Malts : Barley
Malt is germinated cereal grains that have been dried in a process known as “malting”. The grains are made to germinate by soaking in water, and are then halted from germinating further by drying with hot air.[1][2][3][4] Malting grains develops the enzymes required to modify the grain’s starches into sugars, including monosaccharides such as glucose or fructose, and disaccharides, such as sucrose or maltose. It also develops other enzymes, such as proteases, which break down the proteins in the grain into forms which can be used by yeast.
Malted grain is used to make beer, whisky, malted shakes, malt vinegar, confections such as Maltesers and Whoppers, flavored drinks such as Horlicks, Ovaltine and Milo, and some baked goods, such as malt loaf. Malted grain which has been ground into a coarse meal is known as “sweet meal”.[5][6] Various cereals are malted, though barley is the most common. A high-protein form of malted barley is often a label-listed ingredient in blended flours typically used in the manufacture of yeast breads and other baked goods.[7]
The term “malt” refers to several products of the process: the grains to which this process has been applied, for example malted barley; the sugar, heavy in maltose, derived from such grains, such as the baker’s malt used in various cereals; or a product based on malted milk, similar to a malted milkshake (i.e., “malts”).
IBU : International Bittering Units
This is a measure of the actual bitterness of a beer as contributed by the alpha acid from hops. Because the apparent bitterness of a beer is subjective to the taste of the drinker and the balancing malt sweetness of the beer this is not always an accurate measure of the “hoppiness” of a beer. But, generally speaking, beers with IBUs of less than 20 have little to no apparent hops presence. Beers with IBUs from 20 to 45 are the most common and have mild to pronounced hops presence. Beers with IBUs greater than 45 are heavily hopped and can be quite bitter.
SRM : Standard Reference Method
We, as humans, are very visual. We use this sense to give us quick feedback on many aspects of life. Brewers only have one chance to set the first impression of a beer as it pours into our glass. Based on the style of the beer, the color is the first gauge for what we expect in a beer. Other factors like retention, lacing, and color of the foam play a big part also.
SRM is a scale for measuring the color intensity of a beer (it's more technical than this, but we will leave it there). SRM was adopted by the Ameican Society of Brewing Chemists in 1951. There is another, older scale named degrees Lovibond (devised by Joseph Williams Lovibond) that the SRM scale
has replaced.
The color chart and colors below are an approximation of the actual colors in the SRM scale.
| Beer Colors and SRM Value | ||
|---|---|---|
| Color Swatch | SRM | Color |
|
|
2 | Pale Straw |
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3 | Straw |
|
|
4 | Pale Gold |
|
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6 | Deep Gold |
|
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9 | Pale Amber |
|
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12 | Medium Amber |
|
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15 | Deep Amber |
|
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18 | Amber-Brown |
|
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20 | Brown |
|
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24 | Ruby Brown |
|
|
30 | Deep Brown |
|
|
40 | Black |
| Beer Style SRM Color Ranges | |
|---|---|
| Style | SRM Range |
| Pilsner | 2 – 7 |
| Witbier, Berliner Weisse | 2 – 4 |
| Belgian Strong Ale | 4 – 7 |
| Maibock | 4 – 10 |
| Vienna Lager | 7 – 14 |
| Oktoberfest | 4 – 12 |
| American Pale Ale | 6 – 14 |
| Pale Ale | 5 – 14 |
| English Golden Ale | 4 – 8 |
| Bavarian Weizen | 4 – 10 |
| Bitter, ESB | 8 – 14 |
| Märzen | 7 – 15 |
| Imperial Pale Ale | 5 – 11 |
| Bière de Garde | 6 – 13 |
| Dunkel Weizen | 9 – 13 |
| Amber Ale | 11 – 18 |
| English Brown Ale | 12 – 22 |
| Bock | 15 – 30 |
| Porter | 20 – 40 |
| Oatmeal Stout | 25 – 40 |
| Baltic Porter | 17 – 40 |
| Foreign Stout | 30 – 65 |
| Imperial Stout | 50 – 80 |
| Source: Tasting Beer by Randy Mosher | |
ABV : Alcohol by Volume
Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as abv, ABV, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a percentage of total volume). The ABV standard is used worldwide.