Beer Glossary

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.