Beer Terms

By Amy Sherman For MIBrew Trail

New to the Michigan craft beer scene? Welcome! It can be a bit intimidating at first to stare down a 50 plus tap list at your local watering hole and have no idea what kind of beer to order, or what half the descriptions even mean. Understanding a few basic terms can go a long way to making your craft beer experience extra enjoyable. We are here to help. First and foremost, if you are at a Michigan brewery, and have a question about a beer, ask it! Brewery employees are typically well trained in the beers that they are serving and are more than happy to help guide you along. They want you to find a beer that you like. That guy you just sat down next to at the bar? He is probably also super into beer, and almost always would love to talk about it. The girl you just met with the “Drink Local” shirt on? She is your new best friend, and beer educator. The beer community is truly a welcoming group, so do not be shy. We will start off with the terms that are the basic of basics, and that just makes them all the more important to know. These are the building blocks of what makes that liquid in your glass, and some of the most common terms you might find on a beer menu. We have also included some terms that are a little more advanced, and a few that might stump even a seasoned craft beer drinker. Everybody can use a little more knowledge, right? So read on and get ready for better drinking.

Better drinking: craft beer terms to know

Flights are an ideal way for a newcomer to sample the varieties of beer offered by Michigan craft brewers. (Natalie Jeffcott/Via Getty Images)

Check out Hearst’s newest brand showcasing Michigan Breweries at MiBrewTrail.com.

CRAFT BEER class is in session

This might seem extra basic, because you might be thinking that all beer is considered ale, but that’s not the case. Beer is divided into two categories, ale and lager. These aren’t styles, like a porter or a pale ale. The difference between an ale and a lager is determined by the type of yeast used to brew the beer, as well as the temperature and time it takes the beer to ferment. An ale is made with a top-fermenting yeast that does its best work at warmer temperatures, think between 60- and 78-degrees Fahrenheit. An ale typically is a richer, more full-flavored beer. You might catch notes of the yeast used in these beers. Most of the craft beer you will be drinking in Michigan is an ale. They are quicker to brew, and require no special cold storage, which means that for most breweries they are not only more practical, but also more economical. They are also delicious, and incredibly varied in flavor. Everything from IPA’s to stouts are typically ales.

Ale

The polar opposite of a session beer, high gravity ales clock in with a bit of a punch and need to be consumed with a sense of caution and control. These are the big dogs, the beers that are coming in at extra high ABV’s, like over 8% or so. Where does the term “high gravity” come from? It reflects part of the brewing process, when the wort (which is the original little blend of malt and water that gets cooking to start the beer making process) gets its gravity measured. Gravity reflects the amount of alcohol that the resulting beer will have, and it is referred to in degrees of Plato. A high gravity beer would have a wort that measures over 14 degrees Plato. That is a lot of technical, brewing mumble jumble. What you really need to know is that if a beer is labeled high gravity (and these styles might include Belgian tripels, barley wines or German style bocks) it is going to be a boozy beast. Sip slowly and savor the deep rich flavor that these beers usually have.

High gravity ale

While it is not by design, the craft beer scene can sometimes be overwhelming without some understanding of the basics. (Getty Images/File Photo)

Lagers are kind of the holy grail to brewers in a sense. Brewed with a bottom fermenting yeast, they take time and skill to pull off successfully. Not only do you need special refrigeration to get your beer down to the proper temperature for fermentation (between 48 and 58 degrees), but a lager beer also takes extra time to reach perfection. Time equals money in the brewing world, so while light lagers are the kings of the macro beer world, they are harder to find from small breweries, but worth seeking out. The beauty of a real, well-crafted lager beer is in the crisp, clean results. With nothing to hide behind, a lager can show off the true talents of the brewer.

Lager

This is one you really want to pay attention to, so you do not get surprised a few drinks in. ABV stands for alcohol by volume, which will tell you just how boozy your beer is. If you are unfamiliar with ABV, a typical mass market beer, like a Bud or Miller Lite, clock in at around 5% ABV. Craft beers can range all over the place, from a nice light session beer that might be an easy drinking 3.5%, to big barrel aged beauties that could go upwards of 12%. The higher the ABV, the quicker you’ll be feeling alright, alright, alright.

ABV

Still referencing the ABV, session ales are the lower alcohol versions of your favorite styles. These might pop in at around a mere 4% ABV, for extremely crushable beers. Sometimes lovingly referred to as “lawnmower beers” these are ones you can drink all day, and still maintain. Increasingly popular, you have probably heard of top session beers like Founder’s All Day IPA, and Bell’s Light Hearted. Also, check out the new Little Piglet from New Holland Brewing.

Session ale

This term seems simple at the onset but becomes a bit more complicated as you explore assorted styles. IBU stands for International Bittering Units and is a chemical way to measure how bitter a beer might be. Hops, one of the four basic ingredients in beer, determine the IBUs, and the resulting yummy bitterness. IBU’s can run from a standard macro beer like a Bud Light that comes in at a super low 6 IBU’s to infinity. Since everyone’s taste buds are different, IBU’s should be used just as a basic guideline. There are many other factors that come into play with perceived bitterness. A double IPA might be listed as registering 90 IBUs but might taste less bitter than a pale ale that comes in at 55 IBUs. A great beer is all about balance, and that double IPA offsets all those hoppy notes with the addition of more sweet malt. Brewers use IBU’s as a technical way to measure where a beer falls on the scale, your personal taste buds will determine how you perceive the IBU’s.

IBU

This the building block of all beer, literally the base ingredient right after water. Malt can refer to any toasted cereal grain, from barley, to wheat, oats, or rye. The malt is dried, then sprinkled with water to cause germination, and then toasted. The malt can be toasted to a light golden color to be used in pale ales, or to a chocolate brown color to be used in beers like stouts and porters. When boiled in water, malt creates the necessary sugars and enzymes needed to make beer. Most beers are based on barley, but you will find specific examples of other grains being used. Ever hear of Bell’s Oberon? That beer is brewed with wheat. Soon to open Brewery Nyx in Grand Rapids will be Michigan’s first gluten-free brewery, they will be using grains like amaranth and quinoa to brew their beers.

Malt

Another of the essential building blocks of a beer, hops join water, malt and yeast to create the fermented liquid that we all love. The gorgeous green cones of the Humulus lupulus plant create that perfect balance of bitterness to offset the base sweetness set by the malt. Not only do hops create flavor, they also are the main source of aroma for a beer, a key role to play. The beautiful thing about hops is that there are like a thousand different varieties, and each and every one offers completely unique flavor and aroma profiles. You might see things on a beer menu referring to Citra hops (grapefruit and citrus notes), Chinook (pine), Saaz (classic spice), or my favorite hop, Amarillo (flowerly, citrusy). Some beers might only use one type of hops, while most get the addition of multiple varieties. Hops can be added at multiple stages of the brew process, with different results at each stage. If you want to spark a conversation at your local brewery, just bring up hops, and you will instantly be in the thick of things.

Hops

Hops are an essential building block of beer and the fermentation process. (Amy Sherman/For MiBrew Trail)

Yeast is a wily wild card in the brewing process, eating up the sugars from the malt, and spitting out alcohol and carbon dioxide. Without it, you would be drinking a sad soup. With it, you have got a fizzy, tasty alcoholic beverage. There are two styles of yeast, ale and lager. And just like hops, there are all sorts of different yeasts to use in brewing, and each imparts its own flavors to the beer. If you are interested in really getting into yeast, I recommend grabbing some Belgian style ales to try, like some of Brewery Vivant’s offerings. Those distinct flavors, like clove, banana, and spice are derived from their use of yeast. We even have a local Michigan yeast culture that is available for brewers from the Houghton based Craft Cultures. Owner (and microbiologist) Emily Geiger collects wild yeast from around the U.P., and then purifies the strain for use in brewing. Stormcloud Brewing, New Holland and Rockford Brewing are just some who have used her local yeasts in beers.

Yeast

This term is used in two ways in the brewing world. A barrel is a wooden vessel that is used to age beer (or other liquids) in. They can be brand new wood, or wood that has already held a liquid, like bourbon. The barrel imparts special flavor to the beer, and they can also be inoculated to cause fermentation to happen. The other use of the term barrel is as a standard of measurement. A barrel is equal to 31 gallons. When discussing the size of a brewery, or an expansion in their equipment, it is usually referenced as the number of barrels that they can or have produced. For example, mid-size Brewery Vivant in Grand Rapids produces around 6,000 barrels of beer a year, while Bells is over 500,000 barrels. Other fun terms with barrels: the bung is the stopper that gets pounded into the bung hole, which is the round hole on the side of the barrel.

Barrels

The original beer “soup” so to say, wort is the very start of a beer. When the water is combined with the malt, hops are added, and the mixture is boiled, the resulting liquid is wort. If you tasted it at this stage, it would be sweet, slightly bitter, and totally flat. After the yeast gets added, the wort starts to ferment, and eventually, you have beer.

Wort

The understanding of beer terminology can help beer enthusiasts understand the reason behind the differences of a stout to an IPA. (Christopher Ames/Via Getty Images)

This term refers to super rare or hard to find beers. When one acquires one of these gems, it is cause for celebration, and of course, beer bragging. A white whale is the rarest of rare beers, ones that people will search for, wait for days in line for, and make ridiculous trades for. I always wonder if there is as much satisfaction in drinking a white whale, as there is finding them and then letting everyone know about it.

Whale

Seriously, what are they talking about with these?

With the onslaught of beer apps that help you keep track of what you have tasted, there is also the new sport of ‘ticking’. This refers to getting to check off a beer on your list on apps like UNTAPPD. Create your bucket list of brews, then start ticking them off. I’ll be honest here, I stopped using UNTAPPD years ago, when I had reached level 42 for early morning riser and was feeling a little self-conscious. Trust me, it was just because I did a lot of morning television spots. Maybe.

Ticking

Part of a series of certifications for beer and hospitality professionals that shows they have reached certain levels of knowledge about the serving, making, and tasting of beer. It is seriously a pretty cool way to prove your beer knowledge, and it can also be serious as you move through the different levels. The first level is ‘Certified Beer Server’, and this is an achievement that many breweries, brew pubs, and restaurant workers achieve. Then you move to ‘Certified Cicerone,’ ‘Advanced Cicerone,’ and the grand master of them all, ‘Master Cicerone.’ The more advanced levels can require months and even years of study and tasting before you attempt the test. Topics you will need to become an expert in are the serving of beer, beer styles, flavor and evaluation, ingredients and production, and pairing beer with food. Note, it’s pronounced ‘sis-uh-rohn’ so you do not sound like a noob.

Cicerone

Short for collaboration, these are beers that are brewed between two or more entities together. You will see these on menus all over Michigan, as they have become exceedingly popular. It might be two different breweries working together on a recipe, and then brewing up matching batches at each of their own breweries. It might be a brewer from one brewery heading on over to another to work on a beer together. It might be a company working with a brewery to combine forces to create something new and amazing. Blis Gourmet, a barrel aging food company based in Grand Rapids partnered with Transient Ales in Bridgeman to brew up a beer called Life is Sticky, a barley wine that then got aged in Blis maple bourbon barrels.

Collab

This is a popular one, usually reserved for discussing New England IPA’s or hazy IPA’s. It refers to all the fruit notes you might be experiencing, like grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, lime, or even notes of pineapple, mango, or guava. Want to sound like you know what you are talking about? Take a sip and exclaim “What a juice bomb!”

Juice bomb

Malt can refer to any toasted cereal grain, from barley, to wheat, oats, or rye. (Getty Images/File Photo)

A bit of a mouthful to say, but an important part of brewing history. Essentially, it’s a German beer purity order, that had its roots in medieval Germany, and was adopted by law in Bavaria in 1516. According to the ruling, only three ingredients could be used in beer brewing, water, barley and hops. Yeast, an essential ingredient, was not listed because at that time it was just transferred from batch to batch. It is currently considered part of the purity promise. The point of this ruling was to make sure that barley was available for beer, while bakers could have access to wheat and rye. There is a whole lot of history around this term, but what you’ll see current day are breweries who follow this code very proudly proclaiming it. With just four ingredients, and no additives, extracts, fruit additions or who knows what else, the brewer must truly rely on high quality ingredients and their own talent. It has become a bit of a marketing tool for some breweries, which is totally cool. Here in Michigan, check out Cedar Springs Brewing. They brew many of their German style beers following this tradition.

Reinheitsgebot

No, this does not refer to any actual bugs like spiders or flies in your beer. It’s an affectionate term for the wild strains of yeast that help to create sour beers. Good bugs help ferment the wort into something altogether new. Not always as controllable as conventional yeast strains, ‘bugs’ are part of the wild west of brewing.

Bugs

Really it is quite simple, but also many times downright heartbreaking. A drain pour is a beer that you opened, tasted, and disliked. It might be skunked, old and flat, suffering an infection, or just something you do not like the taste of. Some drinkers seem to get off on showing off on social media the beers they pour out, especially if it’s whale, which I honestly do not understand. Any beer poured down the drain is like a death in the family in my book but is sometimes just necessary. Life is too short to not drink good beer, so if something is off, or it is just not your jam, move on. So, there you have it, just a little bit of basic information to help you embark on your craft beer journey. Happy tasting!

Drain pour

Ale