Hops, water, yeast and grains – what else is there to know? A lot, as this list of some of brewing’s most common terms reveals.
For a drink that’s essentially made from four key ingredients, beer sure gets complicated. There’s a reason why so many scientists, engineers and other very clever people tend to find their way into brewing – it’s an excellent way to use the technical side of their brains while also doing something creative and delicious.
Like most things, the deeper you dig into the world of beer, the more it can feel like there’s so much more to know. But speaking the lingo can help you out – both in your research and in the bottle shop – so here we run through some of the most common brewing terms, styles and descriptors you might encounter. For our best, unsolicited advice on really putting it all into practice, we suggest lingering a little longer in the beer aisle and picking up something you haven’t tried before – then just pop back here whenever you stumble across a term you don’t understand.
ABV: stands for ‘alcohol by volume’ and measures the amount of alcohol in a drink – most beers sit somewhere between 4% and 6% ABV, but they can, and do, go both lower and higher
Ale: all beers are either ale or lager – the difference between the two isn’t a simple answer, but (among other things) it comes down to the types of yeast used to ferment them. It helps to remember that ales are commonly stronger in flavour than lager.
Barley: a type of grain (all beer is made from grain) often used as a base malt in beer production
Barley wine: a strong ale that tends to fall between 6% to 12% ABV
Bitterness: a key character of beer’s flavour, you’ll see this on labels a lot (for example, ‘low bitterness’ or ‘bitter finish’) – a beer’s bitterness level is often determined by the type of hops used (see IBU)
Body: as with wine, this refers to how the beer feels in the mouth, ranging from thin or light to medium and full-bodied
Boiling: one of the key steps in the brewing process, where the unfermented beer (see ‘wort’) is boiled inside the brew kettle
Bottom fermentation: the alcoholic fermentation process when yeast cells fall to the bottom of the vessel, commonly associated with lagers (see ‘fermentation’)
Brettanomyces: also known as brett, this is a type of yeast that creates distinctive flavours in beer, such as leather, barnyard and funk. Certain styles are celebrated for these traits, but they’re considered undesirable in others. Brett can also appear in wine, where it’s mostly seen as a fault.
Brewpub: a pub that brews its own beer
Brown ale: a beer style ranging in colour from amber to dark brown, spanning from caramel, malty and nutty flavours to sweeter, drier traits
Can: the aluminium tin that holds beer, which has experienced a revival in recent years
Carbon dioxide: the gas that gives beer its fizz, or carbonation
Carbonation: the process of giving beer its bubbles, which can be produced in various ways during the brewing process
Cicerone: a beer expert, like a sommelier for beer, who has gained official Cicerone accreditation
Conditioning: part of the brewing process where the fermented beer is aged for varying lengths of time after the initial fermentation. This may be done in bottles, or even barrels in some cases.
Draught: beer traditionally served on tap, via a cask or keg, in bars, pubs and other venues. Despite the definition, you’ll also find the term used for some packaged styles, perhaps the best-known being Carlton Draught.
Dry hopping: when hops are added late in the brewing process, which increases the hoppy aromatics in a brew but not necessarily its bitterness levels
Fermentation: the process that turns beer’s ingredients into alcohol (see ‘top fermentation’ and ‘bottom fermentation’)
Filtration: the step in the brewing process that removes solid matter from beer to make it clear
Fining: a filtration method where a clarifying agent is added to the brew, such as isinglass, gelatin or silica gel
Fresh hopping: see ‘wet hopping’
Growler: a type of bottle with a handle used for beer that’s often sold at brewpubs or breweries for their takeaways
Hazy IPA: a popular style of IPA that’s cloudy, or hazy, in appearance (see ‘IPA’)
Hops: one of the key ingredients in beer, giving it a distinctive bitterness, aroma and flavour. There are many different hops, all with their own traits, and many beer labels shout their hops out with pride. A few types of hops you might see in your travels include Cascade, Saaz, Citra, Chinook, Amarillo and more.
Hoppy: a common descriptor for beer styles that show a lot of hops, which can translate to higher levels of bitterness, as well as fruity, floral aromas
Humulus Lupulus: one to remember for pub trivia, this is the official name of the plant that hops comes from – hops are the flowers or cones of this plant
IBU: stands for ‘International Bitterness Unit’ and measures a beer’s bitterness level. Though the IBU scale can be a good starting point to help you find beers you like, it’s important to remember that malt and other flavours can mask bitterness, so something with a high IBU can sometimes taste less bitter than something with a low IBU.
IPA: India Pale Ale is a strongly hopped beer style that’s said to have been created to last the sea voyage from England to India back in the day
Lager: all beers are either an ale or lager – the difference between the two isn’t a simple answer, but (among other things) it comes down to the types of yeast used to ferment them. It helps to remember that lagers tend to be lighter in style than ales.
Lambic beer: originally from Belgium, lambics can be almost cider-like in flavour and commonly go through wild yeast fermentation
Light-struck: one of the ways in which beers can be damaged, when it’s exposed to UV light for prolonged periods of time
Malt: one of the key ingredients in beer, providing the sugar that is turned into alcohol in the brewing process
Mash: the name of the porridge-like mix of crushed grains and water, which is a critical step in the brewing process (see ‘mashing’)
Mashing: the start of the brewing process, where grains are mixed with hot water, which is where the sugars and proteins develop
Middy: the term that folks in NSW and WA use to refer to a 285mL beer glass. To make things confusing, in QLD, VIC and TAS they refer to this size as a ‘pot’, in ACT they call it a ‘half-pint’, and, most confusingly of all, in SA they call it a ‘schooner’.
Mid strength: refers to beers that are lighter in alcohol, sitting at around 3% ABV
Nitrogen: a gas that can be added to beer as a form of carbonation to create a smoother, creamier beer; Guinness is a classic example
Non-alcoholic: often referred to as zero% alcohol, refers to beers that contain no more than 0.5% ABV
Pale ale: a popular beer style that tends to have a malty profile and light, floral aromas
Pilsner: a traditional beer style that is a type of lager, often with a mild spicy quality
Pint: in Australia, this generally refers to an imperial pint, which is a 570mL beer glass. An American pint, however, is 470mL. And for some reason, South Australia do their own thing, and they use ‘pint’ to refer to a 425mL glass.
Pony: a 140mL beer glass, also known as a ‘quarter-pint’, that’s often used for a line-up of beers on a tasting paddle
Porter: a dark beer style that’s brewed with malted barley and often a little lighter in colour and flavour than a stout
Pot: see ‘middy’
Saison: a type of pale ale that’s fruity, spicy and often more carbonated than other styles
Schooner: a 425mL beer glass – except for South Australia, where they call it a ‘pint’, just to keep everyone on their toes
Session beer: a broad term for an approachable beer style that’s not too high in alcohol
Sour beer: a type of beer that comes in many styles, but generally sour in taste and often made with wild yeasts and bacteria. Among them are kettle sours, which are commonly made with lactobacillus in a stainless steel mash tun, but other styles go into barrels.
Strong ale: a type of ale with a higher ABV that generally sits around 7% to 11%
Stout: a dark beer style that’s brewed with unmalted roasted barley – often darker in colour and flavour than a porter
Stubby: a 375mL bottle of beer
Tank: the most common vessel used in breweries to ferment and produce beer
Tap: draught beer is poured from taps behind the bar in pubs and other venues
Tinnie: another name for a can of beer
Top fermentation: the alcoholic fermentation process when yeast cells rise to the top of the vessel, commonly associated with ales (see ‘fermentation’)
Tun: a mash tun is the insulated chamber used to create wort by mixing grains and water in the brewing process
Water: well, you know what water is, but did you know it’s one of the key ingredients in beer?
Wet hopping: when freshly harvested hops are added to the brewing process at any point, but generally earlier than dry hopping, to build a beer’s flavour and aroma
Wheat beer: made from at least 50% wheat, wheat beer is generally pale, cloudy, light and refreshing with fruity flavours
Wort: unfermented beer; the liquid that comes from the mashing process when grains are mixed with water
