Some Terms from the Beer Dictionary

I have realized, although only a few posts and followers in, that beer comes with its own language and catch phrases (as you may know, I LOVE a good catch phrase). You may have thought before, “ ‘Scuse me…hops?” Or, “What do you mean by lager or ale?” “And you mean to tell me that there are subcategories of all these things?” So, I have done some digging through other beer resources and some chatting with beer mongers to get as much information as possible.

Let’s start with phrases normally found in the beer community and on beer labels:

International Bitterness Units (IBU) – scale used to measure hop bitterness. Higher the number, the more bitter the beer. Pale lagers/ales fall at one extreme of the spectrum measuring from 10-50 IBU. Barleywines’ 50-100 IBU will immediately result in the ever-hilarious Bitter Beer Face.

Hops – small female flower used to flavor and stabilize beer. Depending on when they are added to the beer boiling process, the taste will greatly differ. Click here to see a shot of hops featured in my earlier post featuring Victory Brewing Company.

Alcohol by Volume (ABV) – expressed as a percentage of total volume, standard measure of ethanol content in an alcohol beverage. The higher the ABV, the safer you want to be with your consumption (this doubles as my public service announcement).

Fermentation – process by which yeast converts glucose (aka, sugar) to carbon dioxide gas and ethyl alcohol; determines the alcohol content and carbonation (aka, the bubblies).

Original Gravity – total amount of fermentable and unfermentable substances in wort. Brewers will have a general idea of alcoholic content based on the proportions.

Final Gravity – amount of unfermentable substance remaining. Once compared with Original Gravity, alcohol content may be determined.

Combine the above and you have beer…right? Well, kind of. It would be that easy if beer was only that – beer. These days, beer is no longer just a single-standing beverage that possesses only one standard of ingredients. Rather, beer has become a classification of a variety of drinks from which we select our favorite flavors. Essentially, all beer falls into one of two categories: ales or lagers. From the brewer’s standpoint, there are distinct differences. Similar to wine, the aging process and all of its components, including temperature, affect taste, character, and color. Below, you will find quick, structural differences between the two.

Ales

· Utilize top-fermenting yeast (recognized as the yeast rises to the top)

· Average 2-3 weeks of aging

· Requires warmer, more summer-like temperatures somewhere between 64-70 degrees

Lagers

· Bottom-fermenting yeast (recognized as the yeast falls to the bottom)

· Longer process - typically at least a month

· Requires early spring-like conditions of 52-58 degrees

What will you do if the label does not distinguish the difference for you? Next time, I will go into colors, flavor profiles, and ways to test your palate. I will provide some examples of each as well. Slainte!