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ACETIFICATION: The conversion of our precious alcohol into vinegar. Probably one of the largest risks for the home brewer and is one of the main reasons we are so keen in keeping everything sterile
ACID: The
sour constituent in wine which may be citric, tartaric, malic or lactic, but
must not be acetic. The riper the grapes are the more tartaric and the less
malic acid they contain. Malic acid is contained in many fruits but particularly
in apples. When wine is allowed to stand on its yeast deposit during warm
weather it frequently becomes less acid through the malic acid turning into a
milder acid, namely lactic acid. This is the acid which is present in milk when
it goes sour and this change to a milder acidity is known as the malo-lactic
fermentation. Most wines generally have an acid content between 0.5 & 0.75%.
All acids are interchangeable, if a recipe names a
specific acid you can ignore this & use any. This can save you money as you
now only need one tub of acid rather than three, quite a few winemakers, like
me, settle for tartaric acid as any excess settles out in the bottle in the form
of “argols”. See Argols, Citric, Malic & Tartaric
acids.
ACID
BLEND/MIX: People who worry too much about which is the correct acid to use can
make a mixture of approximately 1 part citric, 2 parts malic & 3 parts
tartaric acid (quantities not at all critical). Personally I find this expensive
(you need 3 acids not 1) & wasteful (it will be years out of date by the
time you use half of it). Just settle for 1 type (see Acid above). By careful
selection of ingredients it is often possible to design a recipe that needs no
additional acid, if some is needed, you can always shove in a stick of
rhubarb.
ANADA: a nursery for young sherry.
APERITIF: Appetizer wine.
ARGOLS:
(See Cream Of Tartar). The beautiful, harmless, tiny glass-like crystals that
sometimes appear in bottles of wine, sometimes attached to the cork. It is the
potassium salt of tartaric acid & is known chemically as potassium hydrogen
tartrate, potassium tartrate or dipotassium tartrate & has the formula
K2C4H4O6. One advantage
of using Tartaric acid for wine making is that any excess will be deposited in
the form of these crystals when the wine is cooled.
BODY: This is one of the key components of wine tasting and it really seems odd that I cannot describe it. I know adding bananas to country wines adds body and so I often to this. I know what a thin wine tastes like but again how to describe it? Get two glasses & a good quality red, at least 5 years old, one glass will have the red poured normally at room temperature 20C ish and in the other glass, the wine is diluted with 50% water. Both need to be the same temp. The dilute one has less body (it is thinner) than the undiluted one. Mind you, it will have less aroma and less alcohol, so, is this a good idea? Probably not!
BOTTLES: You know what a bottle is. You know the glass thing that holds your wine, beer....
Red table
wines generally green bottles.
White table wines tall green or amber are
preferred.
Dessert wines such as Sauternes go into white,
Sherries into
brown bottles.
Champagnes into flagon size heavy bottles.
A full size
wine bottle holds 26 2/3 oz. i.e. 1/6 gallon.
Magnum 2 bottles = 1/3 gallon Jeroboam 4 bottles (a double magnum) Rehoboarn 6 bottles = 1gallon Methuselah 8 bottles Salmanazar 12 bottles = 2 gallon Balthazar 16 bottles Nebuchadnezzar 20 bottles
BOTTOMS: (Lees). The deposit that settles in a fermenter or storage vessel. Usually contains dead yeast cells and other debris from the wine.
BOUQUET: The all important aroma of wine.
BRANDY: A high alcohol beverage made by distilling wine.
BOTTOM
FERMENTING: See Yeast. Lagers are bottom fermented.
CAMPDEN
TABLET: See Sterilizer. Consists of sodium metabisulphate, when a tablet is
dissolved in water or wine it releases 50 ppm (parts per million) of sulphur
dioxide (DO NOT inhale - Bill Clinton). Can be used as a sterilizer & to
prevent the growth of unwanted spoilage yeasts & bacteria
CARBONATED WINES: Wines that have carbon dioxide gas in them causing them to be sparkling. This is normally done by means of fermentation producing the bubbles but sometime I guess they just inject the wine with CO2 as if it were lemonade.
CASEIN
(POTASSIUM CASEINITE): See Fining. A wine positively charged fining agent, the
predominant phosphoprotein (no, I don’t understand either) found in fresh milk. Its
action is quite harsh, stripping some of the flavour from a wine and reducing
tannins.
Fuder of German wine = approx. 220 gallons (Basically a lot and often these casks have very ornate woodwork.)
Tun or Tonneau = 190 gallons (Used for burgundy)
Pipe = 115 gallons (Used for port)
Butt = 108 gallons (Used for sherry)
Hogshead = 57 gallons (Used for port. Not all Hogsheads are the same size it kind of depends if it holds Sherry or port)
Hogshead = 54 gallons (Size is right if used for sherry)
CASKS (BEER):
Barrel = 36 gallons
Kilderkin = 18 gallons
Firkin = 9 gallons
Pin = 41 gallons
CHAMPAGNE:
See Sparkling Wine, a sparkling
wine from the Champagne area of France.
CHILL HAZE: Sometimes occurs when a beer is chilled, caused by nitrogen in the malted barley, it is only temporary & is not harmful, neither does it cause ill effects to the drinker.
CHITIN:
See Chitosan.
CHITOSAN:
See Fining. A positively charged wine fining agent derived from the shells of
crabs, shrimps &lobsters etc.
CHOCOLATE
MALT: See Roasted Malts.
COMPLEX: A very subjective term that refers to a wine or beer exhibits a variety of (usually subtle) flavours and/or aromas, consequently these drinks are always very interesting to drink. “Classic” beers generally seem to contain some complexity.
CORKED: A
tasting term used to describe a wine contaminated by a of mould infection of the
cork and NOT, as many people think, one that has bits of cork floating
about in it. The result may be a wine that is “lacking” and can be difficult to
spot, or it may be terribly obvious, with wet cardboardy, musty, mushroomy &
dank aromas and flavours.
CREAM OF TARTAR: (See Argols) Have you ever noticed a white crystalline deposit at the bottom of a bottle of wine? This is what is called Cream of Tartar and whilst it is the sign of a very good quality wine the average punter does not like to see any deposits in their wine and so commercial wineries go to length to get the deposit to settle prior to bottling. It is basically salts from tartaric acid and can be made to deposit out of the wine by allowing the wine to be chilled for a period prior to bottling. The cold accelerates the depositing of these white crystals. I love to see a few but that's me.
CRIADERA: successive stages in blending Sherries.
CRYSTAL MALT: See Roasted Malts.
DEMIJOHN:
A glass vessel with a large a body of about 4.5l (1 UK gall) useable capacity
& has 2 small looped handles (“ears”) at its short narrow neck. Normally
used for making/maturing wines or small quantities of (usually strong)
beer.
DRY: A
wine or beer with no residual sweetness, all the sugars have been fermented.
Note that beers are “sweetened” with non-fermentable sugars.
See
Sweet.
E223: See Sodium Disulphite.
EBC:
European Brewing Congress colour measurement for beer. See
EBU: See IBU. European Bittering
units, a method of indicating the hop bitterness in a
finished beer.
By definition 1EBU
= 1mg isomerised Alpha acid in 1litre, OR 1ppm iso-alpha acid (glad you
asked?)
ENZYMES:
Used in winemaking and brewing to promote structural breakdown in the
ingredients. Pectic Enzymes (Pectin-destroying enzymes) help prevent pectin
hazes in wines.
o
Primary
fermentation-
Aerobic -
Oxygen is being consumed the yeast uses this to reproduce. This phase is very
productive in terms of yeast population but not very productive in terms of
alcohol.
Anaerobic - No
oxygen present. All the oxygen has been consumed and due to the use of a
fermentation lock no more oxygen can get to the brew. This stage of fermentation is not
very productive in terms of yeast population but is very productive in terms of
alcohol production.
o Secondary fermentation- I use this term to be that used for priming the brew when I want fizzy drink. But more it is also used as a term for the anaerobic part of what I refer to as primary fermentation. Confusing I know. I will check a few books and take a consensus.
FERMENTATION TRAP: See Airlock.
FINING: A
method of clarifying a wine by adding to it an inert or a soluble substance
which becomes insoluble by interaction with tannin and settles down to the
bottom, pulling suspended matter down with it.
Fining agents (finings)
include such things as clay, boiled animal bits, fish swim bladders, sea weed,
sea shells, blood, egg white, milk, … I’ve no idea what made them try such
things! So, Vegetarians, & those who have sympathy with their beliefs, buy
with care & check the labels for information. At this point it may be
pertinent to say that I rarely use finings, especially for beer, but I do use
Bentonite when winemaking. Most wines will clear naturally within a few
weeks.
See Bentonite, Gelatin, Irish Moss, Isinglass & Kieselsol.
FLOWERS OF WINE: A white skin which gradually forms on wines exposed to air. This will decompose the wine eventually. (Not to be confused with Flor, a sherry film.)
FLOR: Sherry yeast, under some conditions will form a wrinkled skin consisting of yeast on top of sherry causing it to develop strong sherry flavour and to become dry and pale.
FORTIFICATION: the addition of grape spirit or other strong alcohol to wine or grape juice as in the production of sherry and port.
GALLON: 8
UK pints or 160 oz = 1 Imperial gallon = approximately
4.5litres
128 oz = 1 American gallon, 5UK gall =
6US gall (the gallon is about the only thing us Limeys have that is bigger than
the Yanks!)
% alcohol = O.G. – F.
G.
7.45
See Specific
Gravity.
HAZE: See
Chill Haze. Hazes are not harmful, nor do they cause ill health. Not to be
confused with an “off” beer which will react quite violently with your stomach,
but such beers will smell vile. Some beers are naturally hazy but we, the
drinkers, have come to expect crystal-clear beers over the years, many
commercial brewers have used this as a selling point, thus turning us away from
anything not “perfect”.
HYDROMETER: A device floated in a liquid to measure its
specific gravity, which is indicated on a scale. Dave Line states that
hydrometers have a magical quality that always makes the scale face away from
the observer, my observations back this theory 100%.
LAGER: A “beer” made with bottom-fermenting yeast, with a
slow fermentation and stored longer& at lower temperatures than other beers
for maturation. Lager is a German term meaning to store. See Beer.
LEGS (or
TEARS): Refers to the tear-like tracks that a wine makes down the side of a
glass. Not essential for assessing the quality of a wine or a sign of quality,
although some drinkers do pass comment, I personally love to see nice legs but I
don’t like tears.
MALT:
Barley that has been germinated and then roasted to varying degrees. This
releases enzymes, mainly diastase, that can convert starches to simpler sugars
that the yeast can feed on and produce alcohol, and the roasting stops the
process of growth. Normally sold according to the degree of colour from the
kilning, e.g. Pale, Amber & Lager malts.
OENOLOGIST: A student of wine-also spelt Enologist. (Thanks to S. M. Tritton for this one)
OLOROSO: Sweet full bodied dark sherry.
ORIGINAL GRAVITY (O. G.): See Specific Gravity. The Specific Gravity of a wine must or beer wort before fermentation.
OXIDATION: Browning under the influence of air which causes spoilage except in the case of sherry which is an oxidised wine. A good demonstration of oxidation when an apple is cut & left for a short period, the apple turns brown.
PATENT
(BLACK) MALT: See Roasted Malts
PECTIN
ENZYME: Is usually added at the rate of about 5g/1 tsp per 4.5 litres of wine
must to prevent “pectin hazes”, greater doses are added when using high pectin
fruits such as damsons & quinces. Pectin is highly desirable when making
jams.
PRIMING:
The addition of a small amount of sugar or malt extract to a beer to give it
condition after bottle fermentation. Sparkling wines can also be primed with
sugar or grape juice etc.
I prefer to use acidity
as a percentage, I find it much easier to understand & work
with.
POTASSIUM SORBATE (E202): An antifungal and antibacterial preservative that can be used as a wine stabilizer, it has no known adverse effects.
RACKING: Separating the clear wine from the sediment (Lees). This is conventionally done by siphoning but can be done by careful pouring.
ROAST
BARLEY: See Roasted Malts
SODIUM DISULPHITE (E223): Is used as a preservative in some products and can also be used as a bleaching agent. It is sometimes used as a wine stabilizer. Owing to its oxidising effect its presence can reduce the vitamin contents of products. You may wish to know that it is reduced to a harmless sulphate in the liver, before being excreted in the urine.
SPARKLING WINE: a wine containing a natural effervescence such as Champagne.
SPARGE/SPARGING: After mashing a beer & drawing off the
wort, the remaining grains are washed with hot water to remove as much of the
remaining sugars as possible.
SUGAR:
Approximately half of sugar is turned into alcohol & half into CO2
during the fermentation process.
SUGAR
SYRUP/SOLUTION: In winemaking especially, it is generally much easier/better to
add sugar as a solution. Just put the sugar in a pan with some water, heat &
stir until the sugar dissolves (no need to boil). A solution gravity of 1300 is
easily achieved & concentrated enough for most purposes, for each 100g sugar
add about 62.5ml water to produce about 125ml sugar syrup.
SWEET: A
wine or beer with some residual sweetness. For wines there are several degrees
of sweetness & most people seem to have their own definitions, thus
rendering the system fatally flawed. So here are my (arbitrary) definitions
which mostly increase in nice, easy 5° steps:
|
Style |
Dry |
Medium Dry |
Medium |
Medium Sweet |
Sweet |
Desert |
|
Finished Gravity |
<998 |
998-1005 |
1005-1010 |
1010-1015 |
1015-1020 |
1020+ |
|
Approx. sweetening sugar g/4.5litre |
0 |
120 |
190 |
250 |
310 |
375 |
TANNIN: Is
found in fruit skins, pips and stalks & are harsh, bitter compounds which,
if present in large quantities, can make a wine difficult to drink as they leave
a dry, astringent sensation in the mouth - rather like drinking stewed tea,
which is also very tannic. Tannins may also enter the wine from oak barrels or
chippings. Tannic wines are generally destined for prolonged ageing, during this
period the tannins polymerize to form sediment and produce a good bouquet &
give depth to a wine. Generally white wines require less than 0.04% tannin, reds
0.09 to 0.3 & rosés are somewhere in between.
Winemakers: note that
tannin obtained from tea is not the same as that obtained from grapes &
other fruits.
THIN: A
description of a wine that lacks substance/tastes “watery”. See
Body.
TRUB: Is
the trubaceous matter is the sediment that gathers in
the bottom of a beer fermenting vessel & mainly consists of heavy fats,
proteins, hop bits and dead yeast cells. HOT TRUB is the sediment that occurs
when the wort is boiled & consists largely of coagulated proteins and
gums.
Trubs can impart off flavours to the finished
beer.
TUN: Can
be a large cask for liquids, especially wine, a measure of liquid capacity
equivalent to approximately 954 litres (252 gallons) but generally, to the home
brewer it is a large container that we usually use to mash and/or ferment our
beers in. We can also use our tuns for fermenting large quantities of wine as
they generally have a useable capacity of 23l (5
VEGAN/VEGETARIANS can, like a lot of people, be put off
beer & wine making because of some of the products used as fining agents,
when you see the list of items tried/used it is very easy to see why! Luckily
beers very rarely need finings, most wines will clear naturally given sufficient
time &, should finings be required, the range of “friendly” products
available is fortunately expanding.
See
Fining.
VINIFICATION: the conversion into wine of any juice but mainly grape juice.
VINTAGE: the harvesting of the grapes.
VINTNER: wine maker.
VITICULTURIST: vine grower.
WINE: An
alcoholic drink usually made by fermenting grape or other fruit
juices.
See Brewers
Yeast.
1~7~’8
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