What the hell are we talking about?

Starting a blog with my friends has been a whirlwind of new experiences. The technology, the beer, and even the vernacular are all new to me. I decided that the best way to keep up with my friends would be to do some research into some of the new terminology that I keep hearing from them.

www.brewersassociation.org

It occurred to me, that perhaps our readers are also learning some of these things for the first time as well. So, why not share what I’ve learned? Here are a few things that I hope can help my fellow beer newbies become more knowledgeable beer drinkers:

First, what separates a craft beer from other beers? According to Brewers Association “an American Craft brewer is small, independent, and traditional.” See the chart from Brewers Association for more information on what this means. In relation to craft beer production, a microbrewery is a brewery that produces less than 15,000 barrels of beer each year, 75% or more of which is sold (definition from craftbeer.com)

There are also different types of beer. The first is ale, which is brewed by rapid fermentation (merriam-webster.com). According to realbeer.com, ales are made using top-fermenting yeast and are best served cool (around 50 degrees F) producing a robust and complex taste. Examples of ales are stouts, porters, whitbier, hefeweizen, Indian Pale Ale (IPA), etc. Lagers are brewed by slow fermentation (merriam-webster.com), are made using bottom-fermenting yeast, are best served cold (38-49 degrees F), and are less fruity than ales (realbeer.com). Examples are red lagers, pilsner, schwarzbier, etc.

There are a few standard ingredients of beer. Hops are flowers from a perennial vine used to flavor beer. It also prevents the growth of bacteria in beer. Malt is processed barley that has been steeped in water and yeast converts the malt sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide. (craftbeer.com)

Pat and me, reviewing our beers.
Photo courtesy of our IT guy, Mark.

When evaluating a beer, there are 5 standard categories – appearance, smell, taste, mouthfeel, and overall (beeradvocate.com): 

appearance – color, carbonation, head
smell – malts (sweet, smoky, nutty, chocolaty, etc), hops (herbal, spicy, floral, piney, citrusy, etc), yeast (fruity, flowery ales or clean lagers)
taste -  flavors or interpretations of flavors, will be similar to smell
mouthfeel – how the beer feels (light, heavy, watery, smooth, flat, carbonated)
overall – your overall impression

When reading a review there are a few words other words that you may come across frequently. Alcohol by Volume (ABV) is the alcohol content (volume of alcohol per volume of beer) measured as a percentage. Lace is the pattern of the foam sticking to the side of the glass as you’re drinking your beer. Head is the foam of the beer, and head retention is how long the head lasts (craftbeer.com)

I hope this has been helpful. Please comment and let me know if there is anything else you would like defined or explained in more detail. Happy reading and reviewing!