GLOSSARY le BEER
Carboy: A large glass container, typically in the shape of one of those office water containers, that is used to ferment beer. All of the ingredients, when finished being prepared, are poured into the carboy and left to ferment for (x) number of days. These carboys can be glass or plastic, and they can vary in size. Our carboy is glass and can hold 6 1/2 gallons.
***(May also be referred to as a fermentor or primary fermentor.
This is our carboy. It contains the contents of our BeeHive Blonde....currently fermenting!
Airlock: Device, in our case plastic, that is fitted snugly at the top of the carboy. The airlock is placed on the carboy after the wort is poured into the carboy. Throughout fermentation, the airlock allows CO2 to escape from the carboy, while not allowing anything to enter the fermentor.
*Think of the airlock as a bouncer at P Diddy's birthday party at some club in Las Vegas. After people have had a good time and are ready to leave the club, the bouncer holds the door for them on the way out, happily allowing the guests to go on their merry way (CO2 leaving the fermentor). On the other hand, there is a ton of paparazzi, gold diggers, and hosers hanging out on the outside of the club BEGGING to get in and be a part of Diddy's extravaganza, but there is no way the bouncer is letting them in (Air and other unwanted particles that could be harmful to our beer).
Wort: The sweet mixture that is produced when the water, malt, and grains are boiled together. This mixture, along with yeast, is transferred into a primary fermentor, which will result in beer.
Yeast: IT'S ALIVE! Believe it or not, these tiny little microorganisms are alive and well my friends. There are a crazy amount of styles and variations of yeast, but in general, it is one of the most essential tools in the brewing process. Yeast converts a fermentable sugar (that sweet, succulent liquid before it becomes beer) into alcohol, which we all know is the stuff that enhances good times and questionable decision making. The reason why I say questionable is because it is up for debate whether or not the behavior is appropriate or not while on the alcohol.
Bottling Bucket: In home brewing, this is the bucket used to transfer the beer into bottles. First, the beer is siphoned from the fermentation device into the bottling bucket. Then, the beer is transferred into bottles via a long plunger-type shaft.
Alpha Acids (AA): These are chemical compounds primarily found in the hop plant, which are essentially a beers source of bitterness. The high the AA percentage, the more bitter or 'hoppy' your beer will be.
Isomerization: When heat (boiling water) is introduced to these alpha acids, they become isomerized and form iso-alpha acids.The amount of bitter flavor produced by the addition of hops is highly dependent on the length of time the hops are boiled. Longer boil times will result in isomiztion of a larger amount of alpha acids.
*If you did not understand a word that was just stated back there, it is okay, neither did we. Just kidding, but seriously. The longer you boil your hops, the more bitter or 'hoppy' your beer has the potential to be.
Krausen: The foamy head that develops during the initial stage of fermentation. It is composed of wort protein, yeast, and hop residue. This occurs as a result of yeast eating sugars and building up C02 in the process. I bet that's the only time we can say hooray for foamy discharge....am I right boys!!!!????
Flocculation: Used to measure the rate at which yeast settles to the bottom of the fermentation device. Yeast strains with a HIGHER flocculation rate will settle out of the beer faster once fermentation is complete.
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