Atras

Tools and Terms of Measurement: The ABCs of Beer #4

We’re sure by now you have realised that the commercial beer-making process is a lot more complicated than people often assume. Every bottle needs to taste and look the same, every time. This not only requires specialised tools and equipment, but precision and finesse. All sorts of elements need to be accurately measured, from the temperature to the colour of the final product.

SAB -- Blog Article -- ABC 4 (1)

SAB -- Blog Article -- ABC 4_01

A kettle is used to boil wort.

SAB -- Blog Article -- ABC 4_02

A lauter tun is a large vessel fitted with a slotted false bottom and numerous drain pipes used to separate sweet wort from spent grains after the mashing process has been completed.

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A mash tun is a vessel in which malt is mashed.
SAB -- Blog Article -- ABC 4_04

An oast house is a farm-based facility where hops are dried and baled after picking.

SAB -- Blog Article -- ABC 4_05

Alcohol by Volume (ABV) is the percentage of alcohol contained in your beer, measured by volume.

SAB -- Blog Article -- ABC 4_06

Bitterness Units is the measure of bitterness in a beer. Bitterness is derived from the amount of hops added. For example, a Castle Lager has 22 bitterness units compared to Carling Black Label’s 16.

SAB -- Blog Article -- ABC 4_07

Degrees Plato is a scale used for measuring the amount of dissolved sugar in a solution.

SAB -- Blog Article -- ABC 4_08

Lovibond is a scale used to measure colour in grains and sometimes in beer.

SAB -- Blog Article -- ABC 4_09

Original gravity is the specific gravity of wort before fermentation.
Join us next week for the 5th instalment of the ABCs of Beer – we’ll be giving you some handy terms to throw around the dinner table.

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