And you thought beer wasn't confusing!

ORIGINAL GRAVITY (o.g.) - The measurement of solids in suspension in the wort just before the beer is fermented.

FINAL SPECIFIC GRAVITY (s.g.) - A measurement of the solids in suspension after the fermentation. Comparing this figure with original gravity will show how much material has been converted by the fermentation process.

ADJUNCT - A substitute for barley in a beer recipe. It is generally an unmalted cereal. It makes the beer cheaper to produce and serves to lighten the beer as well.

ALCOHOL BY VOLUME - The measurement of alcohol in beer as a percentage of the volume of alcohol in the total volume of beer. Alcohol is lighter than water so this measurement will always be higher than the alcohol by weight figure.

ALCOHOL BY WEIGHT - The measurement of alcohol in beer as a percentage of the weight of the total volume of beer.

ALE - Another way of describing top-fermented beers.

ASTRINGENT - A harsh, bitter character in the flavor of a beer.

BARM - The foam on the top of a fermentation tank generated by the fermentation process.

BEER - A generic term describing all malted beverages whether top or bottom fermented.

BODY - How the beer feels in the mouth. Is it mouth filling, thin or somewhere in between?

BOILING - The process of creating a stable wort for fermentation. Both finishing and flavoring hops are added during various stages of the boil to add their flavors. It also causes tannins and proteins to coagulate out.

BOTTLE-CONDITIONED - Beer that goes through an addition bottle fermentation by the addition of fresh yeast culture and priming sugar at bottling.

BOTTOM FERMENTING YEAST - The yeast used in the bottom-fermented process. Originally develop by the efforts of the monks at what is now Spaten and Emil Hanses at Carlsberg in Denmark. Hanses was the first to isolate the strain and named it Saccharomyces carlsbergensis.

BOTTOM FERMENTATION - One of the two main brewing techniques. A cooler fermentation which runs in the 40 degrees to 50 degrees F range. The yeast after it is spent in this process will coagulate and sink to the bottom, hence the name.

BOUQUET - The overall aroma of a beer.

CARBONATION - The injection of dissolved carbon dioxide gas into beer. This gives beer an additional dimension of taste and flavor.

CARBONATOR - A device used to introduce CO2 to liquid.

CENTRIFUGE - A way of clarifying beer by spinning it to remove unwanted solids.

CHILL HAZE - Formed in beer at low temperatures by proteins coagulating together. It will go away as the beers temperature rises. In some countries regarded as the sign of a good beer.

CLOSED FERMENTATION - A method of fermentation done in closed containers.

COPPER - Another name for the brew kettle.

DEXTRIN - A complex carbohydrate produced during mashing which is unfermentable. They add to body of a beer and unfermented portions contribute to the sweetness of a beer.

ESTERS - This gives beer the often fruit-like background character. They are formed by the interacting of organic compounds and alcohol.

EXTRACT BEER - Beer made with a concentrated form of malt which can either be liquid or powder.

FERMENTATION - The process of yeast using fermentable sugars in their respiratory process to give off equal parts CO2 and alcohol.

FINAL GRAVITY OR FINAL S.G. - Other ways of saying final specific gravity.

FINING - A process of clarification that adds organic elements which in effect filter the beer.

FIRE BREWING - A process of direct application of flame to the kettle which results in a more vigorous boil than heating by steam.

FLASH PASTEURIZATION - A process that heats a product to high temperatures but for a shorter length of time than the normal process of pasteurization.

FLAVORING HOPS - The hops add to the wort to added hop flavor to the beer.

GERMINATION - The sprouting stage of the malting process.

HALLERTAU - The famous hop Bavaria.

HARD WATER - Water with more calcium and magnesium salts than is normal.

HOP BACK - A large strainer that separates the spent hops from the wort.

HOP - A climbing vine which produces a soft cone which produces the oils and resins which produce both aroma and flavor in beer. Each hop variety will have a different ratio between the aroma elements and flavoring elements present. Only the female plant is used.

HUSK - The hard outer coating of grains which protects the inside matter from damage.

HYDROMETER - The instrument used to measure the specific gravity of liquids.

INFUSION MASHING - One form of mashing used especially for top-fermented beers. The mash is not directly heated but sprayed with hot water raising the temperature to around 150 degrees F for one to two hours.

IRISH MOSS - A seaweed added to beer to help clear it of haze causing elements.

KILNING - A process of heat drying the malted barley to stop further germination. Different lengths of time in the kiln develop different styles of barley malt which can be used to create color, as well as, different malt flavors in the beer.

KRAEUSENING - A conditioning process where a small amount of wort is added to a mature lager to induce another fermentation which also produces more carbonation.

LABELER - The machine which puts the labels on bottles.

LACTOSE - This is a sugar used to add body and sweetness to darker style beers. It is non-fermentable.

LAGER - A description of all bottom-fermented beers. It is also a description of a bottom-fermented style which has barley sweetness at the front of the palate and a very mild hop finish.

LAGERING - The storage of bottom-fermented beers at temperatures of 32 degrees to 34 degrees F for periods of several weeks to sometimes as long as a year. The process allows yeast and protein sediments to settle out of the beer.

LAUTER TUN - A vessel with a slotted bottom allowing the wort to drain away while keeping the spent grain in vessel for later disposal.

LIGHTSTRUCK - Chemical reaction in beer caused by exposure to light which results in unpleasant flavors.

MALT - Barley that has gone through germination and kilning process.

MALT EXTRACT - A product that can be either liquid or powder derived from malted barley.

MALTING - The process of converting barley to malt. First the barley is steeped in water under controlled conditions until it reaches a certain moisture level.

MASHING - The process of boiling barley and water to create a sweet liquid called wort which will then be fermented.

MASH TUN - A large vessel often copper where the barley and water is boiled creating the wort.

MATURATION - A process of holding beer at near freezing temperatures while the yeast precipitates out creating a smoother palate for the beer.

MILLING - A process of grinding malts down to make it easier for the brewing process to extract the sugars and enzymes.

NATURAL CONDITIONING - A second fermentation occurring in vats with live yeast still present.

PAPAIN - A derivative of the papaya plant which stops the formation of chill haze in beer by preventing certain proteins from coming together.

PASTEURIZATION - Intense heat is applied to a product to stop the growth of micro-organisms; it also stops fermentation and adds to shelf life of a product.

PLATO - A measurement of specific gravity of extract weight in a 110 gram sample at consistent temperature of 64 degrees F. It is always expressed as a percentage.

PRIMING - A process at bottling where fermentable sugars are added to the beer to create another fermentation in the bottle. Also called bottle-conditioning.

RACKING - The transfer of beer to bottles, kegs and cans.

REAL ALE - A term of unpasteurized, unfiltered, keg-conditioned ales which finish in the pubs of England. They are hand-pumped rather than pressurized which would stop the on going maturation. Young's Brewery in London is known for excellent examples of this kind of ale.

REINHEITSGEBOT - The German purity law of 1516 which specifies that beer can contain only water, yeast, barley and hops.

SACCHAROMETER - A device which measures sugar concentrations by finding the specific gravity of a solution.

SECONDARY FERMENTATION - A slower, second stage fermentation for both top and bottom fermented beers which can last from a couple of weeks to months depending upon the beer.

SEDIMENTS - Solid matter that precipitates out during the brewing process and settles to the bottom of brewing vessels.

SIX ROW BARLEY - A brewing barley with six row grain. It's yield is less than two row barley due to thinner grain and a thicker husk.

SPARGING - Done at the end of the mashing process to retrieve any malt sugars left in the grain. It is done by spraying the spent barley with hop water.

SPENT GRAINS - The remains of the barley left after the mash. Generally sold to farms as cattle feed.

SPENT HOPS - The process by which hard barley grains are soaked in water until they soften. The conditions are rigidly controlled and carried out in stages with rests in between.

TUNNEL PASTEURIZATION - Process by which cans and bottles go through a tunnel like pasteurizer in which they are sprayed with hot water, this process can take as long as an hour.

TWO ROW BARLEY - The ideal brewing barley because it is plumper with more material for the brewing process and the husk is thinner.

YEAST - The microscopic, cellular organisms whose respiratory cycle is the cause of fermentation of beer. There are some 500 + strains identified plus many wild strains. They can mutate quickly and are the reason sterility of equipment is so important to a brewer.