Homebrew Glossary

There are quite a few terms and abbreviations in the hobby of homebrew, but nothing is really difficult once you get the hang of it. Here we explain some of the terms you may come across when you are reading through this site and other homebrew information sources.

 

 

Adjuncts Ingredients added to the malt in the preparation of the beer to improve the flavour and to improve the alcohol content. Examples are flaked rice or maize.

 

Airlock Sometimes referred to as a fermentation lock, it is a device used during fermentation to exclude air whilst allowing the escape of carbon dioxide. In oter words, it lets out the CO2 but prevents airborne impurities from getting in.

 

Alcohol The intoxicating spirit formed during fermentation which gives our beer or other drinks their characteristic satisfaction.

 

Aldehydes Chemical compounds formed during the fermentation of wine by the interaction of acids with the alcohols. They contribute to the boquet.

 

Autolysis The decomposition of dead yeast cells. Living yeast cells may then use the nitogenous molecules thus released.

 

Bentonite A powdered natural clay used for clearing hazy wines. Also available in a gel and in soluble granules.

 

Body The fullness of wine or beer. The opposite of thin.

 

Campden Tablet The trade name for a small tablet of sodium metabisulphite one of which releases fifty parts per million of sulphur dioxide when dissolved in one gallon of water or wine. The sulphur dioxide sterilises equipment, prevents oxidisation and the growth of moulds, bacteria and spoilage yeasts and improves the flavour of the wine.

 

Carbon dioxide The gas formed during fermentation. It can be seen escaping in bubbles and heard as a hissing sound made by the bursting of bubbles reaching the surface. Almost half of the sugar is converted into alcohol and the other half into carbon dioxide.

 

Decant To pour clear wine or beer from a bottle in which sediment has been formed into a glass container suitable for the table. The pouring is stopped as soon as any sediment is about to leave the first container thus leaving only a clear drink in the receiving container.

 

D.M.S. Abbreviation for Diastatic Malt Syrup; i.e. one containing some diastase enzymes capable of converting starch to sugar. (see mashing)

 

Dry A term used to describe a wine or beer in which there is no taste of sweetness.

 

Dry Hopping The addition of some dry hops during the fermentation of a wort to improve the hoppy tang of the finished beer.

 

Enzyme Molecules of protein joined to an organic compound which acts as a catalyst in specific circumstances. Many different enzymes are necessary in wine making and brewing. They are secured by the yeast cells and cause changes in the substances around them. They are not changes themselves. Each different enzyme is effective in only one change. For example invertase causes sucroseto separate into glucose and fractose. It cannot cause any further changes. A different enzyme is responsible for each of the many complicated changes in the long process of the conversion of sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide.

 

Fermentation The process of converting sugar in a must or wort into alcohol and carbon dioxide. It is caused by enzymes secreted in the yeast cells.

 

Filtration The removal of minute solid particles suspended in a wine by passing it through a filter kit.

 

Fining The removal of minute solid particles suspended in a wine or beer by the addition of finings such as gelatine, isinglass or Bentonite. As the finings sink to the bottom they attract to themselves the solid particles and carry them down to form a sediment from which the clear beverage can be racked or syphoned.

 

Fortification The adding of alcohol to a wine so as to increase its strength. Usually only vodka or Polish spirit are used since they do not affect the flavour of the wine.

 

Hardening salts Mineral salts including carbonates and sulphates, added to water lacking them i.e. soft water. It improves the quality of the bitter style beers.

 

Heading agent A compound that can be added to a beer before bottling to improve tghe retention of froth on the surface after it has been poured into a glass.

 

Hops Bitter tasting flowers of the bine Humulus lupulus used for flavouring beer.

 

Hydrometer An instrument for measuring the specific gravity of a liquid. This indicates the approximate quantity of sugar ina given liquid.

 

Invert sugar A mixture of fructose and glucose produced from sucrose. Ordinary white sugar is sucrose. Invert sugar is sometimes used in brewing to ensure a speedy fermentation.

 

Lactose An unfermentable sugar sugar used to sweeten brown ales and stouts.

 

Lees The dross or sediment consisting of dead yeast cells, dust, fruit pulp etc. which falls to the bottom in fermentation and storage vessels as wines and beers fall bright.

 

Maceration The bruising of flower petals.

 

Malt Barley grains that have been stimulated by moisture and warmth to start growing and are then roasted. Malt is the basic ingredient of beer. It is available in the form of cracked grains, malt flour and malt extract - a toffee like substance.

 

Mashing The infusing for several hours in hot water of brewing ingredients containing starch. The unfermentable starch in the ingredients is converted by the action of the diastase enzymes in the malted barley grains or syrup into a fermentable sugar called maltose.

 

Maturation The ageing of a wine or beer to the point at which it is most pleasant to drink.

 

Must The name given to a liquid before it is fermented into wine.

 

Nutrient Nitrogenous matter essential for yeast growth. Usually bought in the form of a tablet or crystals containing di-ammonium phosphate and ammonium phosphate.

 

Original gravity The specific gravity of a wine or beer before fermentation begins. The "total original gravity" includes the addition of sugar during fermentation.

 

Pectolytic enzyme A compound which breaks down the pectin in fruit, thus increasing the extraction of the juice and clarity of the wine.

 

Potassium sorbate A salt used in conjunction with sulphite to terminate fermentation.

 

Priming The addition of a small quantity of sugar to a beer or wine to cause a secondary fermentation during maturation. Essential for giving life and vitality to beer and to sparkling wines.

 

Proof A liquid that is "proof" contains 57.1% alcohol by volume. 70 percent proof means that the liquid contains 70% of 57.1% i.e. 40% alcohol.

 

Racking A process of transferring cleqar or clearing wine or beers from jars containing lees or sediment into clean vessels. Usually performed with the aid of a syphon.

 

Sediment Another name for lees.

 

Sparging The rinsing of brewing ingredients with warm water after they have been mashed. This washes off the remaining maltose adhering to the grains.

 

Specific gravity The weight of a given volume of liquid compared with the same volume of water at 15 degrees centigrade. (59 F)., or the temperature specified on the hydrometer. Used in winemaking and brewing to measure the approximate amount of sugar in a liquid.

 

Starter bottle A sterilised bottle, partly filled with water in which a small quantity of fruit juice (or malt extract), citric acid and nutrient salts have been dissolved. When dried yeast granules are added and the bottle is stood in a warm position - 35-40 degrees Celcius (95 - 104 degrees F), - the yeast cells are re-hydrated. Usually within a couple of hours the yeast is ready to start the fermentation process of a must or wort.

 

Sulphite The short name for potassium or sodium metabisulphite from which sulphur dioxide is released in solution. See also Campden tablet.

 

Sweet A wine or beer which contains some residual sweetness after fermentation. The opposite of dry.

 

Syphon In its simplest form no more than a plastic tube through which a clear wine or beer can be conveyed from a jar containing sediment into a clean jar or bottle.

 

Tannin A bitter substance which gives bite and slight astringency to wine. Essential in a well balanced red wine and an aid to preserving it.

 

Thin The term used to describe a wine or beer that lacks substance and has a watery consistency. The opposite of a wine or beer with plenty of body.

 

Wort A liquid containing a solution of malt and hop essence before fermentation into beer.

 

Yeast Microscopic botanical cells which secrete enzymes that cause fermentation by the reduction of sugar to alcohol and carbon dioxide. Wine and beer yeasts are called Saccharomyces, which means sugar fungi. Yeast is essential to the making of a wine or beer.