Beer Terminology

Ale: Beer using top-fermenting yeast.

Barley: A cereal grain that is malted for use in the grist that becomes the mash in the brewing of beer.

Beer: Liquid that is a fermented drink made from grain and seasoned with hops.

Body: Thickness and mouth-feeling property of a beer described as "full or thin bodied".

Dunkel: German word for "dark"

Framboise: Raspberry beer

Lager: Beer using bottom-fermenting yeast

Hefe: German word for "yeast".

Hell: German word for "pale" or "golden" in colour.

Hops: Herb added to boiling wort or fermenting beer to impart a bitter flavor and aroma of citrus or floral

Fermentation: Conversion of sugars into ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide, through the action of yeast.

Kriek: Cherry Beer

Lambic: Unique to Belgium, this is a spontaneously fermenting style of beer.

Micro Brewery: Small brewery generally producing less than 15,000 barrels per year with Sales primarily off premises.

Speise: A traditional German custom to add a small dose of unfermented malt sugar to the conditioning tank to create carbonation.

Trappist: Designation for beer brewed inside the walls of the monastery under the control of the Monks where a portion of the proceeds goes back to the monastery. By law, only these beers are allowed to use the term “Trappist” in describing their products.

Yeast: Yeast are single-celled microorganisms that reproduce by budding. Different strains impart different flavors and aroma characteristics.