Glossary

Foreword: All terms in this glossary are in reference to homebrewing only. Definitions vary on application.

A

Alcohol By Volume (ABV) - Standard measure of how much alcohol is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage.

B

Backsweeten - A process commonly used in mead making to sweeten the finish of a fermented drink.

Bottle Bomb - A bottle of mead exploding due to excess pressure.

Brix - Measurement that reads the sugar content of a solution, usually measured with a refractometer.

C

Carbonated - A beverage with additional carbon dioxide, creating a fizzy drink.

Cold Crash - The process of using cold temperatures to make yeast fall out of solution or “crash” out.

Contamination - Unwanted bacteria being present on equipment/in mead.

C

Demijohn - Container for mead, ideally glass.

E

Esters - Aromatic compounds created by yeast as a bi-product of fermentation.

F

Ferment - The process of yeast turning sugars into alcohol.

Fusels - Alcohol molecules that contain more than two carbons that when present in mead produce undesirable flavours.

G

Gravity - Relative density of a beverage compared to water of the must at various stages of fermentation. This is measured with a hydrometer. Can be used to calculate ABV.

H

Hydrometer - An instrument that measures the gravity of a beverage.

L

Lees/Sediment/Yeast Cake - The accumulation of yeast cells and proteins at the bottom of a vessel.

M

Mead - An alcoholic beverage created by fermenting honey with water.

Meniscus Line - The surface level of a liquid.

Metabolize - The process yeast carries out when changing fermentable sugars into alcohol.

Must - An unfermented mixture of ingredients in mead and wine making.

O

Oxidized - The process of a mead being united with oxygen, increasing the aging process and producing undesirable flavours such as cardboard.

P

Pasteurize - An alternative method of stabilizing. Requires heating a mead to 60 C for 22 minutes, usually in a hot water bath.

pH - Expresses the acidity or alkalinity of a beverage on a logarithmic scale on which 7 is neutral, lower values are more acidic and higher values are more alkaline.

Pitch - The process of adding yeast to a must.

R

Rack - The process of using a siphon to move liquid from one container to another.

Refractometer - An instrument that measures the brix of a beverage.

S

Sanitize - The process of reducing surface bacteria along with any contaminants.

Siphon - Synonym for rack.

Skunking - A mead that’s been compromised by exposure to UV rays. This is only really an issue with meads that contain herbs or hops.

Stabilize - The process of adding potassium metabisulfite and potassium sorbate to a mead to ensure fermentation does not restart.

Staggered Nutrient Addition (SNA) - A protocol that clearly defines at which intervals to add yeast nutrients, as well as the amount of yeast nutrient to be added at each interval.

Y

Yeast - Microscopic fungus used in homebrewing to create alcohol.

Yeast Nutrients - Ingredients that are designed to aid yeast health, leading to faster ferment times and less stressed yeast.