Home Brewing - Terminology Made Simple

Sometimes the thing that scares some people off from trying to make
their own homemade beer is that they skim the internet and see some
very fancy terms and words that they don't recognize, and they
immediately begin to wonder if they're just not scientifically
savvy enough to make beer.

Don't fret. Making beer is technically a chemical process, but so
is cooking. Chefs need to learn certain terms to do their jobs
correctly and to be able to follow recipes, but they learn these
terms quickly and easily. When it comes to homemade brew, you can
do the same. Here are some examples of the most common terms one
might come across in the field of making beer.

Adjunct - This is just an additive that you put into your mixture
in addition to the malts you use for creating the liquid that will
become beer.

Aerate - When your liquid is fermenting, this is the yeast you've
added eating up the sugars in your liquid to create alcohol.
Usually this happens in an airtight container. To aerate simply
means to introduce air into this liquid in a controlled way to help
the yeast do its job quicker.

Carboy - This is just a large jug or pail that you put your liquid
in to let it ferment and turn to alcohol. Many home brewers use
the term fermentation container, but of course carboy is easier to
spell! The two are really one and the same.

Original Gravity, Final Gravity - You know whether or not your beer
is actually beer by testing the density of the liquid with a little
instrument called a hydrometer, which looks a lot like a
thermometer. The gravity of the liquid refers to its density.
Most recipes will tell you what the original gravity should be,
meaning when you first put the liquid in the fermentation
containers, and the final gravity, or when you know it's done and
finally turned into beer. Don't be put off by these terms; taking
the measurement of the gravity of the liquid is just as easy as
taking the temperature of anything else.

Pitching - This refer to the addition of yeast to the fermenting
liquid; you don't add yeast, you "pitch" yeast.

These are of course just a handful of terms that are very common in
the homebrew industry, and you can see how a simple explanation
makes them not so frightening. Brewing your own beer is actually a
very simple, very easy process and one that many people are finding
to be the most enjoyable hobby they've ever taken up!

www.BetterYourBrewing.com