We all love to have a sense of belonging to a community, especially if the community itself is special. The beer and brewing community is pretty darn spiffy if you ask me. I mean, think about it: You’re talking about thousands of people who love beer enough to make it a huge part of their lives, if not their career. And beer is a binder, it brings people together. When was the last time you were drinking beer and everyone around you sucked? Probably never. So if you’re wanting to feel like you belong to a community, the beer community is a good one to get into.

What’s the price of admission? Depends on what pints are going for in your neck of the woods. That’s a pretty low bar (see what I did there?) so you too can become a member. But like any community, there’s a certain vocabulary that will stick out for the initiated. Would you like to know more? I’m SOOOO glad you do!

What To Say

Look, you don’t have to take three semesters of a foreign language to talk beer. You can just speak like a regular human being and be totally fine. But knowing a few terms will help you feel like, and appear to be, more of an insider, which will at minimum be kinda cool, but might also get you a behind the scenes tour or a free pint or something. We beer folks take care of each other.

So what should you be saying? Here are a few tidbits you can drop in to the convo to look extra sharp:

  • Know the difference between a lager and an ale (it’s the yeast and the fermentation temperature, but more on that in other articles).
  • Wort (pronounced “wert” not “wart” is the liquid the brewers make; yeast makes it into beer.
  • Gravity refers to the amount of sugar in the wort before and after it becomes beer. This impacts the amount of alcohol but also the final flavor. Original Gravity is the amount before fermentation and Final Gravity is the amount after. Brewers often don’t use the Gravity scale, but may refer to Brix or Plato. If you’re in that part of the convo you should eject.
  • Grain Bill refers to the grain that was used to make the beer. This is most often some hefty amount of base malt (malted barley) and some specialty malt, but may often involve what are called “adjuncts,” which is another great term, and normally means wheat, corn, or rice, but may involve other things like maple syrup, molasses, etc.
  • Bittering hops are the ones put in at the beginning of the boil and they make the beer bitter, rarely adding much flavor. Flavoring or Aroma hops are added later or at the end, depending on what you’re going for, and add flavors/aroma more so than bitterness. Having even just the faintest grasp of this concept will be immensely impressive.
  • Racking is brew-speak for moving the beer from one container to another. You sound really in the know if you use this term.
  • Liquor is what some brewers call water in the brewing process. If you use “liquor” for water in discussing brewing AND then talk about “racking” the beer to a fermenter, you might get a job offer.

There’s more, of course, but these are enough to get you started. What about discussing the taste of beer?

  • Aroma is the first thing you should talk about; think about the different parts of the beer – grain, hops, and yeast – and think about what each is contributing. Your nose might pick up something others don’t, so don’t be afraid to speak your truth.
  • Taste is subjective, too, so speak your mind. But referring to the sweetness as crackery, biscuity, or caramelly will make you sound like a pro. If the sweetness is sticking to your palate, it’s cloying. Now you are pro. Bitterness is just that, so whatever. But hops can impart a lot of different flavors. Most hops will give you one of three types of flavors: Spicy/herbal/woody, Citrusy, or Piney/Resiny. Come up with stuff in those neighborhoods and you’re killing it.
  • Mouthfeel is great to mention, but is really simple. It’s pretty much light or heavy, or maybe in between.

Here’s where we get judgy. We can’t help it. But you should NEVER say the following:

  • “Oh, that’s a smooth finish.” You poor thing. You have been hypnotized by Budweiser into thinking this is a thing. It’s not. It implies that many beers are “rough” and they’re not. I think you can get away with this statement when talking about straight liquor (not water in brewing, btw, but actual alcohol) because that stuff is often rough. Beer is not. So shut up and stop watching television.
  • “I would have added (insert hop or specialty malt here) if I was brewing it.” OMFG. I don’t think anyone reading this column would ACTUALLY say something like this, but I’ve heard it said to professional brewers and if brewers weren’t, by and large, very patient and understanding people, there would be violence.
  • “This has a great malt backbone.” I get it. You’ve read the backs of a few bottles and cans. Good for you. Don’t do this, though. It has the sound of a catechism that is really just a big turnoff.
  • “This is very drinkable.” Oh, thank you! The beer that I have spent the last three weeks perfecting for you has made your minimum standard for ingestability. How f’ing kind of you to say so. A similar version is, “This is actually pretty good.”
  • Don’t ask us what you would like to drink. We know what we like, but that may not be the thing for you. It also depends on context. If you’re looking for a recommendation, tell us some beers that you like and we can help you with what’s available.

Those are some great tips for fitting into the brewing and beer scene. Use this information wisely and you’ll have a beard, boots, and a paddle in no time. Cheers!

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