets the brewer dose the bitterness (see I.B.U.).

German term meaning old or traditional. Altbiers are bitter beers produced by top fermentation. They can be compared to a very bitter Ale with coppery aromas. They are mainly brewed in Düsseldorf. Brands include Schlösser, Diebels and Uerige...

Beer whose color ranges from dark gold to copper, obtained with more heavily heated malts (amber or caramel malts). Amber beers often have notes of caramel, biscuit or toast.

The visual appearance of a beer: its color, clarity and brilliance. For example, a beer may have a golden, amber or black appearance, clear or cloudy.

Saint Arnould is the patron saint of brewers. His feast day is celebrated on July 18.

An olfactory perception. Beers often have hop and malt aromas, but also fruity and spicy notes.

Sugars from starch are converted into alcohol during fermentation: the density of the wort drops.

Unit for measuring the density of beer, named after a Czech scientist famous for research that established a system for measuring beer density. Some countries still use degrees B to indicate the strength of beers.

A bottle with a capacity of 12 liters.

Cereal of the grass family (Gramineae) that forms the basis of brewing. By tradition, master brewers use two-row or six-row species, Hordeum distichum and Hordeum hexastichum.

Literally “barley wine.” Top-fermented beer of British origin, very strong (often 8 to 12% ABV), rich in malt, full and vinous, which improves with age.

Beer glass holding one liter. The Baron is also called a Formidable.

Legal definition: beer is a beverage obtained by alcoholic fermentation of a wort prepared from cereal malt, raw materials derived from cereals, food sugars and hops, hop-derived bittering substances, and drinking water. Cereal malt makes up at least 50% of the weight of the starchy or sugary materials used. The dry extract makes up at least 2% of the weight of the original wort.

Mug traditionally made of stoneware to keep the beer from warming up too quickly.

Device used to draw draft beer from the keg to the glass. It usually includes a cooling system and a faucet (see Draft beer).

Tart, light (about 3% ABV) and very sparkling wheat beer from Berlin, fermented with yeast and lactic acid bacteria. It is traditionally served with raspberry or woodruff syrup.

This term refers to a beer that undergoes a long secondary fermentation, during which the sugars and yeasts keep working. These are French top-fermented beers (traditionally from the Nord and Pas-de-Calais), generally amber, mellow and more or less caramelized. These beers are kept in casks for a long time (hence their name: garde means keeping).

Classic British ale, bitter, with little carbonation and little foam.

The process of making a beer bitter.

Bitterness comes from hops, in particular from their resins. It is measured in bitterness units.

Black beer is usually brewed from buckwheat and/or barley and/or spelt, which gives it its black color. Black beers usually have a strong character. The main producing region is Brittany.

A blonde beer is so called because of its color.

A beer glass with a handle. The word also refers to a style of German bottom-fermented beer, stronger than average (often 6 to 7% ABV), originating in Einbeck, Lower Saxony (see also Doppelbock and Eisbock).

Term used to describe how full a beer feels in the mouth. This sensation comes from the unfermented sugars and protein complexes present in the beer.

Just before racking, a second dose of yeast and sugar is mixed into the filtered beer. This is the start of the second fermentation, or “natural champagnization,” which takes place in the bottle over a few weeks.

Fermentation at a low temperature (6 to 14 °C). At the end of fermentation, the yeast settles to the bottom of the fermentation tank.

The bouquet is the combination of all the floral scents given off by a beer. These scents usually come from top-fermented beers.

In French, refers to all the activities involved in making beer. The word covers both the place where beer is served and the place where it is made.

French adjective: relating to breweries and beer.

Wild yeasts found in particular in lambics and in beers aged in wooden casks (see Gueuze). They give characteristic aromas described as “leather,” “barnyard” or “animal.” They are familiarly known as “Brett.”

Volume of wort obtained by mixing crushed malt and unmalted grain in the brewhouse. In French, brassin is also the name of the vessel (mash tun) holding this mixture.

The one who stirs the brai (malt and water) or prepares the brace (Celtic name for cervoise). Today, the brewer is the one who produces beer.

The brewer's star appeared in the 18th century and gradually became the symbol of beer. It is usually displayed above the brewing vessel (mash tun). Its alchemical meaning brings together the four elements that are also present in brewing: earth, which provides the raw materials; water for malting and saccharification; air for germination and fermentation; and finally fire for kilning, saccharification and boiling. The star perfectly symbolizes the union of all these elements. The symbol is also called the shield of David, double star, Gordian knot or Solomon's seal.

The main room for brewing operations (saccharification and boiling).

Brewing consists of mixing the malt with water, then heating the whole to obtain the wort. During brewing, the enzymes in the malt, alpha-amylase and beta-amylase (amylase means able to break down starch molecules), convert the starch into sugars: mainly maltose, but also glucose and dextrins, in proportions that vary with the brewing temperature. Only the fermentable sugars (maltose, glucose...) will be converted into alcohol by the yeast during fermentation: brewing at a low temperature produces more fermentable sugars and gives a stronger, drier beer; brewing at a high temperature produces more dextrins, which are not fermentable, and gives a more mellow beer.

Bar or restaurant that brews the beer it serves on site.

Clarity of the beer, sought after by the brewer. It is achieved through long conditioning and good filtration.

Brown beers are dark beers in shades ranging from reddish brown to ebony black. This color comes from the use of heavily worked (roasted) malts.

Traces of foam that cling in rings to the side of the glass, sip after sip. Fine lace shows good foam and a perfectly clean glass (see Cream).

Traditional fermentation system made up of large oak casks connected by pipes. Obsolete today: only one English brewery, Marston's in Burton-upon-Trent, still uses this method, out of respect for tradition.

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.

Removing the dried germs (rootlets) from the malt after kilning. This is also called de-rooting.

In France, beer is generally described by its alcohol degree, but also by other degrees indicating the proportion of cereals in the wort:

• - The alcohol degree is the percentage of ethanol by volume in the beverage,
• - The Balling degree is the percentage of dry extract in the wort before fermentation (used in Germany and some Central European countries to calculate beer tax),
• - The French Régie degree corresponds to the density of the wort before fermentation: a density of 1.10 equals 10° Régie.

These degrees should not be confused with one another. For example, Eku 28 measures 28° Balling and about 12° alcohol. As a rule of thumb, the alcohol degree is generally a little more than one third of the Balling degree.

25 cl glass of draft beer served at the bar in France. See also Ridicule and Galopin.

A dense beer is a rounded beer. Unlike some beers that feel like drinking water, its taste is generous and lingers in the mouth. This roundness is typical of malty or very malty beers, which are generally rather strong in alcohol and only slightly bitter.

Ratio of the mass of a volume of wort or beer to that of the same volume of water. The original density, measured before fermentation, shows how rich the wort is in sugars; the final density, measured afterward, is used to calculate the alcohol content. See also Balling, Degree and Plato.

Slow, gentle heating used to stop germination during malting.

Starch residues that cannot be fermented by yeast. They play an important role in the roundness of the beer.

Compound produced by yeast during fermentation, which gives a butter or butterscotch aroma. Tolerated at low levels in some styles, it is considered a defect in most beers; sufficient conditioning allows the yeast to reabsorb it.

Dimethyl sulfide: a sulfur compound that smells of corn or cooked vegetables, mainly from pale malts. A vigorous boil of the wort removes it; above a low level, it is a defect.

“Double bock” in German. Strong bottom-fermented beer (often over 7% ABV), malty and rounded, created in Munich by the monks of the Order of Saint Francis of Paola. Doppelbock names often end in “-ator” (Salvator, Celebrator...).

Harvested barley can only be used for malting after a period during which the grain must rest: this is dormancy. During this period, the grain cannot germinate; it needs further maturation before it can germinate, until the “official release from dormancy.”

Brown abbey or Trappist beer, top-fermented, usually 6 to 8% ABV, with notes of caramel, dried fruit and malt. See also Triple and Quadruple.

Beer served by the glass from a keg, pushed to the faucet of the beer tap by carbon dioxide or by a mixture of carbon dioxide and nitrogen (see Keg and Beer tap).

Adding hops to the beer cold, during or after fermentation, to give it intense hop aromas without increasing its bitterness. In French, the English term dry hopping is also used.

“Dark” in German. Dark bottom-fermented beer typical of Bavaria, with notes of malt, bread and caramel.

Unit of measurement for the color of malt and beer, defined by the European Brewery Convention. The higher the value, the darker the beer: a pilsner is generally between 5 and 10 EBC, a stout often exceeds 60 EBC.

Effervescence is caused by the release of the carbon dioxide held in the beer. It is measured in grams per liter. The amount of CO2 dissolved in beer ranges from 1 g/l for Real Ales to 7.5 g/l for beers with champagne-like effervescence.

An eisbock is a beer that has undergone a freeze distillation process. The principle is to partly freeze the beer, then remove the ice that forms, which is mostly water: the remaining beer is stronger and has more concentrated aromas.
From 2009 onward, the Scots of BrewDog and the Germans of Schorschbräu competed for the record for the strongest beer. An eisbock can reach 43% alcohol.
De Struise Brewers makes the double black, 26°, based on its Black Albert.

Typical café of Flanders, where you can eat platters while enjoying a good beer. Traditional wooden games are often found there too.

Highly volatile aromas formed at the beginning of fermentation when the temperature is high. Esters give beer fruity aromas (banana, pear, apple...); spicy notes come rather from phenols.

Traditional Brussels beer made by sweetening lambic with candi sugar or brown sugar. Sweet and low in alcohol, it was once very popular in the estaminets of Brussels.

The conversion of sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide by yeasts and bacteria.

Machine used to fill bottles, cans or kegs.

Removing yeast and suspended particles from beer to make it clear, usually before packaging. Unfiltered beers keep a cloudy appearance (see Haze). Filtration also refers to separating the wort from the spent grain.

The last impression left in the mouth after swallowing a sip: bitter, dry, sweet, tart... Its duration is called the length.

Wort from the first filtration through the spent grain, before sparging begins.

Belgian beer from West Flanders, of mixed fermentation, aged in oak foeders, with a reddish-brown color and a sweet-and-sour taste. Rodenbach is the best-known example (see also Oud Bruin).

Refers to the overall combination of all aspects of taste and aroma. Flavor thus covers all the perceptions of the nose (aromatic impression) and the tongue (taste in the strict sense), as well as the physical impression in the mouth, also called “roundness.”

Flavoring the wort with fine hops or spices toward the end of sterilization, in the minutes that follow it, or even during fermentation or the conditioning period.

Aromatic characteristic usually found in top-fermented beers. The use of aroma hops gives the beer a “green,” floral bouquet.

Foam matters! It protects the beverage from contact with its enemy, the oxygen in the air, and so preserves the beer's flavor and aromas. Like a jewel, the crown of foam sets off the beer's color.

Knife used to skim off the excess foam on top of the glass.

Large-capacity cask: from 50 to 300 hl.

Beer glass holding one liter. The Formidable is also called a Baron.

Small 12.5 cl beer glass, half a demi.

Gambrinus is a figure known throughout Europe, who appears from the 16th century onward in the Netherlands and Belgium. The origin of this legendary king remains obscure: some say he was Jan Primus (John I), Duke of Brabant in the 13th century; others say he was John the Fearless, who introduced the use of hops in brewing.

Louis-Joseph Gay-Lussac was a French scientist who developed, in 1824, an alcoholmeter that measures alcohol content in °GL. He also established a chemical formula for fermentation.

A beer with a generous taste leaves a lasting sensation after a sip. It is a dense beer whose flavor lingers in the mouth, unlike beers that seem to flow down the throat like water.

The transformation of barley into malt.

Tart, slightly salty wheat beer flavored with coriander, originally from Goslar, which later became a specialty of Leipzig, Germany.

Gruit (gruyt) was a mixture of spices frequently used in the Middle Ages to flavor beer. It has disappeared with the advent of hops.

True gueuze, specifically Belgian and from the Brussels region, is the result of spontaneous fermentation (the yeasts come from the surrounding air and are not added by the brewer; they are of the Brettanomyces bruxellensis and Brettanomyces lambicus type and are found in the wild only in the Senne valley, around Brussels). Made from a blend of lambics (the base product) of different ages (1, 2 and 3 years for good gueuzes), it is a very difficult beer to make, sensitive to weather conditions, slow to produce, and ill-suited to today's demands for profitability. This is why, even in Belgium, some gueuze brewers do not hesitate to cut their products with top-fermented beer, add sugar, filter them, pasteurize them... to meet, they say, the demands of the public and economic constraints. France is currently trying to produce gueuze, which has caused an outcry among Belgian brewers (understandably), as gueuze is legally protected in Belgium (although its definition leaves something to be desired).

Natural characteristic of unfiltered beers (such as white beers). Haze is caused by protein residues, hop resin residues and tannins. It appears when the brewer cools the wort.

The layer of foam that crowns the beer in the glass. Its ideal height depends on the beer style and the glass; if it is too thick, it reduces the amount of beer served (see Foam and Foam scraper).

“Light” in German. Blonde bottom-fermented beer born in Munich at the end of the 19th century, maltier and less bitter than a pils.

Adding hops to the wort to obtain a very distinctive bitterness and aroma.

Climbing plant of the Cannabaceae family, grown for its cones, or female inflorescences, and used to flavor beer. These inflorescences, or clusters of flowers, produce a yellow powder containing bitter resins, called lupulin. This is what gives beer its slightly bitter taste!
Hops can grow up to 8 m tall. They used to be grown on wooden poles; they now grow on taut wires. In continental Europe, only the female hop flowers are used to flavor beer and give it its bitterness. Some hop varieties are known for their bitterness while others stand out for their aroma, so a brewer may use several hops to make a beer.

Stands for “International Bitterness Units.” This is the international system for measuring the bitterness of beer, used by all master brewers. It quantifies, in parts per million (milligrams per liter), the isomerized alpha acids responsible for bitterness.

Stout with a high alcohol content.

The appearance, while the beer is being made, of an abnormal fermentation, usually caused by bacteria. Beer can become infected at any stage of the process from wort boiling onward. Infection spoils the taste by giving off a sour flavor. People also speak of “wild beer” or of beer that has “turned.”

Brewing process that consists of steadily raising the temperature of the brew to convert starch into sugars. A distinction is made between single-step infusion during mashing and multi-step infusion, carried out while starch is broken down into fermentable sugars.

Very hoppy pale ale, born in England for export to India. Revived by American brewers, it now comes in many variants (West Coast IPA, New England IPA, Double IPA...) with intense hop aromas.

A bottle with a capacity of 3 liters (four 75 cl bottles), sometimes used by brewers for special cuvées.

A beer keg is an aluminum barrel holding 20 to 60 liters, used to serve draft beer.

Putting beer into kegs.

Tower topped with ventilation chimneys used for kilning.

Heating the green malt to stop germination and dry it.

Light, top-fermented blonde beer, cold-conditioned, from Cologne. Its name is a protected designation reserved for breweries in the Cologne area; it is served in a narrow, straight 20 cl glass, the Stange.

This technique consists of adding wort to a mature, conditioned beer. It saturates the beer with carbon dioxide, giving it a pronounced sparkle. The beer undergoes a second fermentation.

Kriek Lambic is a beer made by blending gueuze lambic with cherries (macerated in the gueuze for several months). It is probably the oldest fruit blend based on gueuze; more recently, blends have appeared with blackcurrant, raspberry, peach, strawberry, grape, banana, mirabelle plum, etc. The French are particularly fond of the Mort Subite and Belle-Vue krieks, which are sweetened, filtered, pasteurized, cut: in short, not authentic. To get an idea of a traditional kriek, try Cantillon Kriek lambic or Girardin Kriek Lambic.

The common name for bottom-fermented beers. Lager comes from the German “lagern,” meaning “to store.”

Belgian alcoholic beverage made from sweet wort, whose distinctive feature is that it ferments spontaneously. This spontaneous fermentation is carried out by the wild yeasts and bacteria present in the surrounding air.

Lees are a deposit that forms at the bottom of the bottle when its contents have refermented. In beer, it is a deposit of yeast.

Defect that appears when beer is exposed to light, especially ultraviolet light: some hop compounds break down and give off a sulfurous smell reminiscent of skunk. Brown bottles protect beer better than green or clear ones.

Fine yellow powder, formed from small glands located at the base of the bracts of hop cones, which contains the bitter resins and aromatic essential oils of hops (see Hops).

A bottle with a capacity of 1.5 liters (two 75 cl bottles), used by some brewers for special or keeping cuvées.

This is the brew, also called salade or trempe in French. It is the mixture of malt and water in the mash tun during brewing.

Barley that has been artificially germinated, dried and ground into flour, used to make beer. Depending on how much the barley has been heated, the malt will likewise be more or less deeply colored (from pale to brown, through amber, russet...), which determines the color of the beer. Some roasted malts are used to give beer a dark color and a distinctive toasted taste.
Malt provides most of the fermentable sugars for brewing.

This is the operation which consists of transforming barley into malt by germinating it.

In Germany, March beer is brewed in March to be served in the summer. In Belgium, it is a beer used in the composition of faro. In France, March beer refers to both an October brew served in March and the beer produced during the month of March, for the summer.

Vessel in which mashing and saccharification take place: the milled malt is mixed with hot water in it. It often has a false bottom that holds back the spent grain when the wort is filtered.

Operation of adding water to the malt flour obtained by milling. The product of mashing is called the “maïsche.” Saccharification can then begin (conversion of starch into sugars that yeast can use). Alsatian master brewers prefer to say “imaïsche” rather than empâtage!

Said of a generous beer that lingers in the mouth. You can feel the texture of the beer, which does not flow straight down the throat, releasing the sweetness of its aroma.

Small brewery that produces beer in limited quantities, often sold locally (see Craft beer and Brewpub).

Mild is the oldest type of beer. It is a brown British beer. It is the ancestor of the first Porters. Colored by the strength of a malt roasted over a wood fire, Mild is lightly hopped.

Operation that reduces malt to a grist made up of husks, grits and flour. Milling is done in a roller mill and comes before mashing.

Nephelometric Turbidity Units: unit of measurement giving the level of haze in a beer. The higher this value, the less clear the beer. It is measured with a nephelometer.

Beer with a very low alcohol content, obtained by limiting fermentation or by removing the alcohol afterward (dealcoholization). The threshold below which a beer may be called “non-alcoholic” depends on each country's regulations.

“Old brown” in Dutch. Top-fermented beer, burgundy-brown in color, with a sweet-and-sour aroma and taste. One of the most surprising types of beer, and one that can be very refreshing. Typically represented by Rodenbach (in the same vein, there are also Vichtenaar, Oud Piro, Zulte, Petrus...).
NB: not to be offered to touchy brunette mothers-in-law...

Deterioration of beer through contact with oxygen, which over time gives it flavors of wet cardboard, sherry or honey. Slight oxidation can, however, be appreciated in some strong beers made for aging (see Foam).

While the wort is cooling, it can be oxygenated in order to promote the action of the yeast during fermentation.

Amber, well-hopped beer from the Ale family.

Metal device used in Great Britain to skim yeast off the top of fermenters.

The beer is pasteurized to stabilize it, by subjecting it to a temperature of approximately 60 to 75°C, for a few seconds to around twenty minutes depending on the process. Pasteurization is generally carried out just before packaging.

Aromatic compounds produced in particular by certain yeasts, which give spicy (clove), smoky or medicinal notes. Sought after in German wheat beers and some Belgian beers, they are considered a defect in most other styles.

Blonde beer that originated at the brewery in Pilsen, in the Czech Republic, where the water, low in mineral salts, gives the beer unmatched softness and allows it to be hopped very heavily with Saaz hops, considered the finest in the world, without producing a harsh, unpleasant taste. Almost all the pils beers in Europe derive from this type of beer. The term pilsener is the only one allowed for any beer brewed outside Pilsen but following the Pilsen brewing method.

Beer glass holding half a liter: 50 cl. The pint is also called a Sérieux or a Véritable.

Adding yeast to the cooled wort to start fermentation. This is also called yeasting.

Used to cool the wort after boiling. Cold water flows through pipes in one direction; interleaved pipes carry the boiling wort. This system cools the wort and warms the water. Also called a heat exchanger or cooler.

Unit (°P) expressing the extract content of the wort, that is, its sugars and other dissolved matter, as a percentage of its mass. It is the modern successor of the Balling degree, to which it is almost equivalent (see Degree and Density).

Blackish-brown beer, lightly hopped, made from roasted malt. Mostly top-fermented like Ales, Porter can also be cold-fermented.

Used to measure the pressure inside the tank.

The bars of Great Britain; the word is an abbreviation of Public House. It comes from the fact that, in the Middle Ages, the brewer's parlor welcomed people who wanted to drink the local ale.

Very strong brown abbey or Trappist beer (often over 10% ABV), rich, with aromas of dried fruit, caramel and spices. La Trappe Quadrupel, brewed at Koningshoeven Abbey, gave the style its name.

Packaging beer in cans, bottles or kegs.

“Smoked beer” in German. Specialty of Bamberg, in Franconia, brewed with malt dried over beechwood smoke, which gives it a characteristic smoky taste.

Unfiltered, unpasteurized British beer that finishes maturing in the cask from which it is served, usually by hand pump, without added gas. The term was popularized by the consumer organization CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale).

Beer purity decree, issued in Bavaria in 1516, which limited beer's ingredients to water, barley and hops (yeast, whose role was then unknown, was added later). It remains a benchmark for many German brewers.

Perceiving aromas internally: once the beer is in the mouth, its volatile compounds rise to the nose through the back of the throat. It plays an essential role in tasting (see Flavor).

Beer glass holding 25 cl. Equivalent to a demi.

This operation consists of roasting the malt grains to give a particular flavor and color to the beer.

A rounded beer has a flavor that lingers in the mouth.

Conversion of malt starch into sugars by enzymes (amylases) during mashing, under the effect of heat. It usually takes place between 62 and 72 °C (see Brewing).

Genus of yeasts used in brewing: Saccharomyces cerevisiae for top fermentation and Saccharomyces pastorianus (formerly called carlsbergensis) for bottom fermentation.

Top-fermented beer style from Wallonia, once brewed in winter to quench the thirst of farm workers in summer. Saisons are generally dry, refreshing, fruity and spicy. Not to be confused with a seasonal beer.

Top-fermented Scottish beer, amber to brown, rounded and very malty, often strong and lightly hopped, with caramelized notes.

Beer brewed and sold at a specific time of year, and which comes back every year: spring beer, March beer, Christmas beer... Not to be confused with a one-off beer, produced only once, or with the Saison style.

Said of a beer low in alcohol (usually under 5% ABV), easy to drink, that can be enjoyed in quantity during a single “session.” For example, a session IPA.

Winter barley whose grains are arranged in six rows.

Removing the scum that forms on the surface of the boiling wort (coagulated proteins, hop residue) or, in top fermentation, the yeast that rises to the surface of the beer (see Parachute).

Also called the brewer's star. It dates back to the 18th century. Its alchemical meaning represents the fusion of the 4 elements found in brewing beer: water; barley and hops for earth; yeast for air; and boiling for fire.

Beer with a marked acidity, obtained with lactic or acetic bacteria and wild yeasts. Lambic, gueuze, Berliner Weisse, gose and Flanders red are examples. In French, the English term sour is also used.

Separating the sweet liquid from the spent grain after mashing, before the wort is boiled. Water heated to 70 °C rinses the malt residue: this is also called washing the spent grain.

Solid residue obtained when the wort is filtered through the false bottom of the mash tun, which holds back the insoluble matter. Spent grain can be used as livestock feed.

Natural flavorings added to beer to change its taste. Very common in Belgian beers.

Beer is fermented in rooms at 15–16 °C without adding cultured yeast. Only the microorganisms floating in the air come into contact with the beer and make this natural fermentation possible.

Barley is 60 to 65% starch; starch is also found in cereal adjuncts such as rice or corn. Starch is converted into sugars during mashing in the mash tun, thanks to the enzymes formed during malting.

Steeping consists of moistening the barley grains with water for about forty hours to trigger germination.

Large wooden or masonry vessel usually used to steep barley.

The growth period of barley.

The wort is boiled for at least an hour to eliminate all germs. This is also called boiling.

Top-fermented beer brewed with roasted (unmalted) barley, black in color, with a slightly caramelized and toasted flavor, heavily hopped. There are 3 types of stout: Bitter Stout (dry, bitter, about 4.5% ABV), Milk Stout (sweeter, containing lactose) and Russian Stout (also called Imperial Stout, very strong in alcohol (10% ABV), sweet; not to be confused with Barley Wine). The typical example of bitter stout is Guinness, which comes in very different versions (Belgian version: 7%, caramelized; French version: smoky, sharp taste; Irish 'Draught' version (draft, but in a bottle, supplied with a syringe that produces a real creamy head by injecting beer back into the glass, sold only in Ireland and perhaps in Great Britain)). Its head (on draft or in the 'draught' bottle) is very stable and very creamy (it looks like fat-free fromage blanc), its taste is powerfully bitter and its flavor is dry. Also worth mentioning is the Irish Murphy's, likewise remarkable on draft.

Very old hops, more than two years old, whose resins have disappeared. Used to make lambics.

Astringent sensation in a beer, which feels dry in the mouth. This sensation is often found in very bitter beers.

Floral or fruity, a balance between bitter and sweet, between malt and hop aromas.

Collector of beer-related items: bottle caps, labels, coasters, glasses, bottles, old enamel signs, foam scrapers, posters, unusual objects...

Fermentation at a temperature between 18 and 32 °C. During fermentation, the yeast rises to the surface of the fermenting beer.

Beer made exclusively by, or under the supervision of, Trappist monks (Cistercians of the Strict Observance). Very strong and refermented in the bottle, they are excellent top-fermented beers. Today, only about ten abbeys in the world make beers bearing the “Authentic Trappist Product” logo of the International Trappist Association, including Orval, Westmalle, Rochefort, Chimay, Saint-Sixtus (Westvleteren) and Koningshoeven (La Trappe). The name “Trappist” comes from the abbey of Notre-Dame de la Grande Trappe, founded in 1140 by Rotrou II, Count of Perche, in Soligny (Orne). This abbey, first Benedictine, then Cistercian from 1148, was reformed in 1664 by the Abbé de Rancé. It is the mother abbey of the reformed Cistercians of the Strict Observance, known as “Trappists,” whose general seat is the abbey of Cîteaux (Cîteaux: Cistercians). Trappist beers are, to our taste (along with true Belgian lambics and a few other rare exceptions), the best beers in the world. With a real history behind them, they help fund charitable works. Heady and rare, they are proof that God exists.

Strong blonde abbey or Trappist beer (about 8 to 10% ABV), top-fermented and refermented in the bottle, at once malty, fruity and spicy. The style was popularized by Westmalle Abbey.

Stemmed glass with a rounded bowl and a narrowed, then slightly flared rim, which concentrates the aromas and supports the foam. It suits strong Belgian beers and aromatic beers.

Unmalted cereals (corn, rice, wheat, oats...) added to the malt during brewing. They lighten the body or color of the beer, or give it a particular character, like the raw wheat in Belgian white beers.

The prestige of a beer, as far as the quality of its cereals is concerned, depends on the search for barley varietal quality. The choice of variety is a key criterion for the barley grains to meet the expectations of maltsters and brewers. Each variety has particular characteristics that can interact positively or negatively at the various stages of brewing, for example: the amount of usable extract, the ability to germinate, the thinness of the husks, the richness and nature of the grain's proteins...

Another name for tanks: mash vessel, clarification vessel.

A vintage beer bears figures indicating the date, the year it was produced.

“Wheat” and “white beer” in German. Top-fermented Bavarian wheat beer, brewed with at least 50% wheat malt, with characteristic banana and clove aromas from its yeast. Hefeweizen is unfiltered, Kristallweizen is filtered (see White beer).

Vessel in which the wort is set spinning after boiling: hop residue and coagulated proteins gather in a cone in the center of the bottom, so that clear wort can be drawn off. Hops are sometimes added there for aroma.

White beer is a pale, cloudy, unfiltered blonde beer, top-fermented. Its alcohol content is about 5%. It is brewed with one-third wheat, as wheat malt. It is often flavored with various ingredients such as coriander or citrus zest.

Dutch name for Belgian white beer (see White beer), brewed with raw wheat and flavored with coriander and bitter orange peel.

Sweet liquid obtained after the maïsche (mash) is filtered; it then goes into the hop kettle, where it is brought to a boil and hops are added. Clarified, then cooled before going into the fermentation tanks, it is then a sweet, bitter and clear liquid.

The boiling of the wort. With hops added, the wort is boiled for 1½ to 2 hours in a wort kettle to sterilize it: this eliminates all germs.

Also called a boiling kettle or hop kettle. It is a vessel used mainly to sterilize the wort by boiling. Hops are then added in this same vessel.

Yeasts are fungi that bring about fermentation. They use sugars derived from starch to grow, and produce alcohol and carbon dioxide.

The Yorkshire Square is a type of open fermentation vessel from the north of England. It owes its name to its square shape, even though the latest models are rather circular.

Zymology is the study of fermentation and yeasts.

Name of the famous ancient Egyptian beer. A few years ago, British researchers brewed a zythum following instructions from the period.