Basic Beer/Brewing Terminology

Beer Terminology





Last week I discussed some basics in brewing. If you missed out last week, you can check out them out on my archived blogs. This week, lets go over a few basic beer/brewing terms that come up frequently. You may have even seen some of these terms or abbreviations on beer menus in the past.

I was shocked to learn some people were not aware what many of these abbreviations meant. But then again, I've spent a large part of my life in or around a bar so what is common to me is likely uncommon to the average consumer. It's like my wife (who is a school psychologist) discussing IEPs and SATs and low and high SESs etc. She can spit out terms like that without flinching not knowing I had no idea (until recently) what any of them meant.

ABV. Alcohol by Volume. This is the typical measurement of alcohol in a liquid. It is the overall percentage of alcohol in the container. A bourbon that is 40% ABV contains 40% alcohol out of 100%. Easy enough right? Average beers range from 4%-5% or more. So if you are used to drinking a light or "lite" beer at around 3.5-4.2% ABV, then you consume a Goose Island Bourbon County Stout at 14.5% ABV on a whim...you will be intoxicated relatively quickly. That's like drinking 4 of your light beers in one glass of Bourbon Stout! I've had a few patrons have 2 or 3 of those and wonder why they need to call a cab to drive them home. I say "well you had 12 regular beers in 2 hours man!".

It gets more confusing when start discussing ABW vs ABV. ABW= Alcohol by Weight. This is the measurement of weight of alcohol vs the rest of the liquid in the container. Alcohol is lighter than water so the measurement is generally lower than ABV. So 3.2% Alcohol by Weight is 3.2% of the total weight out of 100%. So say the bottle was 100 grams. If the beer was 3.2% ABW, that would mean that 3.2 grams of alcohol was in the bottle. ABW is generally around 4/5 of the ABV. So if you see some three-two beer (3.2%), just double check that its 3.2% ABV or ABW. If it is 3.2% ABW the alcohol percentage is actually higher. Clear as mud?

O.G. No. Not original gangster. OG = Original Gravity. In previous emails and blogs I discussed some basic brewing. Wort is the sugar water made from combining hot water and malted barley. Well, OG is the measurement of dissolved solids in liquid (namely sugar). We use a hydrometer to measure how much more dense the wort is than water. The more dense the more potential sugars dissolved in the wort. Why is that important? The more sugar in the finished wort, the more sugar for the yeast to eat and the more potential for alcohol in the finished beer. So the Original Gravity is the measurement of sugars in the wort before fermenting.

F.G. = Final Gravity. This is, as you may have guessed, the measurement of sugars in the beer after fermentation. Alcohol is less dense than sugars so we can use that little hydrometer again to measure the density of the liquid again. The more sugar that was consumed by the yeast during fermentation, the higher the alcohol. So we can take the original Gravity and the Final Gravity and calculate the approximate ABV of a beer.

Why are those terms important for the regular consumer? A lot of breweries list the OG or FG next to the beers. If the beer has an extremely high OG you can guess its going to be a pretty boozy beer. If it has a really low FG that means it has very little sugars left so it will likely be dry with little residual sweetness. A high FG means a lot of residual sweetness because the yeast didn't consume all the sugars. If you like sweeter beer, a higher Final Gravity is what you want! So a beer like Budweiser or a light crisp Pilsner or Wheat beer may have a very low Final Gravity where as a nice English Brown Ale or Imperial Stout or Barleywine will likely have a slightly, if not extremely, high Final Gravity.

IBUs = International Bitterness Units. This is the relative measurement of bitterness in a beer. I say relative because some beers that have high IBUs don't necessarily taste extremely bitter. Its all relative to the sweetness of the beer. Imagine a super sweet Chinese dish with a bunch of red peppers in it. It will still be spicy but wont taste nearly as spicy as if it were a bland dish with no sweetness and tons of peppers. OK, maybe that was a poor analogy. However, if you have an extremely high ABV beer that has a relatively high FG (see how I'm using terms we just learned, nice right?) a high level of bitterness isn't going to be as noticeable or perceivable as a beer that is 'light'. A lighter beer with a bunch of hops will be perceived as 'hoppier' or more bitter.

Lets put this in perspective. Most of the American Light Lagers or "Domestic" styles are around 8-12 IBUs. A German Pilsner may be upward of 25 IBUs. An American Pale Ale 30-45 IBUs and an American IPA 40-70 IBUs.

SRM = Standard Reference Method. SRM is just a method for estimating beer color. So if a beer is listed at a lower SRM it is lighter in color than a beer with a higher SRM. A light American Lager may be 2-4 SRM. An American Pale Ale 5-14, American Brown Ale 18-35, and an Irish Stout 30-45. Higher number = Darker.

I hope that clears up a few of the abbreviations you see while you're at your favorite pub. Now the next time you are out with your friends you can be the know-it-all with all the answers!