BREWING TERMINOLOGY

AAU (ALPHA ACID UNIT): A measurement of the potential bitterness of hops expressed in terms of their percentage of alpha acid
content. A low AAU would be in the 2 – 4 range, medium would be in the 5 – 7 range and high would be in the 8 – 12 AAU range.
AAU ranges are given for the acid unit content in one ounce of hops.

ACETIC ACID: weak acid found in vinegar. In beer or winemaking, it forms through the oxidation of alcohols during the
fermentation process when the wine or beer is exposed to oxygen, giving the wine or beer a vinegar smell and taste.

ACID BLEND: A combination of malic, tartaric, and citric acid. These components will be necessary additions to juices that are
lacking in these compounds. Use of an acid testing kit will indicate required additions of this blend, or make use of standard
recipes available.

ADJUNCT: Any substitute unmalted grain or fermentable ingredient added o the mash in order to produce specialized beer, or a
lighter, paler, and less malty beer. Examples include wheat, oats, rye, corn, flaked rice, and inverted sugar.

AIRLOCK (FERMENTATION LOCK): In homebrewing and winemaking, a one way valve, usually made of glass or plastic, fitted into
centrally pierced cork or rubber bung, and attached to the mouth of the carboy to allow carbon dioxide gas to escape from the
carboy while excluding ambient wild yeasts, bacteria, and other contaminants generally associated with prolonged exposure to air.

BENTONITE: clay mined in the United States primarily used for clarifying (fining) of wine.

BLOW-OFF TUBE: A 1-inch tube fitted into the mouth of a carboy when using the carboy for the initial fermenting vessel. The tube
allows the primary fermentation froth to escape into the tube and become extracted at the opposite end of the tube, which is put
into water and creates an airlock.

BUNG: The rubber or plastic seal into which the fermentation lock (airlock) is fitted.

CALCIUM SULFATE: The technical name given for gypsum, a mineral salt that imparts hardness to soft water.

CAMPDEN TABLETS: These perform the same tasks as Potassium Metabisulfate, only in solid form

CAPPER: A general name for instruments used for capping and/or sealing beer bottles, usually with crown caps.
CARBOY: A large, narrow necked glass, plastic, or earthenware bottle sometimes encased in wicker, plastic, or wooden frame.
Glass carboys like the ones used in homebrewing and winemaking are most commonly used

CHILL HAZE: Haziness caused by a combination of precipitation of protein matter and tannin molecules during the secondary
process of fermentation. It becomes visible when beers or wines are chilled. In beer making, it can be eliminated through the
addition of ploycar and tannins can be removed with silica gel..

CORKER: Any device used to insert a cork into the neck of a bottle.

CORN SUGAR: Refined sugar derived from cornstarch.

DEXTROSE: Refined corn sugar

DME (DRY MALT EXTRACT: Malt extract in dry powdered form as opposed to liquid or syrup malt.

DRY HOPPING: The addition of loose hops to the primary or secondary fermentor [when the wort has cooled to 75 degrees] .
Added to casked beer to increase the aroma and hop character of the finished beer without significantly affecting its bitterness.
Home brewers most often add 50-60 grams of hops per 5-gallon batch of beer most often in the secondary fermentation stage.

ENOLOGY: The study of wine and winemaking

FALSE BOTTOM: A perforated plate or screen set between 1/8 and 2 inches above the bottom of the lauter tun to separate grain
from the mash liquor during sparging

FERMENTATION: The conversion of sugar to alcohol and carbon dioxide by yeast. Many of the flavors of the wine are created
during this process.

FERMENTOR: A generic name for any open or closed vessel in which primary or secondary fermentation takes place. Examples
are plastic buckets, glass carboys, and conical fermentors.

FINING: The traditional method of clarifying wine components and precipitate to reduce the tannin or remove unstable proteins

GRAIN MILL: A device used to crush grain into small pieces and to separate the grain from the husk. Grain mills use hammers
and rotating plates or rollers to pulverize the interior of the grain while leaving the husk largely intact.

GYPSUM: Hydrated calcium sulfate used in the treatment of soft water or neutral water to soften it.

HYDROMETER: Sometimes referred to as a triple scale hydrometer, a glass instrument used for measuring specific gravity of
liquids as compared to that of water, consisting of a graduated stem encased on a weighted float. Most hydrometers are
calibrated for use at 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The accuracy of the hydrometer is tested in water at 60 degrees Fahrenheit where it
should read .000

HYDROMETER JAR: A tall cylindrical, transparent glass or plastic jar in which the liquid to be measured is poured. The hydrometer
is then floated in the liquid and spun to dislodge adhering bubbles. The reading is taken at the water line.

IRISH MOSS: A red seaweed added during the last minutes of the boiling process to help clear the beer by causing haze-forming
substances to coagulate and settle out.

KRAEUSEN: The rocky or cauliflower heads or foam that appear on the surface of the wort during the first days of fermentation.
Then they reach their peak, they are called high kraeusen.

LAGER: A generic term for any beer produced by bottom fermentation as opposed to top fermenting ales. True lagers are matured
(laagered) in cold storage for 1-3 months and sometimes longer. Most lagers tend to be crisper, drier, and less alcoholic than
ales. Lager yeasts are available in dry or liquid form.

LAUTER TUN: A large vessel with a false slotted bottom and a drain spigot in which the mash is allowed to settle and the sweet
wort is removed from the grains through a straining process. In smaller breweries and in the infusion system, the mash tun is
used for both masing and lautering.

LEES: Deposit of dead yeast cells that fall to the bottom of a fermenting vessel after wine has been fermented. Normally the wine
is transferred to another container leaving this sediment behind.

LIQUOR: The name given in the brewing industry to water used for mashing and brewing.

LOVIBOND: The scale on which malt, wort, and beer color are usually measured. The lower the lovibond, the lighter the color.

MALOLACTIC FERMENTATION: The bacterial conversion of the crisper, apple type malic acid to the softer milk type lactic acid in
wine. Also call ML or secondary fermentation, this acid conversion yields wines with increased complexity and softer acidity.

MALT: Processed barley that has been steeped in water, germinated on malting floors or in germination boxes and later dried in
kilns for the purpose of converting the insoluble starch in barley to the soluble substances and sugars in malt.

MALT EXTRACT: A thick, sugary syrup or dry powder prepared from malt. Basically, it is sweet wort reduced to syrup or powder
form by removing most or all of the water by a low vacuum evaporation.

MASH: A mixture of the ground barley malt and hot water that forms the sweet wort after straining.

MASH TUN: A large vessel for holding the mash, usually made of copper, brass, or stainless steel. The mash tuns used for
infusion mashing are fitted with a perforated false bottom and a system of pipes for drawing off the wort and sparging machinery
for washing the spent grains. Mash tuns used for decoction mashing are fitted with a propeller or stirrer at the rounded bottom and
have a dome with a sliding door and a chimney for the evaporation of the steam at the top.

MASH TUN RAKE: A rake that claws to cut and remove dregs.

MUST: The skins, seeds, and juice of crushed grapes. Red wine is fermented as must and white wine is pressed and fermented
as juice.

PECTIC ENZYME: Fruits and honeys contain pectins. Although not harmful in any way, they will cause your wine to become cloudy
as a result of their presence. Pectic enzyme helps to break down this enzyme, and give you clear and brilliant wine.

PH: Abbreviation for Potential Hydrogen, used to express the degree of acidity and alkalinity in an aqueous solution, usually on a
scale of 1-14

PH METER: An instrument with a digital display that measures the PH of a solution. The device must be calibrated with a solution
of known PH. A properly calibrated PH meter is more accurate than PH paper because visual comparison of colors is not required.

PH TEST STRIPS: Chemically treated strips used to measure the PH of a solution. The strips change color in response to the
acidity or alkalinity of a solution.

PITCHING: The addition of yeast to the wort once it has cooled down to a minimum of 75-80 degrees.

POLYCLAR: A fining agent used in beer to eliminate chill-haze. A plastic based protein based reducing agent. In wine, it is used to
reduce oxidation or browning.

POTASSIUM SORBATE (SORBISTAT K): Potassium sorbate is used to prevent renewed fermentation. It will not, however, stop an
active ferment. Use it when sugar is added to sweeten an already fermented wine or when adding fruit flavors to add dimension to
your wines.

PRIMING SUGAR: Corn sugar or dry malt added in small amounts prior to bottling to induce a new fermentation in the bottle and
thusly create carbonation. Home brewers use about ¾ to 1cup of priming sugar to a 5 gallon batch of beer.

PROOF & TRALLE METER HYDROMETER: A hydrometer whose express purpose is to measure the amount of alcohol in a
solution. Generally, the hydrometer will have 2 scales to reflect alcohol content, and to show the proof of a solution.

RACKING: The gravity-siphoning or gentle pumping of the clear wine or juice off the lees for clarifying. Often used as a gentle
alternative to filtering and to aid the wine’s maturation.

RACKING TUBE: A u-shaped tube of rigid plastic with an inlet approximately 1.5 inches above the bottom and used with a siphon
to draw off beer or wine from the fermentor vessel wile leaving the dregs behind.

REFRACTOMETER: An instrument designed for measuring a refractive index. In the vineyard, this index is sugar, hence the
instrument measures sugar content found in grape must. The term generally used for sugar content is brix.

SPARGER: A device used to deliver an evenly dispersed spray of water over the grain bed in the lauter tun. This device can be
perforated pipe, a sprinkler head attached to a piece of tubing, a watering can diffuser, or a manufactured sparging unit. It is used
to wash the soluble sugars from the grain bed. A fine spray is employed to make sure the grain bed is not disturbed during a
sparging.

SPECIFIC GRAVITY: The measure of the density of a liquid as compared to tah of water, which is given the value of 1.000. As
sugars in beer wort and wine musts are converted to alcohol by yeast conversion, the liquid becomes less dense, therefore a
lower gravity reading.

SULFITES: Sulfur based compounds used to protect wine from oxidation and bacterial activity

TANNIN: The group of astringent and bitter compounds found in the seeds and skins of grapes which slow oxidation and promote
aging.

TARTARIC ACID: The most common acid found in grapes

TARTRATE CRYSTALS: The primary acid in grapes form tiny crystals when chilled. These crystals adhere to the cork, or form
sediment in the bottle, and are not considered ad effect.

THERMOMETER: A device used for measuring temperature. Thermometers specifically designed for brewers and wine makers
are normally calibrated from –0 to 110 degrees Celsius, or 14-230 degrees Fahrenheit. They are filled with alcohol rather than
mercury so that in case of breakage, they will not contaminate the beer or wine.

VINIFICATION: The process of making wine

WORT: The bittersweet sugar solution obtained by mashing the malt and boiling it in the hops before it is fermented into beer.

WORT CHILLER: An apparatus to cool down the wort rapidly that is generally made of copper

YEAST AUTOLYSIS: The breakdown of yeast during the aging on the lees in which compounds are released that heighten the
sensory qualities of the wine and increase its complexity.

YEAST ENERGIZER: A vitamin and mineral supplement for brewing yeast used to accelerate its growth.

YEAST NUTRIENT: The elements essential to the life and growth of yeast cells, which include oxygen, carbon, nitrogen,
phosphorous, sulfur, all of which are normally present in wort or must.

ZYMOLOGY: The science and study of fermentation
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