There are a lot of terms and words that are specific to the brewing and/or distilling process and industry. See here for some commonly used terminology, explained:
| ABV | Alcohol by Volume |
| Adjunct | A term used to refer to fermentable ingredients in the mash that are not malted barley. Common examples include (but are not limited to) corn, oats, rice, wheat, honey, and various syrups. |
| Aeration | The process of introducing oxygen from air to wort during the brewing process (typically while pitching yeast) to ensure a healthy fermentation. |
| Alcoholmeter | An instrument used in the distilling process that measures the alcohol by volume in various spirits. |
| All Grain Brewing | A term used to describe the homebrewing method of conducting a full mash with malted barley and other grains, as opposed to using malt extract. |
| Alpha Acid | A chemical compound found in hops that are isomerised during the boil, directly leading to the bitterness level of the finished beer. |
| Attenuation | A term used to describe the percentage of fermentable sugars in the wort that will likely be converted into alcohol by the yeast during fermentation. |
| Barley | The most common grain used in beer brewing. |
| Boil | A step in the brewing process where the wort is held at a rolling boil for an extended time (usually 60 - 90 minutes) to ensure that the wort is concentrated, sterile, and hops are added at specific time intervals. |
| Carbonation | Used to describe the amount of dissolved carbon dioxide (CO2) in beer |
| Counterflow Chiller (CFC) | A tool used in the brewing process to cool the wort after the boil to a temperature suitable to pitch the yeast, and begin fermentation. |
| Chill Haze | A term used to describe a cloudy appearance in beer when it is chilled to serving temperature. "Chill haze" is caused by chemical bonds between malt proteins and hop polyphenols, and can be eliminated by cooling your wort quickly after the boil, and using fining agents such as Irish moss or isinglass. While not aesthetically pleasing, chill haze typically will not impact the flavour of the beer. |
| Cold Break | A term used to loosely describe the particulates in wort that drop out of solution once when the wort is being chilled to fermentation temperature. The cold break material usually consists of proteins such as hop matter, and malt husks that coagulate together during the whirlpool and drop to the bottom of the boil kettle. |
| DMS | Dimethyl sulphide this has the aroma and flavour of tinned vegetables or tomatoes. this is caused by DMS precursors in the lowly modified malts. However, these precursors are boiled off during the boil, unless the lid is left on during the boil. |
| EBC | European Brewery Convention (EBC) is a method used for assessing the colour of beer. See also Standard Reference Measure (SRM). |
| Enzyme | A substance produced by a living organism that acts as a catalyst to bring about a specific biochemical reaction. |
| Extract Brewing | A method of brewing that utilizes 100% malt extract to produce wort, as opposed to running a full mash with malted grains. |
| Ferment/Fermentation | In brewing, the process of converting sugar from the malt into alcohol and carbon dioxide (CO2) by yeast |
| Fermenter | A vessel used during the fermentation process. |
| Fermentables | A catch-all term that is used to describe any kind of ingredient that can contribute to the fermentable sugar content of the wort (i.e. malted barley, wheat, honey, etc) |
| Final Gravity (FG) | The measurement of residual sugar in beer that is left over once that fermentation is complete. It is used to determine the alcohol by volume in the beer when compared to the original gravity of the wort. |
| Hop | One of the four main ingredients in beer, hops the flower/cone of the hop plant are used to impart bitterness, flavor, and aroma to beer. |
| Hydrolysis | The chemical breakdown of a compound due to reaction with water. |
| Hydrometer | A tool is used to measure the specific gravity (ie the amount of sugar) in your wort, the standard gravity in your wort at the start of fermentation is referred to as the OG (original gravity) and FG (final gravity is the standard gravity at the end of fermentation. |
| IBU/EBU | International Bitterness Units (IBU) and European Bitterness Units (EBU) are both methods for measuring the level of bitterness in beer on a scale of 0 to 100. The higher the number, the more bitter the beer. |
| Isomerised | The process of alpha acids from hops being turned into iso-alpha acids, which are the principal bittering agent in beer. |
| Kettle | A metal brewing vessel used to conduct the boiling process, typically made of stainless steel. |
| Lauter | The process of straining the wort from the grain in the mash. |
| Malt | are grains that have been treated to start the process of germentation then halted and dried for the purpose of brewing. |
| Malt Extract | A condensed version of the wort produced from the mashing process can be a liquid product (liquid malt extract, LME) or a dry product (Dried malt extract DME) |
| Mash Tun | A vessel used in the brewing process to conduct the mash. |
| Mash | A step in the brewing process where grain is steeped with warm water to convert and extract fermentable sugar through the saccharification process. |
| Original Gravity (OG) | The measurement of fermentable sugar in wort at the start of fermentation. It is used to determine the alcohol by volume (ABV) in the beer when compared to the final gravity (FG) of the beer. |
| Partial Mash Brewing | A method of brewing that utilizes malt extract to create the majority of the fermentable sugar for the wort, in combination with steeped specialty grains to expand the flavour profile of the beer. |
| Pitching | Typically used to describe the act of adding yeast to wort to commence the onset of fermentation: "pitching yeast" |
| Priming | Typically used to describe simple sugar that is added when bottling beer to act as a catalyst for a secondary fermentation within the bottle, which imparts carbonation within the bottled beer |
| Proof | A measure of alcohol content within a beverage is approximately double ABV |
| Rests | The process of holding the mash at specific temperature intervals for set amounts of time to enhance the activity of specific enzymes during a mash to alter wort flavour and fermentable sugar content. |
| Saccharification | The enzymatic reaction of converting starches within the grain into sugar. |
| Sanitiser | A substance that is used to neutralise any bacteria or other microorganisms on surfaces that will come in contact with the wort, or the finished beer prior to serving. |
| Sparge | The process of rinsing the grains left over from the mash. |
| Specific Gravity | The density of fermentable sugar in wort, or beer. |
| SRM | Standard Reference Measure (SRM) is a method of assessing the colour of beer. See also European Brewery Convention (EBC). |
| Starch | A carbohydrate found in barley and other grains that can be reduced by enzymatic reaction to a fermentable sugar. |
| Steeping | Soaking in water to extract flavour |
| Strike Water | Water that is added to the grain bill to begin the mash. |
| Wort | The sweet sugar-rich liquid that is produced during the mash, and is transformed into beer during the fermentation process. |
| Wortometer | A tool used to monitor the temperature of wort between the wort chiller and the fermenter |