Brewing Glossary Base Malt- Base malt, sometimes called kilned malt, is

malt that has been dried in a kiln at relatively low

ABV (Alcohol by volume) - ABV is the standard temperatures so as not to inactivate the enzymes. All
measurement used to describe the alcoholic strength of beer must contain some base malt so the enzymes can
a beer. In Montana the strongest beer we are allowed
convert the starches to sugars.
to brew is 14%.
Beer- A fermented alcoholic beverage which the
Adjunct- Any non-malt sugar source added to increase primary source of sugar comes from a starchy grain.
gravity and add flavor. Some examples used by the KH Unlike vintners, brewers must take an extra step to
include honey in the Hellgate Hefe, and brown sugar in
convert the starch to sugars using enzymes.
Cold Smoke. Depending on how fermentable the
adjunct is it can either increase or decrease the mouth- Caramel Malt (Crystal malt)-Caramel or crystal malt is
feel of a beer. produced by heating wet malt to higher temperatures
than base malts. The heat and moisture cause the
Ale (Top Fermenting) - Saccharomyces cerivisiae is a starches to caramelize. These malts add color, flavor
species of brewers yeast which prefers warmer and body to a beer. They also add sweetness to a beer,
temperatures (70’s) during fermentation. Due to higher since yeast cannot ferment the complex sugars in the
temperatures ales ferment quicker than lagers and tend malt.
to have a more fruity and complex flavor profiles than
lagers. Endosperm- Making up the majority of a barley kernel
the endosperm is mostly starch but it contains all the
Alpha Acids- Alpha acids are the group of compounds
raw material needed to make a new barley plant.
found in hops which impart bitterness to the beer.
Alpha acids need to be boiled to dissolve in wort. The Enzyme- Enzymes are biological catalysts. They help
longer hops are boiled the more A.A. gets dissolved in chemical reactions go faster or make them happen
the beer. It is for this reason that bittering hops are when they normally would not. Brewers use the
added at the start of the boil. enzymes present in malt to turn starch into sugars that
the yeast can eat. The word ‘Enzyme’ literally means
Amylase- Amylases are enzymes that break starches ‘inside yeast’ and they were first discovered by studying
down into small, simple sugars. Alpha and Beta amylase
beer fermentation.
are the two main enzymes found in barley malt. They
operate differently and the brewer can control which Fermentation- In brewing fermentation is the process
enzyme is most active by varying the temperature of the by which, in the absence of oxygen, yeast convert
mash. glucose (sugar) into ethanol (alcohol), carbon dioxide,
and flavor compounds.
Brite Beer- Beer that has been filtered or allowed to
settle, so the beer is clear and has no suspended yeast Fermenting Vessel- Fermenting vessels or FV’s have a
or haze, is referred to as brite beer. cone shaped bottom and, as the name implies, is where
wort is turned into beer by the fermentation action of
B.B.T. (Brite Beer Tank)-A dish-bottomed vessel which is yeast. The cone shaped bottom helps brewers collect
used to hold brite beer. The level of carbonation can be yeast to be used in later batches.
adjusted in this vessel.

Barley- Hordeum vulgaris, or barley is the most

common grain used in modern brewing. The barley
kernel has three main parts; the husk, the embryo, and
the starchy endosperm.
Gravity- In brewing terminology gravity refers to the Lauter Tun- The lauter tun is a vessel with a false slotted
density of the wort. The more sugars dissolved in the bottom used to separate the grist from the wort, just
wort the higher the gravity. As beer ferments the like filtering coffee.
gravity will drop as dense sugars are turned into carbon
Malt- Malt is made by taking grain and wetting it. This
dioxide and ethanol. Brewers can estimate the ABV of a
beer by comparing the difference in the measured starts the germination process and the embryo starts
gravities taken at the beginning and the end of making enzymes to break down the starchy endosperm.
The process is halted by heating and drying out the
fermentation.
grains. The end product, malt, now has all the enzymes
Grist- The grist is all the grains that are added to the it needs to make wort.
mash to make beer. Just about any grain malted or not
can and has been used at some time to make beer. Mash- Mash is a mixture of grist and water and is the
first step of the brewing process. The main goal of the
Hops- Mmmm hops. Hops (Humulus lupulus) are mash step is to convert starch into sugars. By carefully
members of the canibaceae family and one of the prime controlling the temperature of the mash brewers can
ingredients of modern beer styles. Hops can add activate and deactivate specific enzymes thereby
bitterness or aroma to a beer depending on how long influencing many properties of the finished beer.
they are boiled. Another beneficial property of hops is
that they act as a preservative, inhibiting the growth of Mash Tun- The mash tun is the vessel where the grist
bacteria and wild yeast. Brewers yeast has evolved to and the water are mixed.
tolerate high hop levels. Roasted Malt- Roasted malts are base malts that have
Husk- Barley, unlike wheat, has a papery husk that been roasted after the malting process. The roasting
surrounds the kernel. The presence of a husk acts as a process destroys all the enzymes and sugars in the malt,
natural filter which greatly aids the lautering process so they are added to contribute flavor and color to the
allowing the brewers to separate the solids (grist) from beer. Depending on the level of roasting they can
the liquid (wort) in the brewing process. contribute chocolaty, coffee-like, or burnt flavors.

I.B.U. (International Bitterness Unit) - The standard Starch- Starch is molecule that many plants use to store
measurement of bitterness in a beer. One IBU is one energy. It is made up of many molecules of the sugar
milligram of alpha acids dissolved in one liter of beer. glucose linked together like beads on a string. In the
The standard human palate cannot perceive more than mash tun brewers use barley malt’s natural enzymes to
80-100 IBU’s. convert starch into sugar.

Lager (Bottom Fermenting)-Saccromyces pastorianus is Sugar- There are many different types of sugars, but
the other main species of yeast used by brewers. Lager yeast can only use a few simple sugars as an energy
yeasts can tolerate lower temperatures than ale yeasts source. Luckily the main sugar components of wort,
glucose, maltose, and maltotriose, are easily fermented
and are usually fermented at temperatures in the 50’s.
The colder temps make for a slower ferment and the by yeast. There are many more complex sugars present
beers are usually conditioned (lagered) for a few but since the yeast cannot ferment them they remain,
months after fermentation is complete. This produces a contributing body and sweetness to the finished beer.
beer flavor that is crisp and not as complex as ale’s. Whirlpool-This is the final step in the brewing process.
Lauter- Lautering is the separation of the solids, called After boiling, the beer is transferred to the whirlpool in
grist, from the liquid wort. It is the second step in the such a way that the beer is spinning around in the
vessel. This causes all the solids (hops and coagulated
brewing process.
proteins) to form a pile in the center of the vessel. We
can then draw off nice clear wort from the side of the
vessel.
Wort – Wort is the sweet liquid produced by the
brewing process. Brewers do not make beer, they make
wort. The yeast then turns the wort into beer.

Yeast- Yeast is a group of single celled fungi which are

found just about everywhere, but brewers, vintners and
bakers use only a few species of yeast to produce their
products. Yeast is capable of surviving without oxygen
by fermenting simple sugars into alcohol and carbon
dioxide. Although yeasts occur naturally on all grains,
brewers yeast in most closely related to yeast which live
on the human skin.