📖 Helpful Terms

Beer vocabulary, in plain English

ABVtastingAlcohol By Volume — the strength, as a percentage. Light session beers run ~4%; big IPAs and Belgians can top 9%. Higher isn't better, just stronger.

IBUtastingInternational Bitterness Units — a rough measure of hop bitterness. A lager might be 15–25; a bold IPA 60+. It's a guide, not a taste score.

BodytastingHow heavy or full the beer feels in your mouth — from light and watery to full and creamy. Driven by malt, alcohol, and unfermented sugars.

HeadtastingThe layer of foam on top of a poured beer. It traps aroma and looks inviting; a good head is a sign of a lively, well-poured beer.

LacingtastingThe rings of foam left clinging to the glass as you drink. Pretty lacing is a small mark of a well-made, well-poured beer.

MouthfeeltastingThe physical texture of a beer — its body, carbonation, warmth, and creaminess. How it feels, as opposed to how it tastes.

FinishtastingThe flavor that lingers after you swallow. Beers finish anywhere from bone-dry and crisp to sweet and lingering.

BalancetastingThe interplay of malt sweetness and hop bitterness. A balanced beer has neither running away with it; some styles lean one way on purpose.

SessionabletastingLow enough in alcohol (roughly under 5%) that you can enjoy a few over an afternoon — a "session" — without being knocked out.

SkunkedtastingA beer gone "light-struck" — sunlight reacting with hops creates a skunky smell. Why beer comes in brown bottles or cans; store it dark and cold.

OxidizedtastingStale from too much air or age — hoppy beers turn papery/cardboard-like and lose their bright aroma. Fresh is best, especially for IPAs.

MaltingredientsGerminated, kilned grain (usually barley) — beer's backbone. It supplies the sugar for fermentation and flavors from bread and caramel to coffee and chocolate.

HopsingredientsThe green flowers that give beer its bitterness and aroma — citrus, pine, floral, or tropical. They balance the malt's sweetness and act as a preservative.

YeastingredientsThe microbe that ferments sugar into alcohol and CO₂. It also creates flavor — the banana of a hefeweizen and the spice of a saison come from yeast.

AdjunctingredientsAny fermentable besides malted barley — corn, rice, wheat, oats, fruit, honey. Some lighten a beer; craft brewers use them for flavor and texture.

WortingredientsThe sweet, unfermented "beer tea" of malt sugars and water, made before the yeast is added. Pronounced "wert." Fermentation turns wort into beer.

AlestylesBeer made with warm-fermenting yeast, giving fruity, expressive flavors. The big family: IPAs, pale ales, stouts, wheat beers, and Belgians.

LagerstylesBeer made with cold-fermenting yeast and a long, cool conditioning, coming out clean and crisp. Pilsner, Helles, and Märzen are lagers.

IPAstylesIndia Pale Ale — a hop-forward ale, from bitter-and-piney (West Coast) to soft-and-juicy (Hazy). The banner style of American craft beer.

Stout & PorterstylesDark ales made with roasted malt — chocolate and coffee notes. Porter is a touch smoother; stout a touch more roasty. (Guinness is a stout.)

Craft BeerstylesBeer from a small, independent brewery focused on flavor and traditional styles, rather than mass-market volume. The heart of the modern beer world.

ReinheitsgebotstylesThe German "purity law" of 1516 that limited beer to water, barley, and hops (yeast came later). Still a badge of tradition for German brewers.

Dry-HoppingbrewingAdding hops late, after the boil, for big aroma without extra bitterness. It's what gives hazy IPAs their juicy, tropical nose.

Gravity / OGbrewingA measure of the sugar in the wort before fermenting (Original Gravity). Higher gravity generally means a bigger, stronger beer.

Cask / Real AleservingUnfiltered beer that finishes conditioning in the cask it's served from, poured by hand pump at cellar temperature. Soft, gentle carbonation — a British tradition.

NitroservingBeer poured with nitrogen instead of CO₂, giving a creamy, cascading head and a silky-smooth body. The classic pour for a dry stout.

Draft / On TapservingBeer served from a keg rather than a bottle or can — usually the freshest way to drink it. "Draught" is the same word.

Growler / CrowlerservingContainers for taking draft beer home — a growler is a refillable jug (often 64 oz); a crowler is a big single-use can filled and sealed at the bar.

FlightservingA set of small pours tasted side by side, usually around a theme — exactly how our monthly tastings are run.

PintservingThe standard glass of beer — 16 oz in the U.S., 20 oz (an "imperial pint") in the U.K. Tasting pours are much smaller, so you can sample many.

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