Beer Glossary

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.