| Adjunct | Any fermentable material other than malted barley. |
| Alpha Acid | The soft, bitter hop resin that is responsible for the bitterness of beer. Measured as a percentage of the total weight of the hop cone. |
| Diacetyl | A compound produced by yeast as a normal product of fermentation. At proper levels, diacetyl is an essential flavor component of some beer styles. A clearly detectable level of diacetyl may indicate poor brewing practices. It is perceived as a buttery or butterscotch flavor.. |
| DME | Dried malt extract. |
| EBC | European Brewing Convention colour scale. Sometimes referred to as COL. |
| Final gravity (F.G.) | The specific gravity of a beer after fermentation is complete. Usually temperature corrected. Also see Estimating FG. |
| Gelatinisation | Cooking insoluble starch (cereal grains and vegetable starches) so that it becomes soluble and vunerable to enzyme degradation. Those that require cooking should be boiled in a thin porridge for 30 minutes before adding to the mash. See Gelatinization Temperatures for adjuncts. |
| Mashing | The process of combining the ground malt with water. Mashing is performed at either a constant temperature, or a series of rising temperatures, depending on the brewing equipment, the raw materials being used, and the type of beer being brewed. The mashing process determines the composition of the wort. |
| Orignal gravity (O.G.) | The specific gravity of a wort prior to fermentation. Usually temperature corrected. |
| Saison | A type of Belgian Ale, pale in color, with a high carbonation level and an abundance of fruity esters. May be spiced. |
| Vorlauf | The vorlauf is the initial run of wort before the sparging begins. It is returned to the top of the grain bed in the lauter tun until there is a clear run of sweet wort. |
| Water | One of the four ingredients of beer. The only requirement for water used in brewing is that it be drinkable. Chemically speaking, brewing water should be non-alkaline and of a certain hardness, prerequisites easily attained with the proper treatment. |
| Wort | The liquid malt extract that is filtered from the mash during lautering. A sweet, amber colored, clear liquid, wort is basically food for the yeast. |
| Yeast | One of the four ingredients of beer. Yeast is a single cell organism whose metabolism converts the sugars contained in the malt into alcohol and carbon dioxide. One species, Saccharomyces cerevisiae is used to make ale, and another, Saccharomyces carlsbergensis, is used to make lager. |
| Zymurgy | The science of fermentation. |
TIME FOR A BEER!!
