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'BEER' AND 'BREWING-EQUIPMENT' GLOSSARY (More like a mini-encyclopedia with helpful tips, suggestions, and photos) A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

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NOTE: the acronym ‘aka’ means “also known as”; in addition, there are a few trade-names included in this list, such as "Therminator" and "Mix-Stir", because some posters might use only those trade names.  Most terms are probably not supposed to be hyphenated, but I am doing it anyway because it seems to help make them more noticeable.  For some terms, I’ve added some info that I think might be helpful, especially to newbies who will be the ones using this glossary most of the time.  Newbies, please don’t get the impression that all or even most of this equipment is needed to brew good beer; this is just the full range of what is, or was, sometimes used.  When photos are available, they will be linked as [pic] at the end of the definition, and in some instances, a [link] to a web-page may be added.  This page is still under-construction -- particularly items in red -- but if you notice anything else that is missing or incorrect, please notify billvelek@alltel.net

TOURS: by beginning here, and then clicking on the appropriate 'tab' at the end of each entry, you can skip right to the next entry which contains information in that particular tour, i.e.,  [formulas]  [methods]  [science] ... and I'm still working on this, so these aren't finished, they will eventually be color-coded, and there will probably be more.  Entries in red are just marked that way to get my attention because I need to do more work on them.  Material which is quoted or paraphrased from another source will have a light yellow background.

• Formulas = kettle-power ~
  
• Methods = evaporative-cooling ~ hop-schedule ~ sparge/sparging ~ temperature-rests ~
  
• Science = aerobic-phase ~ amylase ~ anaerobic-phase ~ attenuation ~ autoclave ~ calorie ~
  

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A.A.U. (aka 'alpha acid units') = the percentage of alpha acid -- the bittering agent in hops -- contained in a measure of hops.

additive = anything that is added to beer other than malt, adjuncts, water, hops, or yeast; additives includes anti-foam, anti-oxidants, finings, heading-agents, spices, and herbs.

adjunct = any fermentable substance that is added to the malt, typically being sugars, starches, unmalted grains or flaked cereals; by that definition, adjunct would presumably also include fruits and vegetables which are sometimes added to beers, because they too will generally contribute fermentables in the form of either sugars or starches which will be saccharified during the mash.  Commercially produced beers usually utilize adjuncts as a means of cost savings (or to circumvent tax laws such as 'happoshu' brewed in Japan), by using corn, rice, or even sugar or flour; many beginning homebrewers will use table-sugar (sucrose) as an adjunct, usually decreasing the quality of their beer as a result, but knowledgable craftbrewers also use adjuncts without regard to cost but rather as a means to affect flavor and aroma, or to produce paler, lighter bodied and less malty beers, or for specialty beers such as when using oatmeal, wheat, rye, honey, or special sugars.  In contrast to adjunct, see additive, above.

aerobic = processes requiring oxygen; see aerobic-phase, next, for its importance in brewing; also see anaerobic for processes which do NOT require oxygen.

aerobic-phase = a phase of fermentation during which oxygen is available to the yeast (normally the initial phase); in the presence of oxygen, yeast will reproduce (called 'budding') rather than focusing all energy on the production of alcohol.  But if the percentage of sugar is high enough, then some alcohol will still be produced even in this stage, despite the yeasts' aerobic respiration, due to what is known as the 'crab-tree effect'.  The aerobic-phase is followed by the anaerobic-phase which occurs after the yeast have consumed nearly all of the oxygen in the wort; yeast will not reproduce during the anaerobic-phase, and will instead devote all energy to the production of alcohol.  [science]

aerator = a device used to add air or oxygen to wort, such as an air-injector, oxygen-injector, venturi-tube, or Mix-Stir; the purpose is to increase the oxygen content of cooled wort because oxygen is needed during the initial aerobic stage of fermentation to develop a larger, healthier yeast population.  NEVER aerate hot wort or finished beer, and it is recommended to not aerate the primary fermenter beyond the first 8 to 12 hours.  Also note when using pure oxygen that it is possible to raise oxygen content to levels which are actually toxic to yeast.

agar-plate =

air-filter = these are typically used, if at all, only when air is being forced into the wort or a starter when using an aerator or air-injector; they are normally not needed when using an oxygen-injector because the oxygen should be sterile.

air-injector = an aerator which usually consists of an air-stone mounted inside of a tube or hose (usually built into or used in conjuction with either a counter-pressure-chiller, a drain-hose, or a siphon); the purpose is to better increase the oxygen content of cooled wort (NEVER add to hot wort), which is needed for a larger, healthier yeast population.

air-lock (aka fermentation-lock) = a device which is typically filled with a bit of water and which will permit carbon-dioxide bubbles to escape from a fermenter without permitting air, with airborne contaminants and oxygen, from entering the fermenter.  They are typically fitted onto a stopper which plugs the neck of a carboy or a hole in the lid of a bucket, but a blow-off hose that runs into a bucket of water serves the same purpose and would constitute a type of air-lock.

air-stone (aka sintered-stone) = some brewers use the stones designed for aquariums, but there are also stainless steel air-stones; their purpose is to create very fine bubbles of air or oxygen in order to improve the dissolving of oxygen into cooled wort. [link]

ale = made with only top-fermenting ale yeast (saccharomyces cerevisiae), ale is an alcoholic, malt-based beverage, generally made primarily from barley malt and hops, which is fermented at higher temperatures than lagers (60-75F/16-24C for ales versus 45-55F/7-13C for lagers), and which is not laggered (a long secondary-fermentation with temperatures slowly and gradually decreasing, usually no more than 2F/1C per day, to as low as 30F/-1C).  Because of the type of yeast and higher fermentation temperature, ales usually contain significant amounts of esters and other secondary flavor and aroma products which often give ale a somewhat fruity aroma and/or taste or other distinguishing character, so ale is therefore typically a little heavier in flavor than the somewhat more popular lager-style beers.  Ale is the easiest and most practical home-brew to make because it usually doesn't require special refrigeration equipment like lagers.  Compare to beer or lager.

ale-styles = this is the most recent list of the most common individual style classifications for ales, according to the BJCP:
still under construction!

alpha-amylase = a diastatic enzyme which converts soluble starch to dextrins; also see beta-amylase which does something similar (see saccharification rest), but operates at different optimal temperature.

aluminum = many brewers use aluminum for brewing without apparent problems; despite some criticism, aluminum does not impart a metallic taste to beer which is otherwise properly brewed and fermented.  However, there have been some concerns voiced about the safety of aluminum and its possible impact on health, including that it is a possible contributing factor toward Alzheimer's disease; it is true that wort is acidic and can possibly dissolve a bit of the aluminium, but beyond that I don't have any answers.  That question extends way beyond the scope of this website but is now mentioned here only because some newbies who are just starting out might want to know this before purchasing a kettle. For a side-by-side comparison of aluminum vs. copper vs. stainless-steel, see metallurgy-table.

amylase = a diastatic enzyme which converts soluble starch to dextrins and/or sugars, depending upon whether it is alpha-amylase or beta-amylase.  [science]

anaerobic -- processes which do not require oxygen; see anaerobic-phase, next, for its importance in brewing; also see aerobic for processes which DO require oxygen.

anaerobic-phase = a phase of fermentation during which oxygen is NOT available to the yeast (normally the second phase after the yeast have consumed nearly all of the oxygen in the wort during the aerobic phase); yeast will not reproduce during the anaerobic-phase, and will instead devote all energy to the production of alcohol.  [science]

anti-oxidants =

apparent attenuation = see attenuation.

aroma = the complex smell of beer, including its malt and grain character as well as its hop aroma; aroma has a significant effect on and interaction with taste, and is an important consideration for brewing good beer.

aroma-hops = hops that are normally selected more for their characteristic aroma rather than for their contribution to bittering; such hops are added last, at the very end of the boil or in a hop-back, in order to preserve as much of the aroma as possible, elsewise the process of boiling will evaporate the components which provide the aroma.

attemperator = an old and now uncommon name for an immersion chiller, either coil or plate, used to chill wort in the kettle or in the fermenter.

attenuation = the degree that the dissolved solids (sugars and dextrins) in the wort are converted to alcohol; this is approximately measured by the difference the O.G. (Original specific Gravity, as usually measured by a hydrometer) and the F.G. (Final specific Gravity), but because of the influence of alcohol upon the gravity (lowering it even more because alcohol has a gravity below 1.000), the difference is called "Apparent" attenuation.  [science]

auto-vent/auto-ventilator/auto-venting = a device which allows either air or CO2 to enter a cask automatically; also see cask-breather, below.

autoclave = this is essentially a pressure cooker used to sterilize equipment by using extreme heat; contrary to popular belief, there are many organisms which can survive even prolonged boiling (100C/212F), so in order to ‘sterilize’ (as opposed to ‘sanitize’), an autoclave is used to raise temperatures to approximately 120C/250F or higher.  Except for using one for rare purposes such as sterilizing agar plates for growing yeast cultures, there is little need for an autoclave for brewing, because ‘sanitizing’ is almost always sufficient.  [science]

automated-stirrer (aka mash-stirrer, as opposed to a mash-paddle) = a mechanized device for stirring the mash for the purpose of equalizing temperature throughout the mash-tun.

autolysis = the process whereby the yeast cells begin to decay and decompose after they die; this has a detrimental affect on beer flavor.


bacteria and bacterial-infection =

ball-lock = the type of hose connection used on ‘Pepsi’ style corny-kegs.

ball-valve = a valve consisting of a tightly housed ball with a single hole bored through it; when the hole in the ball is at a 90 degree angle from the alignment of the input and output holes in the housing, then the valve is fully closed.  As the ball is rotated by a lever to the point that a portion of the holes are in alignment, then flow begins.  The valve is fully open when the
holes are completely in alignment.

balling = a measurement of sugar content of wort; see ‘plato’ and ‘brix’.

barley = a type of grain, like corn, oats, or wheat, but which is the most suitable for brewing beer for several reasons: its higher content of diastatic enzymes (alpha- and beta-amylase) for quicker and more complete conversion of starches to sugars, and enough extra power to convert other additional starches, as well; its sugar profile which gives it a higher proportion of maltose and maltotriose sugars and dextrins which give beer its classic flavor and mouth-feel; its ease in milling (it crushes much more easily than wheat); and its husk which helps form a natural filter during the lautering process.

barley-wine = a beer (ale) with a very high alcohol content, usually in excess of 10% and sometimes much higher, which takes a very long time for conditioning, and often more than a year to reach its peak.

barrel = in the U.S., a ‘BEER’ barrel contains 31 U.S. gallons, which is 117.35 liters; that is equal to two U.S. beer ‘kegs’, containing 15.5 gallons each; other barrels such as for wine and oil are different.  In the United Kingdom, a barrel contains 36 imperial gallons (imperial gallons are equivalent to approximately 1.2 U.S. gallons); also see ‘British-casks’, below.

batch / batches = the amount of each type of beer that is made at one time; for example, if you boil a large quantity of wort that requires two fermenters, then if you pitch the same yeast into both, I'd say that you have made one batch, but if you pitch a different yeast into each, then you've made two batches.

batch-sparging = see sparge/sparging and its sub-category, batch-sparging

Baudelot-cooler = a completely open heat exchanger in which wort is trickled over a series of horizontal pipes carrying coolant, is aerated by its splashing as it trickles, and is then collected in a pan at the bottom and sent to the fermenters.  This is probably an antiquated system today, but was once used in large breweries.

bazooka = a short length of stainless steel mesh tubing which is clamped to the drain inlet to a spigot or valve, and plugged or sealed on the other end; its purpose is the same as a false-bottom or manifold – just a variation in design.

beer = in it's broadest sense, beer includes all categories of malt-based alcoholic beverages, such as ales, lagers, malt-liquors, barley-wines, and even happoshu (Japanese low-malt beer); among craftbrewers, it is virtually synonymous with the word "brew" such that when we speak of brewing 'beer' or purchasing 'beer' supplies, all of the above-categories are included.  But in its most popular usage among the non-brewing public -- most of which wouldn't know the difference between an ale and a lager if they were drowning in it -- to them "beer" means a lager-styled brew, and most often a pilsener (e.g., Budweiser, Miller, Coors, etc.); therefore many home-brewers have also come to use the term "beer" synonymously with "lager". Throughout this glossary, I use the term in its broadest, all-inclusive sense unless indicated otherwise.

beer-belly = see Beerbelly®

beer-engine (aka handpump) = a manual pump for drawing unpressurized cask-conditioned beer or ale from a cask.

beer-gas = gas used to carbonate or dispense beer; normally CO2, but also sometimes including nitrogen.

beer-gun (aka keg-gun or pluto) = a device used to fill beer bottles from pressurized kegs – see http://tinyurl.com/86bp7 for an example – but the term is also sometimes used to refer to a common party-tap aka keg-tap.

beer-pig = see party-pig

beer-stone (beerstone) = an undesirable hard coating, scale, or deposit consisting of a combination of calcium oxalate and organic residues (proteins or amino acids) which can accumulate over time on brewing equipment, fermenters, and even in kegs; it is typically light brownish, and eventually becomes course to the touch, like sandpaper.  There are a number of chemicals which can be used to help prevent or remove it.

beer-thief (aka wine-thief) = a device used to withdraw small samples of beer or wine from the fermenter for testing (e.g., specific gravity readings with a hydrometer or refractometer, or for tasting, etc.); this need not be a special instrument specifically designed for that purpose, and can be something like a ‘turkey-baster’ or even a plain piece of tubing – so long as it is very well sanitized before it is inserted into the beer, least you contaminate your batch.  NOTE: you should NEVER return a sample back into your fermenter, no matter how confident you are that you have not contaminated it; there isn’t that much, and it isn’t worth risking your entire batch.

Beerbelly® = a bladder you can wear under your clothing to conceal beer, etc., at ballgames, etc.  [pic]  [link]

bench-capper = a type of bottle-capper designed to be mounted (or set) on a bench, counter, or table, and uses a single pull-down lever to crimp the cap onto the bottle; compare to a “butterfly-capper” which requires two-handed operation.

beta-amylase = a diastatic enzyme which converts soluble starches and dextrins to fermentable sugars; also see alpha-amylase which does something similar (see saccharification rest), but operates at different optimal temperature.

BevCask™ = see http://www.cypherco.com/bevcask.htm

BevKeg™ = see http://www.cypherco.com/BevKeg.htm

BJCP = Beer Judge Certification Program.  [link]

blow-off = the kraeusen that escapes the primary fermenter; normally this happens when the fermenter is filled to capacity (or near capacity) so that there is no headspace or room for kraeusen except to be ejected out the blow-off-tube, below.

blow-off-tube = normally a plastic tube which is connected at the top of a primary fermenter with the other end submerged in a container of water with perhaps a bit of sanitizer in it to form an air-lock; see blow-off, above.

body = mouthfeel or thickness of beer.

boiler (aka kettle or copper)  = in the context of brewing, boiler normally refers to the kettle or pot, being that they are wort-boilers, but in systems which use steam, then ‘boiler’ would obviously refer to the more common meaning of ‘steam-generator’; hopefully, the context in which the term is used will avoid any confusion.

boiling = converting 212F/100C water to steam; in brewing, the boil needs to be very vigorous -- at a rate sufficient to boil-away 8-12% of the wort per hour; this is not only because of the usual need to rid the wort of excess water from sparging, but also because the bubbling action of the boil stretches some of the chemical components of the wort in a manner which is beneficial to the beer -- sort of like the way that kneeding dough makes better bread.

bottle = For the benefit of newbies, do not try to cap ‘twist-off’ bottles; the glass is thinner which makes them easy to break when capping.  Also, you should not use clear bottles because ultraviolet light will skunk your beer, giving it a foul odor.  The best bottles to protect beer from ultraviolet light are brown (the darker the better), followed by green.

bottle-brush = a brush used to clean the inside of bottles; soaking and rinsing of bottles is not a sure way of cleaning them, although good bottle maintenance can pretty much eleminate the need for using a brush.  That means thoroughly rinsing and shaking the bottle vigorously with hot water almost IMMEDIATELY after it is emptied, and then properly storing it, preferably inverted or on a bottle tree to drain and dry; an even better practice is to also give it a spurt of sanitizer to help keep anything from growing inside until it is used.  Always visually inspect your bottles before use. 

bottle-capper = a device which presses a crown-cap onto a bottle; see bench-capper and butterfly-capper.

bottle-cleaner = a device which mounts onto a faucet, with an upturned spout over which you slip the neck of an inverted bottle, and normally also with a pressure activated lever or valve; the hot water line is left on, and when a bottle is pressed down on the lever, hot water jets spray up inside the bottle in several directions to help clean and rinse the bottle, while water drains out into the sink.  There are dual versions available to enable a brewer to rinse two bottles at the same time with a two-handed operation.

bottle-conditioned = naturally carbonating beer in a bottle by adding a carefully measured sugar-primer before bottling; the yeast then consume this additional sugar to hopefully produce just enough carbonation for your beer.

bottle-filler (aka filling-wand or bottling-wand) = this is a piece of plastic tube a little longer than the height of a large beer bottle, and which connects to a siphon hose that usually runs from the spigot on a bottling-bucket; the wand has a pressure activated valve on the end that is inserted into a bottle, and when that end is pressed against the bottom of the bottle, beer flows and fills the bottle with a minimum of aeration.  When the level of beer reaches the lip of the bottle, the wand is removed and, due to the displacement volume of the wand, the level of beer in the neck of the bottle drops to the ideal level.

bottle-sanitizer (aka bottle-rinser) = this can be a simple bottle of sanitizer that is kept handy to squirt some solution to an empty bottle whenever needed, but there are devices, sometimes mounted on the top of bottle-trees, which have a reservoir of santizer and will spray the inside of a bottle by pressing an inverted bottle down over a spout.
 
bottle-tree = a stand with a vertical pole which has numerous protrusions of rods or wooden dowel, over which bottles are slipped; the rods are located in levels which run completely around the pole and are set at an angle to both drain the bottle and also efficiently store a large number of bottles neatly in a relatively small space.

bottler = automated bottling equipment.

bottling-bucket = a plastic bucket with a spigot attached on the side as close to the bottom as possible; the spigot is usually so low that it extends below the bottom of the bucket, and so the bucket must be set so that the spigot hangs over an edge; I set mine on an empty milk crate, which also elevates it well above my kitchen sink.  A hose, normally with a bottle-filler on the other end, is attached to the spigot, which is then opened, and bottles are gravity-fed from the bucket.  A loose-fitting lid should be set on top of the bucket, too.  A common practice is to bulk-prime the beer inside the bottling-bucket, instead of priming individual bottles; this is done by adding the proper amount of sugar water to the bucket and carefully stirring so as to minimize aeration.  Priming is necessary in order for beer to be able to self-carbonate in the bottle.

bottling-wand = see bottle-filler

bottom-fermenting-yeast = lager yeast; see yeast, below.

bouquet = the smell of beer, usually associated with the hops; aroma, or part of aroma.

braun hefe = the brown gunk that sticks to your fermenter's walls after the kraeusen collapses; if this gets in your beer because of reduced kraeusening, the trub can negatively affect the flavor of your beer.

break = see break-material, next.

break-material = coagulation of proteins and hop resins which form doing the boil and precipitate out of solution while the beer is hot (hot-break) and after rapid chilling (cold-break).  It is generally held that hot-break is most definitely bad for beer and should be removed; there is some debate whether all cold break should be removed, because it is a source of nutrition for yeast and does not appear to be as detrimental to beer as hot-break.  For brewers who use false-bottoms or some form of strainer in their kettle, hot-break is filtered by the spent-hops, and can also be filtered out by a hop-back.  If the wort has been rapidly chilled inside the kettle by an immersion-chiller, then cold-break will likewise be filtered by the spent-hops; however, if a counter-flow-chiller is used, cold-break will enter into the primary-fermenter, but the wort can then be racked off of it as an extra step -- although most craft-brewers do not bother with that until racking to a secondary about a week later.

brew-belt = see heat belt

brewers-yeast = see yeast

Brewsta = open-source brewing software [link]; also see software, below.

Brewzer® = this isn't what I would call BREWING equipment, but I've never tasted the beer made with this, so who am I to judge; it is a kit to make beer from a powder which includes everything -- dried malt extract, powdered hops, and yeast -- and you use COLD water; that's right, it isn't even boiled or racked (it's served straight from the fermenter). [pic] [pic] [link]

bright = (re yeast)

bright-beer =

British-casks = different sizes of vessels for packaging cask-conditioned ale, or ‘real ale’ as it’s known in England.  There are two openings: one is called the shive, on the side or belly of the cask, for racking the beer into it, for dry-hopping, and for venting off excess co2; the other is the keystone, which is on one of the flat ends (the "top dome" of the cask), where the tap is driven in for drawing off the beer via gravity or a hand-pump (aka beer engine).  There is no mechanism for injecting gas, because the beer is casked in order to produce its own natural carbonation.  It has a limited shelf life, but has many devoted followers around the world.  For more info on real ale, visit http://www.camra.org.uk .  These are the different sizes of casks, measured in imperial gallons which are approximately 1.2 times the size of a U.S. gallon:

The only sizes used frequently nowadays are the pin, firkin, kil, and sometimes barrel.  Traditionally the casks were wood with iron hoops, made by the coopers that every brewery used to employ.  Now, there are only a handful of English breweries that still use wooden casks.  Modern casks are usually stainless steel, although some plastic casks are becoming more common.

brix = see plato

bucket-boiler = yes, it is possible to boil in a plastic bucket.  There are some commercially available bucket-boilers with built-in thermostatically controlled immersion elements (if I recall correctly, “Electrim” and “Bruheat” are two brands that are available at least in the UK), but heat-sticks can be used in a salvaged food-grade bucket, as well.

bung = a plug for a barrel, cask, or keg (minikeg).

burton-union = this is a device which takes the kraeusen (foam) that blows-off of the fermenter, allows beer to reliquify from the foam and then reenter the fermenter, leaving behind undesirable resins as residue on the burton-union.  Most home-brewers have not used such as setup in the past, but there is now a burton-union commercially available for connection to carboys (and presumably it can be adapted to buckets or any other small fermenters).

butt = a cask used in the U.K. for cask-conditioned ales and which contains 108 imperial gallons (2 hogsheads = ~129.7 U.S. gal / ~491.0 liters), but is not as commonly used today; also see ‘British-casks’.

butterfly-capper = a type of bottle-capper which is unmounted, requires two hands, and operates by pressing down on two handles simultaneously to crimp the cap onto the bottle; compare to a bench-capper which permits one-hand operation.

calandria = a device consisting of pipes that are used to transfer heat, usually from steam, into a liquid to be boiled or evaporated.  There are internal and external calandria.  An internal calandria has pipes inside the kettle with steam entering the top and condensation leaving the bottom, usually to be recaptured and recirculated back to the steam boiler in some way.  An external calandria operates in a similar fashion except that the liquid to be boiled or evaporated is drawn out of the kettle, heated, and then returned to the kettle.

calorie = insofar as brewing is concerned, calories are units of heat needed to boil our beer; one calorie is the unit of energy required to raise one gram of water one degree Celsius (aka centigrade); since one gram equals one milliliter, it takes one kilo-calorie (1,000 calories) to raise one liter of water 1C.  [science]

CAMRA = a brewing organization in Great Britain; the acronym stands for "CAMpaign for Real Ale".  [link]

canner = machinery for canning beer.  [link]

capper = see bottle-capper

carbohydrates = there are three groups: polysaccharides (e.g., starch, cellulose, and glycogen), disaccharides (e.g., maltose, sucrose, and lactose), and monosaccharides (fructose, galactose, and glucose).


carbonator = a stainless-steel ‘stone’ placed inside a keg and fed with CO2 to create fine bubbles which are more quickly absorbed by the beer thereby carbonating it more quickly; see ‘keg-shaker’ as either an alternative or an additional step to quickly carbonate.

carbonator-cap = a twist-off cap for plastic bottles which is fitted with a hose connector to allow the contents of the plastic bottle to be force carbonated by applying pressure from a CO2 tank or system.

carboy = a glass or plastic jug of the type often used in office water-coolers; they range in size, most commonly being 5, 6.5, or 7 U.S. gallons, and make excellent fermenters, although they are sometimes difficult to clean and the glass versions are easily broken.  Larger versions are usually called demi-johns, and are commonly carried in baskets.

carboy-brush = a brush specially designed with a bend to enable it, once inserted through the neck of the carboy, to reach all portions of the interior of the carboy, including the top where hardened krauesen is the most difficult to remove.

carboy-cap = obviously anything that caps a carboy, but there are caps which have openings to permit the insertion and sealing of a racking-cane in one opening and the injection of air in the other to help start the siphoning action of the cane and hose/tube.

carboy-cleaner = aside from chemicals, I know of two types of carboy-cleaners; one is a device which is attached to a drill, and has long flaps of flexible material or clothe which extend from centrifugal force and wipe the inside of a carboy; the other is a stand on which a carboy is inverted and supported, with the neck of the carboy slipped over a pipe or spout which injects steam and/or hot water to spray the inside of the carboy.

carboy-cover = a few places sell clothe covers for carboys, but I just use an old 'jersey' (a heavy shirt), but any opaque covering will work if you do not need evaporative-cooling of your fermenter; the purpose is to shield the beer from ultraviolet light which causes skunking, and for evaporative-cooling when needed.

carboy-handle = a plastic handle which attaches to the neck of a carboy and is used for moving EMPTY carboys; see carboy-lifter, below.

carboy-lifter = these are usually nylon-straps which wrap around and beneath the carboy to be able to safely lift and transport it; the carboy 'handles' which attach at the neck of the carboy should NEVER be used to move a full carboy, because the weight and stress that it places on the neck can cause it to break.

cask = for cask-conditioned beer or ale, these were traditionally made of wood but are not commonly available in stainless-steel and plastic; they do not use CO2 to pressurize or dispense the beer, but rather use gravity-flow or a beer-engine (a manual pump).

cask-aspirator = see cask-breather, below.

cask-breather (aka cask-aspirator or demand-valve) =  used with cask-conditioned ales, this is a device which feeds just enough CO2 into the cask to maintain a layer of CO2 over the ale without pressurizing the cask.  [link]

cask-conditioned = usually used in reference to ales commonly brewed in the United Kingdom in which the ales become naturally carbonated in the cask, and are dispensed by using a beer-engine which manually pumps the ale; in other words, it does not use a pressurized CO2 system.

cavitation =

cellar =

cellar-pump =

cellar-temperature = the best temperature to store cask-conditioned ale, which is about 54-54F/12-13C.

check-valve = a one-way valve used on the gas outlet of a CO2 regulator to prevent beer from flowing back into the regulator and damaging it.

chill-haze =

Clinitest = a method for determining sugar content in wort.

CO2-tank = the pressurized storage tank which supplies carbon-dioxide (CO2) to a system for purging, forced-carbonation, and/or dispensing of beer from kegs.

cold-break = see break-material

cold-room = a room or closet which is air-conditioned or refrigerated to provide lagering, cold-conditioning, or storage of beer for serving.

colloids =

colloidal-haze =

conditioning = aging and naturally developing CO2 (carbonation) in beer (as opposed to "forced carbonation"); this can be either "bottle-conditioned" (the common method for carbonating beer in bottles) or "cask-conditioned".

conductivity (of heat) =

congeners =

conical (aka conical-fermenter) = a plastic or stainless-steel fermenter which has a cone-shaped bottom with a ball-valve at the tip, and often an additional valve further up the side of the cone.  The purpose is to permit trub to be easily drained from the fermenter after primary, so that transfer to a secondary fermenter is unnecessary; the valve at the bottle also permits easy gravity-flow drainage without the need for siphoning.  After trub has been removed, bulk-primer can be added to the conical itself, and bottles filled with a bottle-filler (wand), thereby also eliminating the need for a bottling-bucket.  The second valve on the side of the cone can be used to used to harvest yeast or draw samples before the trub is drained at the end of the primary.

connects, hose (aka disconnects) = usually refers to ‘quick’ hose connects rather than just to any sort of fitting that connects hoses, such as those that need to screw; rather ‘quick’ connects are generally a simple matter of pushing the male and female ends together, and to disconnect there is a sleeve that is slid back to allow the two ends to be pulled apart. These are the sort that are ideal for frequent connections and disconnections; for any connections that not changed enough to justify the added cost of ‘quick’ connects, a normal threaded or clamped connection is much cheaper, and probably more durable and more reliable.

convoluted-pipe / convoluted-tube =

coolship = a wide, shallow vessel of copper or iron used as a surface cooler; probably an antiquated method today, it was once used by large breweries.

copper = another term for kettle, pot, or boiler, which I presume is because they used to be commonly made out of copper.

copper, metal = among the three common metals used in brewing (aluminum, copper, and stainless-steel), copper has the highest heat-conductivity, which makes it great for the bottom of pots and kettles where we want the heat to be conducted from the burner into the wort.  However, we don't want heat to be conducted from the wort to the air through the side of the pot or kettle, which is why some copper pots are clad with stainless-steel on the sides, since stainless-steel is a very poor heat conductor.  There are some sources which indicate that ontact between copper and acidic wort should be minimized once the wort has been oxygenated, as when using an oxygen-injector; this is because ...

  For a side-by-side comparison of aluminum vs. copper vs. stainless-steel, see metallurgy-table.


cornelius-keg = see corny-keg, next.

corny-keg (aka cornelius-keg) [also see sankey-keg for a different variety] = these are the stainless-steel containers commonly used to dispense syrup for soda (soft-drink) machines in restaurants, etc.; there are two different types of common connections: ball-lock (used on ‘Pepsi’ kegs), and pin-lock (used on ‘Coke’ kegs).  I don't know that one design is necessarily better than the other, but I have read that ball-lock is the most common; in any event, you will want to be consistent with your inventory so that all of your kegs can be connected to your carbonation and tap system.  These kegs are normally 5 U.S. gallons (almost 20 liters), but I understand that there are also a few other odd sizes available, such as 3 and 10 U.S. gallons.  If you purchase used kegs, be aware that you  might need to replace seals and gaskets, but those are usually readily available from a number of sources, especially over the Internet.

Corona-flour-mill = a low-end (economical) mill which grinds the grain rather than crushing it; there has some debate as to its suitability for brewing, but many owners claim good results with it.  As far as flour-mills go, this brand seems to be popular among those who use this type; also see mill.

counter-flow-chiller = either a flat-plate-chiller or more commonly a hose or tube inside of another hose or tube, in which hot wort flows in one direction, and in a separate compartment, coolant (normally cold water) flows in the other direction; the effect is that where the hot wort is entering, it contacts the surface of the counter-flow coolant which is almost as hot, and where it exits it is in contact where the coolant is the coldest.  This method is the most effective means of cooling a liquid, and is more efficient than an immersion chiller.

counter-pressure-filler = a device used to filled bottles from pressurized kegs; also see beer-gun as an alternative means of doing this.

cream-flow = see smooth-flow

crown-caps = bottle-caps which are crimped into place, as opposed to twist-off or the swing-top (spring-locked-caps with rubber gaskets, such as Grolsch [pic] uses).

DE = see diatomaceous earth, below.

decoction =

demand-valve =  when used with casks, see cask-breather, above.

demi-john = a large vessel, usually of glass and similar to a carboy, but usually much larger, often shaped differently, and often encased in a weave basket (probably to help carry it, but it will also offer some protection of the glass); these seem to be more commonly associated with wine-making than beer-brewing.

densitometer =

dextrins = medium-sized carbohydrates smaller than starches but larger than sugars; generally alpha-amylase will cleave (chop) large carbohydrates (starches) into dextrins, which are then cleaved (chopped) by the beta-amylase into small sugars.  Dextrins have no flavor, but they add body or mouthfeel to beer.

diacetyl and diacetyl rest =

diastatic =

diatomaceous earth (aka DE) = fossil material from very small microbial creatures; because of its porosity, it can be used to filter of beer; but insofar as I know, DE is not reusable.

diacetyl = a chemical produced during fermentation which has somewhat of a butterscotch flavor; this is desired in some styles of beer, but is considered a defect in others.

dip-tube = a tube running inside of a keg, from the ‘out’ fitting on the top down to the bottom, allowing beer to be forced up the tube and out of the keg by CO2; also may refer to a short tube, if any, from the ‘in’ fitting, and which would be used to inject CO2 into the head-space of the keg.

disconnects, hose = see connects, hose

DME (aka Dried Malt Extract) = sugars and dextrins which have been extracted from a mash and then dried into a powder; as opposed to LME (Liquid Malt Extract) or extract from an all-grain mash (runnings).

DMS (aka DiMethyl Sulphide) =



easymasher (aka Schmidling Easymasher®) =  an assembly which consists of a bazooka and draintube, and sometimes a spigot, plus installation hardware for use in an ice-chest or picnic-cooler, to convert it to a mashtun.  [link]  [pic]

efficiency = there are actually two ways of expressing efficiency: ‘mash’-efficiency (aka ‘extraction-efficiency’) and ‘system’-efficiency; the more common reference is ‘mash’-efficiency, which represents the degree of conversion and extraction of available sugars and dextrins from a quantity of grain after mashing and sparging; ‘system’-efficiency also takes into account other system loses such as wort that is absorbed by the hops and trub before the wort finally makes it into the fermenter.  Unless known from a malt-profile provided by the maltster or supplier, both methods assume an average maximum amount of potential sugar available in the grain, which varies with the types and proportions of different grains (the ‘grain-bill’); see John Palmer’s example on http://www.howtobrew.com/section2/chapter12-5.html along with his table of average values.  The gravity of your total runnings (extract) – prior to the boil – is then compared to the maximum potential gravity to determine the efficiency of your mash.  System-efficiency uses the gravity and amount of wort that ultimately ends up in your fermenter, and compares that with the maximum potential as described above.

Erlenmeyer-flask = see flask

ester = a chemical byproduct produced by yeast during fermentation which gives beer a fruity aroma and flavor; ester production is more pronounced at higher temperatures.

evaporative-cooling = evaporation requires heat, which is why sweat cools our bodies; evaporative-cooling can be used to cool a small fermenter (carboy, etc.) several degrees below ambient (room) temperature, and also help compensate for the heat generated by the fermentation process itself.  This can be accomplished by placing the fermenter in a shallow pan or tub of water, and covering it with an absorptive clothe such as an old jersey (heavy shirt) or wrapping it with a towel, etc., so long as the clothe makes good contact with the walls of the fermenter and reaches down into the water.  The water is wicked up the clothe and then evaporates, drawing heat from the carboy.  The use of a fan to help speed evaporation will increase the cooling effect.  In addition, cover helps to protect the beer from ultraviolet light which can 'skunk' the beer. [methods]

extract = sugars and non-fermentable dextrins which were converted from starches in the grain and then removed (extracted) by mashing and sparging; for all-grain brewers, this refers to the ‘runnings’ from the mash; for extract brewers, this refers to either DME (dried malt extract) or LME (liquid malt extract).

extraction-efficiency = see ‘efficiency’, above.

extraction-rates = see ‘efficiency’, above.

false-bottom = used in either a mash-tun or lauter-tun, it is a screen or plate completely covered with very small holes or slits; it separates the grain bed from the opening to the valve or spigot that is used to drain the runnings from the tun, and its purpose is to help keep husk material or rice-hulls (sometimes added to improve filtering and prevent stuck sparges) from draining with the runnings.  The husks or hulls, in turn, form a natural filter to stop the much smaller particles; this doesn’t happen immediately, but rather a brewer will need to recirculate (vorlauf) some of the runnings until they run clear.  Some false-bottoms are hinged in order to be able to place them inside the tun, such as with mash-tuns made from converted kegs.

fermentation-lock = see ‘air-lock’, above.

fermenter = a vessel used for fermentation, ranging from buckets, carboys, jugs, corny-kegs, and small conicals up to large tanks found in commercial breweries; this is often abbreviated as ‘FV’, representing ‘fermentation vessel’.

filling-wand = see bottle-filler, above.

filter = see particular types, i.e., air-filter, beer-filter, mash-filter, water-filter, or wort-filter.

fining = any of several different additives, either natural or synthetic, which help clarify a beer by attaching to proteins and sediment and causing them to precipitate to the bottom of the fermenter; e.g., regular unflavored gelatin, Irish moss, isinglass, polyclar, protafloc, whirlfloc, etc.

finishing-hops = aroma hops; see hop-schedule.

firkin = a cask commonly used in the United Kingdom for cask-conditioned ales and which contains 9 imperial gallons (~10.8 U.S. gal / ~40.9 liters), which is one-quarter of a barrel; also see ‘British-casks’.

flaked-grain =

flare-fitting = a type of hose connector commonly used on beer and gas lines to allow them to more easily align; the male end is tapered, and the female end is flared. 

flask (usually refers to an Erlenmeyer-flask) = an Erlenmeyer-flask (also known as a conical flask) is a type of laboratory glassware which consists of an inverted conical base with a cylindrical neck; be cautious, when using the flask to boil a starter before pitching, that you do not apply too much direct heat to the flask which might cause it to break: on gas burners, place a screen under the flask, and on electric-elements, use a coat-hanger to make a

flaufing =

flocculation or flocculated-yeast = when fermentation is finished or is very close to completion, the yeast will ‘flocculate’, which means they gather and attach to one another forming large clusters, which causes them to sink and settle to the bottom (called ‘flocculated-yeast’), thus clarifying the beer; different strains of yeast, whether top- or bottom-fermenting, are often characterized according to their ability or tendency to flocculate -- being then referred to as 'flocculent-' or 'nonflocculent-yeast'.

flood-sparging = see sparge/sparging and its sub-category, flood-sparging

flooded-font = a mounted beer-tap which contains a sealed cooling system in order to keep the tap chilled to prevent warming of the beer when it is drawn or sits inside the font waiting to be drawn; its purpose is not to chill the beer, like a jockey-box, because the beer should already be chilled.  A flooded-font would typically be used in a system where kegs are some considerable distance from the taps, such as in a cellar, and the installation therefore uses a cooling system, such as a glycol chiller, to keep the beer lines and flooded-font cold.

flotation tank = [construction notes: http://boardreader.com/tp/Flotation+tank.html and
http://www.martintenvironmental.com/dissolved_air_flotation.htm?gclid=CMa6gNStqpACFQSHHgodcGSpQg ]

flour-mill = see mill

fly-sparging = see sparge/sparging and its sub-category, fly-sparging

foam-control = anti-foaming agent/chemical/additive  [link]

fob / fobbing = foaming

forced-carbonation (as opposed to ‘natural-carbonation) = using pressurized carbon-dioxide from a CO2-tank, the gas is eventually dissolved into the beer to carbonate it; the process can be speeded up with a keg-shaker, below.

fusel(s) (aka fusel-alcohols, fusel-fuels, fusel-oils) =

FV = fermentation vessel; see fermenter.

galvanic-corrosion =

gas-blender =

gelatin (as a fining agent) =

gelatinize / gelatination =  making starch soluble, usually with heat; for instance, before some grains can be mashed, such as rice, it needs to be cooked to gelatinize it; some grains are available in a form in which it has already been gelatinized, such as flaked or torrefied grain.  Flaked grain has been pressed between hot rollers, and thereby exposed to enough heat to gelatinized the flakes; torrefied grain has been popped, like popcorn, or puffed, like puffed wheat or puffed rice, during which process the starch has been gelatinized.

glycol-cooling-system = a cooling system which can be used for variety of purposes, including cooling of fermenters and beer-lines or towers when the taps are a long distance from the kegs; glycol is the refrigerant which is used.

grain-bag = a cloth or synthetic liner used to hold grains during mashing and sparging, or steeping, making it easier to remove the spent-grains when finished.
 
grain-bed = the grist particles and husks/hulls within the mash-tun.
 
grain-bill = a list of the types and amounts of various grains in a recipe.

grant = in brewing, typically an open vessel which collects runnings from the mash-tun or lauter-tun, and from which it is then pumped into either the kettle or back into the mash-tun as part of the re-circulation process; the purpose is to collect enough runnings to enable the pump to draw from an open vessel rather than suck directly from the tun which could cause a compacted grain bed and a stuck sparge, and it will also enable the pump to efficiently cycle on and off rather than attempting to run constantly with the slow drainage from the tun which is usually slower than the capacity of the pump.  A grant in a RIMS or HERMS also permits the brewer to easily observe the runnings for clarity, and to check the pH or gravity.

grist = the milled malt and other grains or additives that are to be mashed in the mashtun; this will normally consist primarily of malted barley, sometimes other malted grains such as wheat or sorghum, or a mixture thereof, plus any other unmalted grains such as oatmeal, rye, corn, rice, specialty malts, etc.

growler = a large container for carrying beer or ale, usually around 2 liters; often used for transporting brew from a brew-pub.

gruit = a combination of herbs and spices and/or other flavorings, such as juniper, which was used for flavoring ales before hops came into use.

hand-pump = a term used to designate either a beer-engine or a keg-pump.

happoshu = an inexpensive form of beer in Japan ...

hard-water = water which is high in dissolved minerals, specifically calcium and magnesium.

headspace = the empty volume at the top of a fermenter, keg, or tank; in a bottle it is called the ‘ullage’.  There are different considerations of headspace depending upon the vessel.  In a primary-fermenter, headspace is often desired to avoid blow-off, which some consider as a waste of beer; this is why some brewers prefer to use a 6.5 or 7 gallon carboy for a 5-gallon batch.  The head-space in a primary-fermenter doesn’t affect the beer because in the initial stages of fermentation, the yeast will consume the oxygen, and the CO2 they produce will also help to displace it and create a protective layer.  However, in the secondary-fermenter, headspace should be minimal in order to reduce oxidation.  In a keg, depending upon the method a brewer uses for filling it, the headspace might or might not matter; if the keg is first carefully and effectively purged of all air before filling, then the headspace won’t matter, but if it is not purged, then headspace should be minimal for the same reason given regarding the secondary-fermenter.  In a bottle which is to be naturally carbonated, there needs to be a ‘proper’ headspace/ullage in order to keep the bottle from over-carbonating or under-carbonating, and most or all of the oxygen in the headspace should be consumed by the yeast as it metabolizes the sugar primer; when using a bottle-filler aka bottling-wand, the displacement volume of the filler/wand should result in the perfect amount of ullage.  For those who are especially concerned about the risk of oxidation, there are also special oxygen-absorbing bottle-caps available for bottling, although it seems that few brewers use them, and they don’t seem to be particularly necessary or beneficial unless you are engaged in a competition.  For bottles which are counter-pressure-filled, i.e., already carbonated so that no natural carbonation is needed, the ullage should probably be as small as possible because there will be no active yeast to consume the oxygen; however, once again, oxygen-absorbing-caps can help in that situation.

heat-belt = a heating device which can be wrapped around a carboy or other small fermenter to provide a small amount of heat in places where the ambient temperature is cooler than desired for fermentation.  [pic]  [link]

heat-exchanger = a device which transfers heat from one substance to another, and in that regard all chillers are forms of heat-exchangers.  However, what is usually meant when this term is used in brewing is a device to add heat to wort by pumping it through a heat-exchanger to draw heat from hot-water or steam; the advantage in heating wort in this manner is that it avoids caramelization that can occur when heat is applied directly to wort, such as with immersion elements, heat-sticks, or direct-fired kettles.

heat-pipe =

heat-stick = an electric heating element fastened and sealed to the end of a piece of tubing which contains the wiring for the element; these are typically used to boil wort in plastic buckets.

hemocytomer = used to count yeast by using a microscopic grid system; the yeast count is then used to give a reasonably accurate estimate of the yeast population in the source of the sample, such as a starter.

HERMS = Heat Exchange Recirculating Mash System – a RIMS which uses a heat exchanger to heat the mash-water (runnings) to achieve temperature steps.  See RIMS, below, for a more complete description of operation.  The heat-exchanger can either be a coil within the HLT (hot-liquor-tank) with a bypass loop to enable recirculation without adding heat, or it can be a separate and usually quite smaller container of water dedicated strictly to heat exchange; the advantage of using the HLT is that the much larger heat-mass of the HLT water enables quicker rises to the next temperature stop, but the advantage of using a smaller dedicated heat-exchanger is the simplicity of not needing a bypass loop, and (allegedly) finer temp control.

HLT = Hot Liquor Tank used for heating ‘water’ for the mash (strike-water and sparge-water), and sometimes also containing an internal heat-exchanger used in a HERMS.

hogshead = a cask used in the United Kingdom for cask-conditioned ales and which contains 54 imperial gallons (1.5 barrels=~64.9 U.S. gal/~245.5 liters), but which is not as commonly used today; also see ‘British-casks’.

HomeKeg™ = see here: http://www.cypherco.com/homeKeg.htm

hop-aroma-tablets =

hop-bag = a clothe bag in which hops are placed, with the entire bag then being pitched into the kettle for the boil, or into the fermenter when dry hopping; this helps to more easily remove the hops from the wort when finished, but it does reduce the effectiveness or efficiency of the hops – called ‘utilization’ – including bitterness, flavor, and aroma extraction.

hop-flowers =

hop-oil =

hop-pellets =

hop-plugs =

hop-schedule / hopping-schedule = like instructions in a recipe, and similar to a mash-schedule, the hop-schedule lists the timing and duration of additions of one or more types of hops, usually indicating the amount of hops to be added, especially when the beer uses the same hops for more than one purpose: bittering, flavor, or aroma (the three traditional additions to the "boil"). However, many craftbrewers today also employ less-traditional hopping methods, such as mash-hopping (adding hops to the mash), first-wort-hopping (adding hops to the runnings as they begin draining, instead of waiting for the boil), back-hopping (using a hopback), and dry-hopping (adding hops to the fermenter). Some brewers will simmer, boil, or pressure-cook a hop-tea in plain water; this is not a suitable substitute for boiling hops in the wort because the bittering acids are not extracted and utilized as well in water as compared to wort, due to chemistry.  However, a hop-tea seems like a logical way to sanitize it before dry-hopping.  Wet-hopping is a term that means using hops which have not yet been kiln-dried as usual, but otherwise they are added in any of the various ways indicated above. Some brewers, often referred to as 'hop-heads', will pass their finished beer through a container of hops on the way to the tap; until someone else comes up with an established term, I'll refer to it as 'tap-hopping' so as to not confuse it with the more common meaning of 'back-hopping'.  All hop-additions, whenever they occur, should be included in the hop-schedule for your own record keeping purposes, or for communicating a recipe to another brewer.  [methods] 

hop-tea =

hopback = among home craftbrewers, this is more commonly a chamber filled with unboiled hops, through which hot wort or beer is passed or recirculated after the boil and immediately before rapid chilling in order to best preserve hop flavor and aroma while simultaneously straining any hot-break; there are some sources which indicate that the hopback is for the purpose of filtering hops and trub from the kettle as if it were only a strainer, but I prefer to call those devices bazookas or false-bottoms, etc.

hops =

hot-break = see break-material

hot-liquor-tank = see HLT

HSA (hot-side-aeration) – the risk of oxidation of substances within the wort, due to exposure of HOT wort to air (oxidation occurs more quickly when hot), with the result of off-flavors and shorter storage life of beer.

hydrostatic-test (aka hydro-test) = a periodic test required by law in order to be able to refill pressurized tanks, such as CO2 tanks.

hydrometer = a floating glass or plastic vial used to measure the specific gravity of a solution by reading the level at which it floats within a sample; the sample is typically placed inside a hydrometer-cylinder or -well.  When using a hydrometer with beer, it should be ‘spun’ to rid it of any bubbles of carbonation which tend to cling to the sides and raise it, resulting in a false reading; in addition, unless the sample is first cooled to a set temperature, an adjustment must be made to accurately determine the specific gravity.  To obtain the most accurate reading, the cylinder or well should be filled all the way to the top until the wort or beer ‘crowns’ (slight upward curvature due to surface tension), and the hydrometer should float in the center without touching the side of the cylinder or well; attempting to read a hydrometer through the plastic or glass side of the cylinder will likely give a false reading due to the edge of the sample inside the cylinder being raised from surface tension.  See ‘refractometer’ as an alternative instrument, although certain additional calculations will be needed.

hydrometer-cylinder = a stand-alone cylinder in which the hydrometer floats in order to measure specific gravity; it is generally slightly larger in diameter and height, and typically made of clear plastic or glass. Compare to a hydrometer-well, below.

hydrometer-well = the difference from a hydrometer-cylinder, above, is that these are generally designed in such a manner as to promote cooling of the sample by an outer-chamber with cold-water, and are sometimes built into a system’s plumbing, like a RIMS, HERMS, or gravity-fed multi-tiered system, although there are some that are just stand-alone devices.

immersion-chiller = this is most often a coil of tubing, usually copper, but sometimes consisting of one or more metal plates, through which water or other coolant (e.g., glycol) is fed; the distinction from a counter-flow-chiller, above, is that the immersion chiller is placed inside of (immersed) the wort in the kettle or fermenter, and the only liquid which flows through the device is the water or coolant.  These are generally not as effective as a counter-flow-chiller, but one method of improving performance is to use ice-water as the coolant; this can be done with the use of an ice-filled bottling-bucket elevated above the height of the kettle, and gravity-fed through the chiller.

immersion-elements = these are electric elements that are immersed in the liquid to be heated; they can be used in the HLT to heat water, and in the kettle to boil wort.  They can also be used as the heat source in a HERMS, as opposed to using a coil inside the HLT.

invert sugar = (see "sugar")

jockey-box = this is usually an ice-chest or insulated container with ice or ice-water in which coils are submerged on the way from the keg to the tap; sometimes the lines feed into a slab of aluminum which is submerged in the jockey-box, but I don’t know if there is a separate name for it or not.

jubilee-clip =

keg = this term is most commonly used in the U.S. to describe a container of beer equal to one-half of a barrel, i.e., 15.5 U.S. gallons.  In a more general sense, it is merely a large container of beer available in assorted sizes, such as a 3- or 5-gallon corny keg, in addition to the traditional keg.  See also ‘British-casks’, above.

keg-bot = this is a computer controlled device which secures and monitors the dispensing of beer from a keg; this seems to be a one-of-a-kind device, as far as I know, and here is the wiki-link: http://wiki.kegbot.org/Main_Page

keg-cleaner = a device used to spray steam and/or hot water, or to recirculate chemical cleaner inside a keg; usually the keg is inverted on a stand, similarly to the carboy-cleaner, described above.

keg-gun = see party-tap and beer-gun.

keg-lifter = this can be any device which will help in the lifting of heavy kegs like the ‘15.5 U.S. gallon’ kegs.

keg-pump (aka keg-tap) = a combination pump and tap used by forcing air into a keg to push the beer out through the tap.

keg-shaker = a mechanical device to shake and agitate a keg to help the beer to absorb CO2 more quickly, for faster carbonation.

keg-tap = see keg-pump, party-tap, and beer-gun

kegerator = a refrigerator made or adapted for the storage and dispensing of kegged beer.

kelly-kettle (pic) = although not typically known for use in brewing per se, this concept might be adaptable in some form to homebrewing and is probably the basis for the design of the commercial Merlin boiling system.

kettle = another term for pot, boiler, or copper; the vessel in which the wort is boiled.

kettle-power = AFAIK, this is my own term which I'm inserting here just so that I can discuss the power requirements to boil wort.  At sea level, it takes about 540 calories to convert one gram or milliliter of boiling water into steam; as altitude increases and/or barometric pressure substantially decreases, the boiling point is lowered -- but it STILL takes about 540 calories per gram to change it into steam.  The conversion is what is called the phase-change (aka phase-state-change). There is more discussion about the effectiveness of kettle-power, below, but for purposes of applying the math in these examples, we will disregard the variables and assume 100% efficiency and no system losses.  It takes 4.184 joules (1 joule = 1 watt-second of electricity) to produce one calorie of heat, so converting one ml of boiling water into steam requires 540 x 4.184 = 2,259 watt-seconds.  Since there are 3,600 seconds in an hour, boiling off one full liter of water in an hour requires: 1,000ml x 540calories x 4.184watt-seconds / 3,600 seconds = 627.6 watts for one hour.

, so a full liter of water requires 2,259 kilowatts (kw).  When using non-electric heat and expressing power in BTU (British Thermal Units), it takes .003968 BTU to produce one calorie of heat, so converting one gram of boiling water into steam requires ... 540 x .003968 = 2.14272 BTU, so a full liter of water requires 2,143 BTU.


Your kettle-power -- the amount of energy you can effectively apply to or in your kettle -- will determine how quickly you can reach boiling point, and also how vigorous your boil will be (it needs to be vigorous enough to evaporate from 8% to 12% of your wort per hour, and this rate is important to the quality of your beer and not just for purposes of time-savings).  The two ways of heating the kettle or wort are 'internal' where immersion elements are generally used, and 'external' regardless of the source of heat (electricity, gas, wood, coal, etc.), so I will just divide this discussion into 'internal' and 'external' heating.

• external -- here the effectiveness of your kettle-power depends upon the following: the composition, thickness, and even the geometry of your kettle, since applied heat must pass through it to reach the wort; drafts around the kettle-bottom and flame; and insulation of your kettle. 
  

• internal -- here the effectivenss of your kettle-power depends upon the following: the composition, thickness, and geometry of your kettle, but to a much smaller degree than external heating because we are only concerned with retaining heat rather than getting the heat into the wort; and insulation of your kettle.

kilderkin (aka kil) = a cask commonly used in the United Kingdom for cask-conditioned ales and which contains 18 imperial gallons (2 firkins = ~21.6 U.S. gal / ~81.8 liters), which is one-half of a barrel; also see ‘British-casks’, above.

King-Keg® = see pressure-barrel.  [pic]

kraeusen = the large thick head of foam which forms on top of beer during the early stages of primary fermentation; as I understand it, besides some top-fermenting yeast and CO2 bubbles and beer, it also contains certain hop resins and proteins or break-material that are not particularly beneficial to beer, and some feel it to be detrimental; therefore, some brewers prefer to remove this when possible.  This can be done by skimming and discarding the kraeusen when an open primary fermenter is used, such as a bucket, or by using a blow-off tube; a Burton-union is a device which will remove most of the resins and protein while salvaging some of the beer that would otherwise be lost.

lager = a style of beer

lager-styles = this is the most recent list of the most common individual style classifications for lagers, according to BJCP:  still under construction!

lagering =

lagering-refrigerator, -freezer, -tank, -closet, -room, etc. = refrigerated storage for the purpose of lagering; described here because there are a number of brewers who have used different approaches, and I will eventually post links here for a variety of ideas.  The refrigerators are just that; sometimes they are the small, dormatory-style refrigerators set up to hold corny-kegs, and others are full-sized models in order to hold a conical fermenter and its stand; freezers can be converted using special thermostats or temperature controllers, and chest-freezers with wooden collars to add extra interior height are especially popular; some brewers use conditioning/lagering tanks which are chilled either internally with plates or coils, externally with coils wrapped around the tank; other brewers have built cabinets, closets, or even small rooms, all of which are cooled in various ways for the purpose of lagering and otherwise storing and dispensing cold beer.

lagged = "insulated all round and on the bottom"; this might be British slang or colloquialism because the definition was provided to me on "uk-homebrew@smartgroups.com", which is a United Kingdom group, and was in reference to a lagged bucket-boiler.

lambic-style-beer =

lauter-tun = a vessel separate from the mash-tun, in which the wort is strained from the mash; nearly all home craft-brewers use their mash-tun for lautering rather than using a separate vessel; large commercial breweries use separate vessels to speed the process, and their lauter-tuns usually include rakes (blades to cut the grain bed) to facilitate sparging and lautering in an attempt to get the most extract as quick as possible.

lees =

lipids = unsaturated fatty acids which are available to form new bonds with other elements in the wort; they can effect yeast health (yeast will autolyze, or self-digest, when levels are insufficient), formation of esters, and bottle-conditioning, i.e., carbonation and flavor staling.  Lipids have a tendency to stick to things, including trub, so much is lost during a clear runoff, but I have not read of a solution to this problem, although I seem to recall reading something about adding something like linseed oil of flax oil or something like that to the wort.  Please send me info if you have anything on this subject.

litmus-paper = paper, typically in small strips, which change color depending upon the pH value of the liquid it touches; the litmus-paper is then compared to a color chart to estimate the pH of the sample.  As a practical matter, the only time this is used in brewing (most home craft-brewers don’t use them) is during the mash.  pH, which represents ‘parts Hydrogen’, is a value which is either acidic (below 7) or basic/alkaline (above 7), with 7 being neutral. The efficiency of enzymes in converting starch to sugar, and also avoiding the extraction of tannins from the husks, depends upon the pH of the mash, which should ideally be in the range of about 5.2 to 5.8.

LME (aka Liquid Malt Extract) = sugars and dextrins which have been extracted from a mash and then concentrated into a thick syrup by the removal of most moisture; as opposed to DME (Dried Malt Extract) or extract from an all-grain mash (runnings).

magnetic-drive-pump = these pumps use a coaxial magnetic coupling to transmit torque to an impeller; an electric motor drives a set of permanent magnets that are mounted on a carrier or drive assembly which, in turn, drive the inner rotor; like peristaltic pumps, they have no bearings or seals which could permit oil or grease to get into the liquid being pumped.

maillard-reaction = a reaction between amino acids and sugars ...

malt = grain (usually barley) is steeped or soaked in water until a certain moisture level is reached; it is then allowed to germinate under controlled conditions of temperature and humidity until a particular stage is reached (determined by the length of the grains acrospire or 'sprout'); and then the grain is roasted or heat dried in a kiln, but for at time and at a temperature low enough that the enzymes within the grain are not denatured (i.e., not deactivated).  Some malts, classified as specialty malts, are further roasted to achieve darker colors and deeper roasted flavors, but the roasting process does denature the enzymes in those malts, and are therefore used as adjuncts.

malt-liquor =

malt-mill = see mill

manifold (for ‘draining’ wort, but also see return-manifold) = any of various designs of piping, tubing, or hose, which is used to screen or filter the mash or wort when it is being drained; this is often accomplished with copper or plastic tubing cut on the underside with many thin slits or drilled with many small holes; it can also consist of stainless-steel braided-hose (aka ‘bazooka’), or a combination of hoses and elbows, etc.

manway = a hatch through which a man can enter the inside of a vessel, such as a fermentation tank, for cleaning and maintenance.

mash-paddle = a large paddle, usually with holes to increase the mixing-action, which is used to carefully stir the mash, as needed, to equalize the temperature throughout the mash; this would normally be done after adding a decoction or a hot-water infusion to achieve a temperature step, and should be done in a manner to minimize aeration.  A paddle should not be necessary with a RIMS or HERMS, because re-circulation by pump in a properly designed system should achieve temperature equalization without stirring.

mash-schedule / mashing-schedule = like the instructions in a recipe, and similar to a hop-schedule, this lists the duration and temperatures used for mashing: for single-infusion mashing without any temperature adjustment, there is just a single mashing-temperature, but for upward-infusion mashing, including RIMS, HERMS, decoctions, and hot-water-infusions, there are two or more temperature-rests.

mash-tun = a vessel which should be well-insulated for temperature stability, and in which the milled-grain and water (mash) soak for specific times and temperatures in order for the enzymes within the grain to convert starches into sugars (fermentables) and dextrins (non-fermentables which contribute to flavor and body).  For most home craft-brewers, the mash-tun also doubles as a lauter-tun (see above) for the purpose of straining and sparging the wort from the spent grains; however, some home-brewers will transfer finished mash from the mash-tun into a zapap, below, although that was more common in the early days of home-brewing before brewers began creating manifolds, false-bottoms, bazookas, etc.

mash-water (aka runnings) = beginning with the strike-water (water added initially to the grist in the mash-tun) plus any other water added during the mash, converted sugars begin dissolving into the water to make a sugary ‘extract’; when the extract is drained, it is called ‘runnings’ (first-runnings, second-runnings, etc.).  So, when it is being drained for recirculation, some brewers call it mash-water and some call it runnings, but it’s the same thing.

mashout = see temperature-rests, specifically mashout.

melanoidins = stable complexes, acid in character, which are formed at high temperatures; they are powerful reducing agents with a colloidal nature enabling them to protect unstable colloids in beer and prevent haze formation; they are reddish-brown with a malt aroma, and they are generally considered to improve the quality of beer.

meniscus =

Merlin Boiling System (aka Steineker Merlin wort boiling system) = external heating system wherein wort is constantly recirculated and poured over the surface of a heated cone; flow-diagram; more info.

metallurgy-table = still under construction!

mill (aka malt-mill) = some mega-breweries use ‘hammer’ mills, but for small brewers and even micro-breweries, the mill is a ‘roller’ mill which crushes the grain, usually between two rollers; there are a few cheap models which use a single roller against a pressure plate – which probably tends to grind a bit (grinding is bad) – and then there are more expensive mills which have more than two rollers; the latter probably accomplish in one pass what would require two passes in a standard two-roller mill, but unless you get a real good price, three or more rollers is probably an unnecessary luxury, and you can just run your grain through your two-roller mill a second time, if necessary.  There has been some debate over the merits of other types of mills which were not designed for milling malt, such as common flour-mills, coffee grinders, and even pasta makers, with the perceived problem being that they have a tendency to ‘grind’ the husk too much; the consequences of grinding the husk is that it destroys the large portions of intact husk material that are needed to form a good natural filter during runoff and sparging, with the added problem that any very fine particles of husk that manage to drain with the runnings and get into the boil will cause astringency (an undesirable bitterness unlike hops bittering) due to the release of tannins during the boil. However, it should be pointed out that many home-brewers swear by the good results that they claim they have achieved with such inferior mills, although it is unknown to me whether any of them have ever brewed any award-winning beers.

mini-keg = small, light-weight ‘cans’ used by home-brewers which, instead of using posts for CO2 connections, instead use a bung; the bung is replaced with a tap, and sometimes with specially designed carbonating taps which use small disposable CO2 cartridges to dispense the beer.  There are some products made from plastic bottles for the same purpose which are marketed as ‘mini-kegs’.

mini-keg relief-bung = bung which protects mini-keg from excessive pressure build-up from over carbonation.  [pic]  [link]

Mix-Stir™ = a device similar to a paint-stirrer, but designed so that the paddles on the end of a rod swing out of the way so that it can be extended into and retracted from a carboy; these mount onto electric hand-drills, and stir the fresh wort inside a carboy in order to aerate it.

modified-malt =

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natural-carbonation (as opposed to ‘forced-carbonation) = carbonation which occurs naturally as the result of fermentation; this is accomplished by adding a primer (small amount of sugar) to the beer immediately before bottling.

nitrogen-generator = a device to extract nitrogen from the air for the purpose of using it with a nitrogen-mixer, below.

nitrogen-mixer (aka gas-mixer or nitrogen-blender) = a device which mixes nitrogen with CO2 (carbon-dioxide) for special “Guinness-style” draft beers; although it is possible to purchases the gases in mixed tanks, it is better if the two are kept in separate tanks.  See http://www.mcdantim.com/beergas.htm for more information.

nitrokeg (aka creamflow or smoothflow) = beer which is kegged with nitrogen as well as carbon dioxide.

no-sparge = see sparge/sparging and its sub-category, no-sparge

nomograph = a chart or graph consisting of at least three separate graphs in relative positions which permit calculations  for a variety of purposes.  For example, see here for John Palmer's nomograph for determining the amount of priming sugar needed to achieve a certain volume of carbonation.

open-fermenter = a fermentation vessel, such as a bucket, which is not sealed with an air-lock, and typically isn’t even covered with anything except for something like a screen to keep insects out; it is an uncommon practice and is normally limited to primary fermentation of lambics (a style of beer).
 
oxygen-absorbing-caps = bottle caps with an oxygen-absorbing material fitted on the inside of the cap; these are probably most useful for competition brewing.

oxygen-injector = an oxygen tank feeds an aerator which usually consists of an air-stone mounted inside of a tube or hose (usually built into or used in conjuction with either a counter-pressure-chiller, a drain-hose, or a siphon); the purpose is to better increase the oxygen content of cooled wort (NEVER add to hot wort), which is needed for a larger, healthier yeast population.  Caution must be exercised, because it is possible to use too much oxygen, which can then become toxic to the yeast.

partigyle (aka partygyle) = a means of producing different beers from the same grain-bill and mash; this is done by no-sparge draining of the first runnings, which are kept separate and are used for a heavy-beer or barley-wine; weaker second-runnings, usually after a batch-sparge, are kept separate for a medium or mild beer; and possibly third-runnings are drained in the final sparge for a weak beer.  Each of the runnings are boiled separately, possibly with different hop additions, different adjuncts, and even different yeasts used for fermentation.

Party-Pig® (aka beer-pig) -- a proprietary name for a refillable plastic beer dispenser which uses an inflating inner bag to displace air and keep the beer pressurized; it does not carbonate the beer in any way.  [pic]

party-tap (aka pluto) = also called a pluto in some countries, this is simply a hose running from a keg or keg-pump, with a thumb-operated dispensing valve on the end that is used to fill beer glasses/mugs/pitchers; the valve on this type has a very stubby nozzle as compared to a beer-gun.

passivated-stainless-steel = stainless-steel which has a protective coating of chromium oxide on the surface; this is natural for stainless-steel, and when that coating has been removed by chemicals such as bleach, or by scouring with ordinary steel-wool, the iron in the stainless-steel can begin to rust; when that happens it is necessary to re-passivate it by thoroughly cleaning it and allowing it to tarnish from oxygen in the air; re-passivation can be accelerated by dipping it in nitric acid.

pasteurizer = generally only used by some commercial brewers, this a device for temporarily heating beer to a high enough temperature to kill any yeast and bacteria before packaging; this is done for stability and shelf-life only, because there are no known pathogens to humans which can survive in beer.

pathogen =

peltier-chiller = a device using the flow of electricity to draw heat from one side of a surface to another, usually with a heat sink and possibly a fan on the hot side; these do not have high capacity compared to other chilling devices, but might be a suitable alternative in some situations, such as maintaining the temperature in a fermenter.

peristaltic-pump = these pumps use rotating rollers that press against special flexible tubing to create a pressurized flow; like magnetic pumps, they have no exposed bearings or seals which could permit oil or grease to get into the liquid being pumped.

permanent-haze =

phase-state-change = when matter is converted from one physical state to another, such as turning from solid to liquid, or from liquid to gas, or vice versa; e.g., water freezing into ice, or steam condensing into water, etc.  Phase-state-changes require a lot more energy than for just the mere temperature changes of the matter at the freezing or boiling point; just to convert boiling water (water which is already 212F/100C) into steam requires more than FIVE TIMES the energy that it took to raise that same water from almost freezing (32F/0C, but not crystallized into ice) up to the boiling point -- and when that water is finally turned into steam, it is still at the same temperature of 212F/100C unless even more energy is applied to the steam.  Similarly with ice, it takes 80 calories/gram of heat-transfer to freeze or thaw water; in other words, to raise one gram of ice from -10C(14F) to 10C(50F), changing it into water in the process, will require 100 calories: 10 calories to raise the ice from -10C to 0C ... plus 80 degrees to change the 0C ice into 0C water ... plus 10 calories to raise the water from 0C to 10C. Energy required for phase-state-changes is most important when calculating energy needed to boil the wort; see boiling.

pH-meter = an electrical device which indicates the pH of a sample without the need to use litmus-paper; see litmus-paper for a more complete discussion of pH.

pH-paper = see litmus-paper, above.

pickle / pickling = treating an alloy, such as brass, to remove the surface lead to make it safe for brewing; IIRC, this is done with a solution of vinegar and hydrogen peroxide, and I'll post the proportions and exact instructions here later when I find them.

PID = Programmable Interface Device = generally used to respond to a thermostat and react by turning on/off an electric heating element or by opening/closing a solenoid valve, or even to cycle a pump.  These are small, self-contained devices which operate independently of a larger computer such as a laptop or desktop computer.

pigtail = a small diameter coil of pipe that clamps on your tank's sample port.

pin = a cask commonly used in the United Kingdom for cask-conditioned ales and which contains 4.5 imperial gallons (~5.4 U.S. gal / ~20.5 liters), which is one-eighth of a barrel; also see ‘British-casks’.

pin-lock = the type of hose connections used on ‘Coke’ style corny-kegs.

pitch = to pour the yeast or yeast-starter into the wort to begin fermination.

plate-chiller = a chiller, normally counter-flow, which uses plates instead of coils; the plates form very thin chambers which snake back and forth, with those chambers containing hot liquid sandwiched between chambers which contain cold liquid.  The surface area is typically much larger than a coil-style chiller, and therefore they are more efficient; however, they are more expensive, prone to clogging, and are harder to clean than coils.  Until fairly recently, only commercial breweries used plate-chillers, but there are now a number of them available for home-brewers, as well.

plato (aka balling) = a measurement of the sugar content of wort expressed as a percentage by weight; e.g., a 10̊P wort contains 10% sugar by weight.

pluto = see party-tap

pre-masher (also see steels-masher) =

pressure-barrel = plastic containers for beer in a range of sizes which can be pressurized for forced-carbonation and dispensing of beer, but which have only one hose connection (to a CO2 tank) because beer is dispensed from a spigot on the barrel itself.  [pic]  [link]

pressure-regulator = controls the amount of pressure applied by a CO2 tank to a keg.

primary (aka primary-fermenter) = the first fermenter used after the boil; when only one fermenter is used, it is generally referred to merely as a fermenter, but when beer will be transferred to an additional fermenter in order to separate it from any trub which has dropped out of suspension and settled to the bottom in the first fermenter, then the first fermenter is called the
primary and the second one is called the secondary.  I have heard that some brewers use even a third or tertiary fermenter (rarely) for special batches.

protein-haze =

puncheon = a cask used in the United Kingdom for cask-conditioned ales and which contains 72 imperial gallons (2 barrels = ~86.5 U.S. gal / ~327.3 liters), but which is not as commonly used today; also see ‘British-casks’.

quick-disconnects =

racking = a verb referring to the act of removing the contents of a fermenter to another container, carefully drawing if off of the sediment that has collected in the first container; sometimes beer is “racked” from one fermenter to another (e.g., primary to secondary), but often it is “racked” to a keg or a bottling bucket.

racking-cane = a stiff tube typically made of plastic or stainless-steel in the shape of a ‘cane’, with a fixture on the bottom to permit it to rest on the sediment (trub) in the bottom of a fermenter in order to siphon the liquid above it with minimal disturbance of the trub and without sucking the trub up into the racking-cane; the curved end (which is sometimes an abrupt turn rather than a sweeping curve) protrudes from the fermenter (often a carboy) and is connected to a hose leading to the next fermenter (secondary), or to a keg, or to a bottling bucket.  They usually come equipped with a clamp to hold them securely in place by fastening to the rim of the bucket or carboy being drained.

real-ale (aka 'cask-conditioned-beer', 'real-cask-ale', and 'naturally-conditioned-beer') = beer that is brewed from traditional ingredients, matured by secondary fermentation in the container from which it is dispensed, and served without the use of extraneous carbon dioxide (CAMRA definition);  also see ale.  CAMRA [Campaign for Real Ale] is the United Kingdom's foremost advocacy group for 'real ale'.

refractometer = an instrument used in brewing to determine the percentage of sugar in a sample by measuring the extent to which light is bent (i.e., refracted) as it moves from air into the sample; the measurement is called the index of refraction, and can be used to then determine specific gravity as well as the percentage of alcohol in beer.  In laymen’s terms, a drop of wort is examined to determine the amount of sugar content vs. ethanol, and thus the extent that fermentation has occurred.  In effect, it can replace the hydrometer, although some mathematical calculations will then be needed, but a number of software
programs will do that.  NOTE that temperature can affect the reading of a refractometer unless it is equipped with ‘ATC’ (automatic temperature compensation), which is a feature that you might seriously consider before purchasing a refractometer; on the other hand, sample sizes are only a couple of drops, so it shouldn’t take long to be able to take a reading without ‘ATC’.

residual-CO2 = the relatively small amount of carbon dioxide which is dissolved in your beer at the end of fermentation as a result of the fermentation rather than as the result of conditioning; the amount of carbonation depends upon temperature (the lower the temperature, the greater the amount that CO2 can be absorbed) and pressure (atmospheric pressure and head pressure -- the weight of the effective depth of liquid which the CO2 must overcome in order to vent*].  Residual-CO2 is sometimes considered by brewers when calculating the amount of priming sugar needed to reach a particular final CO2 level in their finished beer.  *If a blow-off tube is used, this would be the depth of the water in the blow-off container, because that is the depth of water which the CO2 must overcome in order to be vented.

return-manifold (used in recirculating systems such as HERMS and RIMS) = there are a variety of designs for the purpose of adding mash-water (runnings) back into the mash-tun and roughly distributing it evenly without causing aeration (which is bad – see ‘HSA’); this is done by positioning the manifold somewhat beneath the surface of the mash, using numerous outlets in the manifold, and directing them downward and/or laterally, or in some manner to avoid splashing of the hot mash.

reverse-osmosis-water-filter = see 'RO filter', below.

RIMS = Recirculating Infusion Mash System (also see HERMS for a somewhat similar system) – a brewing system which uses a pump and return-manifold to recirculate the mash-water (runnings) back into the mash-tun; the runnings are drained from the mash-tun via a bazooka, false-bottom, or manifold, ... are usually drained into a grant or underback to facilitate pumping, ... and are then pumped (usually with a magnetic-pump or peristaltic-pump) back to the mash-tun via a return-manifold.  Several methods can be used to apply heat to the mash to achieve steps in temperature:  some systems use a propane burner to directly heat either the mash-tun or underback, but that risks scorching the grain and/or caramelization of the sugars; a better method is to use a thermostat and a PID-controlled electric heating element in the recirculating pipes to heat the runnings.  The purposes for a RIMS or HERMS, compared to single-infusion systems, are several:  better temperature control; easier temperature-steps (although probably slower); improved efficiency (extraction); less aeration (as compared to hand stirring); and clearer runnings without the delay of doing a vorlauf (since the recirculation is, in effect, like a constant vorlauf).  Also, because a pump is used in the system, most HERMS and RIMS are usually single-tier because gravity-flow is not needed; this makes the frame less complicated to design and build, and also easier to use when compared with two- and three-tier systems which often require steps, ladder, or platform for accessing and working at the upper tiers.

RO filter = ‘reverse osmosis’ water filter =

RULES OF THUMB (not a brewing term, but some handy information to put here):
1.  For every pound of sugar, the yeast will produce approximately a half-pound of ethanol.
2.  You need about 25ml of settled yeast for every 5 gallons x 50 gravity points of beer.


runnings = the wort that is drained from the mash-tun or lauter-tun.

saccharification = see saccharification-rests

sanitize (as opposed to sterilize) =

sankey-keg = a k