For those of you old enough to remember the CB radio, you know it was all about the “handle,” the “smokies in the woods,” the “10-4s.” It’s a language all its own. Beer, as it turns out, also has an underground code that’s just as cool.
One of our favorite beer resources, BellaOnline.com, shares the phrases and sayings you should know if you want to truly talk beer.
Bandits
Pilsners had their beginning in the city of Pilsen in the Czech Republic. Legally, a beer made in any other location than the city of Pilsen could not be called a pilsner. Bandits were beers that took the pilsner name, despite the legal mumbo-jumbo.
Bung Hole
Holes on draft beer kegs that are used for filling, as well as cleaning.
The Art of Hopping
The perfect blending of hops that produces the aroma and flavor in beer. Hops impart a balance of dryness and bitterness that add character.
Belgian Lace
When a beer is well made, it produces a resilient head. This head is so long lasting that it produces a spider web effect on the glass if the glass has been properly washed and conditioned.
Fluffy Bottoms
When cask-conditioning, brewers sometimes have difficulty getting the yeast to settle to the bottom of the keg. This floating yeast is termed a “fluffy bottom.”
Liquid Bread
While monks of the Middle Ages were fasting, they brewed and drank beer for sustenance. They coined the term “liquid bread” for this gift from heaven.
Eliot Ness
You might think this is the Law Officer who gained fame in his relentless pursuit of Al Capone. NOT SO!! This is rich, malty Vienna-style lager made by Great Lakes Brewing Company, Cleveland, Ohio.
Arrogant Bastard
Oaked Ale from Stone Brewing Company, San Marcos, California. This is a special, oaked malt-and-hop monster, available in 3 litre bottles, that hit the shelves in November of 2004.
Raison D’Etre
This deep mahogany Ale, brewed by Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, Delaware gives you a reason for living! This ale, brewed with beet sugar, green grapes and Belgian yeast, has flavors as complex as fine wine.
Edmund Fitzgerald
Not the cargo ship that ended in disaster on November 10, 1975 – This is a porter style beer with complex, roasty, chocolate-coffee tones and a bold hop presence – Another fine brew produced by Great Lakes Brewing in Cleveland, Ohio.