Beer Dictionary

Our beer dictionary is a collection of beer terms we use frequently on our site that we realized may need some further explanation. We try to define them in easy to read layman's terms with a minimal use of acronyms. Enjoy!

ABV
Alcohol By Volume. A standard measure of how much alcohol is in a beer. The "average" beer contains about 5% to 6% ABV. You usually don't find much above 12% ABV. An average bottle of wine is around 11% ABV.

Ale
Any beer brewed with top-fermenting ale yeast. Ales are brewed and served at higher temperatures than lagers. They tend to be sweet and strong and can have higher alcohol contents than lagers.

Australian Longneck
A 25.4 ounce (750 ml) bottle of beer.

Beer Goggles
A side effect of the alcohol content in beer, especially when quantity is the main focus instead of quality. This leads to another focus on quantity over quality when choosing a partner.

Bomber
A 22 ounce (650 ml) bottle of beer.

Dunkel
A dark beer, usually German. Dunkel is German for dark.

Growler
A 64 ounce (1890 ml or half gallon) glass jug of beer.

Hophead
Someone who really loves hoppy beers, such as IPAs.

Hops
The flower of the hop plant put into beer to provide bitterness, light aromas (flowery, fruity or citrus) and longer shelf life.

Hop Shock
The awkward taste in your mouth you're convinced may be your taste buds burning as a result of drinking a beer that is too hoppy and bitter.

IBU
International Bitterness Units. A standard scale that measures the bitterness of beer. Most beers will be between 10 and 100 IBUs. The higher the number the more bitter the beer.

IPA
India Pale Ale. Usually a very hoppy beer that has a distinct bitterness to it.

Lager
Any beer brewed with bottom-fermenting lager yeast. Lagers are brewed and served at cooler temperatures than ales. They tend to be light and smooth and represent the vast majority of beers produced.

Longneck
A 12 ounce (355 ml) bottle of beer.

Malts
Grains (barley and wheat are the most common) that have been soaked in water and heated that provide flavor (dark and deep flavors like caramel, roasted and chocolate), body and alcohol to beer.

Radler
Mixture of half beer and half lemonade. May also be called an Alster, Shandy or Panache.

Session Beer
A beer with a low enough alcohol content that you can drink many of them in one sitting without becoming all sloppy drunk.

Skunk Beer
A beer with an aroma and taste that punches straight into your sinuses.

Spider
The last little bit of beer that settles in your bottle a few minutes after you've poured the entire contents into your glass.

Wort
Liquid extracted from the mashing process during the brewing of beer. Wort contains sugars that will be fermented by the brewing yeast to produce alcohol.

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