This page lists commonly used beer-related words, both for commercial beers, and for homebrewing.
| Adjunct | A non-barley additive to beer, generally used to provide additional starches/sugars, e.g., oatmeal, wheat, rice |
| Ale | Beer that is top-fermented between 60-70°F |
| Altbier | Alt is German for "old" - as in old style (pre-lager) ale, dark brown, low hops, but may be highly bitter |
| Barleywine | Malty and sweeter beer with a higher alcoholic content and taste of alcohol |
| Beer | A beverage created by fermenting barley and hops: German law specified that beer could contain only barley, hops, yeast, and water |
| Bock | Higher malt and alcohol lager (Bock means "goat" in German) |
| California Common | "Steam" beer brewed with lager yeasts at ale temperatures |
| Cassis | Lambic made with black currants |
| Cider | A beverage created by fermenting apple juice |
| Doppelbock | Highly malted "double" bock with more alcohol, beer names end with "-ator" |
| Dubbel | Belgian Dubbel is a darker fuller bodied beer that is malty and somewhat sweet, with nutty chocolate roast nose. It uses double the amount of malt, and has a higher alcohol content. |
| Dunkel | German for "dark" (color) |
| Eisbock | A bock that has been concentrated (and is higher alcohol content) by freezing some of the water (Ice bock) |
| Framboise | Lambic made with raspberries |
| GABF | Great American Beer Festival |
| Gueuze | (pronounced "girs" with a hard-G) - A blend of newer and older Lambic beers to start a new fermentation |
| Hefe | German for "yeast" |
| Helles | German for "light" (color) |
| IBU | "International Bitterness Units" - a means for measuring the bitterness - lighter beers may be close to zero, pale ales and stouts may be 60 IBU or higher |
| Kölsch | German light and fruity ale, not sweet, medium hops |
| Kriek | Lambic made with cherries |
| Lager | Beer that is bottom-fermented between 40-50°F, and then stored ("lager" is German "to store") |
| Lambic | Belgian style of beer brewed with wild yeast and bacteria for souring |
| Lauter | The process of removing or straining the grain from the wort, done in the lauter-tun |
| Maibock | Lighter and hoppier Bock - for festivals in May (Mai). |
| Malt Liquor | A designation (caused by USA laws limiting alcohol percentage in products labelled as "beer") for high-alcohol, lighter body beers, e.g., lagers, pilseners |
| Marzen | A beer brewed in March - may be an Oktoberfest, or may be a lighter "Summer" beer |
| Mash | The process of converting starches to sugars by boiling or heating the grain, done in the mash-tun (brewing pot) |
| Mead | A beverage created by fermenting honey-water |
| Oktoberfest | A rich malty copper-colored lager, generally brewed in the spring and consumed in autumn |
| Peche | Lambic made with peaches |
| Pilsener | Beer that is bottom-fermented, pale and golden, and hoppy (also Pils, Pilsner) |
| Porter | Dark brown to black beer with no roast barley |
| Quadrupel | Belgian Quadrupel is a dark full bodied beer that is malty that uses quadruple the amount of malt, and has a higher alcohol content. |
| Rauchbier | German for "smoke beer", made with smoked malts |
| Roggenbier | German for "rye beer", made with rye malt |
| Schwarzbier | German for "black beer", a Bavarian style that is generally lighter bodied, not too bitter |
| Sparge | The process of washing additional flavors/sugars/starches/nutrients from boiled or mashed grains and/or other additives |
| SRM | "Standard Reference Method" - a means for measuring the color - lighter beers may be close to zero, porters and stouts may be 40 (black opaque) |
| Stout | Dark copper to black beer with roasted barley and caramel flavors, often has coffee and/or chocolate flavors |
| Trappist | Beer produced by one of the Trappist monastaries in Belgium. This is not a style of beer - Trappist ale may be Dubbel, Tripel, Blonde, etc. |
| Tripel | Belgian Tripel is a light pale beer using triple the amount of malt, higher sweetness, higher bitterness, higher alcohol content. |
| Trub | (pronounced "troob") - protein and tannin that is precipitated from the wort during the boiling or cooling |
| Weisse | German for "wheat" |
| Wit | Belgian for "white", often spiced with coriander seeds and orange peel |
| Wort | (pronounced "wert") - unfermented beer |
| Urbock | "Original" bock, bock from the town of Einbeck in Germany |
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