Glossary
A
acrospire. A plant shoot that grows from a seed.
aeration. Dissolving oxygen into media, which is the material that yeast grows on, by shaking a container in an effort to help yeast growth. Also refers to adding oxygen to wort that is fermenting.
aerobic. In the presence of oxygen. Yeast grows at a faster rate and undergoes cell development for healthy life in an oxygenated environment.
agar. A seaweed product used to solidify wort media in slants and plates.
aleurone layer. The outermost part of a grain.
anaerobic. Devoid of oxygen. This phase forces the yeast in the fermentation cycle.
anthracnose. A fungal disease that appears as small, either oval or elongated, water-soaked spots. These spots can appear at any time on the leaves of corn. As the disease progresses, these spots will grow together to affect the entire leaf and kill it.
attenuation. The degree to which yeast is able to ferment the sugars present in the wort. The higher the attenuation, the dryer the finished beer will be (low terminal gravities). The lower the attenuation, the sweeter and maltier a beer will be (higher terminal gravities).
autoclaved. Heated and steamed under pressure, killing all microbial life and rendering sterile.
awn. Stiff bristle at the top of the plant.
B
bacterial leaf blight. A corn plant infection that appears as pale green to yellow, irregular streaks in the leaves. As the disease progresses, the leaves die and dry up. This results in a small yield and opens the plant up to be infected with stalk rot.
bacterial stalk rot. An unusual corn infection that occurs at ear height rather than coming from the soil. It is transmitted from overhead irrigation by water is sprayed from a lake, stream, or pond.
barley stripe rust. A disease that affects barley. Yellow stripes with dots of orange pustules appear on plant leaves.
barley yellow dwarf. A virus that barley can contract from aphids.
base malt. During the drying process in malting a grain, modification is stopped by destroying the enzymes and dries out grains to about 4 percent moisture. At this point, the grains are considered base malt, the basis for fermentation of most beers worldwide.
beard. A beard on barley refers to the 3-inch-long awn — or bristle — that projects from the top of the plant.
body. A term used when describing the depth of taste of a beer.
brown spot. This type of fungus can appear on the leaf blades, sheaths, and stalks. The disease will weaken stalks and cause them to lodge, and it will also destroy leaf sheaths.
bushel of barley. Weighs about 47 pounds (21 kilograms).
buttress/prop roots. On a corn plant, these roots close to the soil surface support the stalk.
C
caramel or crystal malts. These add a sweet taste to beer and contain unfermentable sugars. These malts come in different degrees of roast and, therefore, color.
caramelization. The process of applying high temperatures to decompose sugars in malts. This creates unique flavors and color in a beer.
colony. A growth of yeast cells in a mass. Usually seen as discs in plates or a slick covering the surface of slants.
common rust. Common rust looks a bit darker than southern rust, and the pustules are longer. Common rust will appear as rust clumps on corn leaves.
conditioning. The process of adding a little priming sugar to the beer before you bottle it. The residual yeast will create carbon dioxide in the form of bubbles and a head on your beer.
corn smut. One of the common diseases that can affect corn. In Mexico, people actually harvest this fungus — Ustilago maydis — and eat it. It can enter a corn stalk through wounds caused by hoes, insects, or other problems.
couching. In the process of malting grain, once the acrospires have reached ⅔ of the length of the grain, the grain will be given a carbon dioxide bath to stop the growth process. This is referred to as couching the grain.
cultivar. A specific species of plant developed through deliberate selection or breeding.
cutting hoe. This type of hoe is suited for weeding. It is sometimes referred to as a push or Dutch hoe. These hoes have a sharper blade than the draw hoe because they are made for cutting weeds. The hoe is used differently than the draw hoe.
D
diastatic power. The amount of starch conversion of a grain to produce simple fermentable sugars.
draw hoe. The draw hoe is used when planting seeds as it creates furrows. It is called a draw hoe because you use it by pulling it toward you. It is great for breaking up compacted soil that makes it hard to plant seeds.
dry hopping. The technique of adding hops after primary fermentation.
dust-free box. This special box is virtually dust-free and, therefore, keeps sterile items sterile.
E
ear and kernel rots. These types of rots are caused by the same species of fungi that cause stalk rot. This infection will decrease corn yield, and the seed is useless in beer production or as seed because the kernels have been too damaged.
endosperm. The layer in a grain that surrounds the embryo of a seed and provides it with food.
Erlenmeyer flask. A conical-shaped Pyrex container capable of withstanding heat. Used to make pitch-able starters.
F
farmers market. A meeting place of local farmers who set up booths to sell produce, plants, and even seeds from their garden.
flail. This tool comprises a handle with a 3-foot-long, broom-handle-sized piece of wood that is attached with a leather thong to another 2-foot piece of wood. You use the flail to strike the head of the grain to release the grain.
flaming. The process of sterilizing the openings of containers and their caps by passing them through an open flame.
Freon®. While not actually a gas, it is a product name that refers to any number of refrigerants called “chlorofluorocarbons.”
furrow. A small trench dug in the earth by a plow or hoe.
Fusarium head blight/scab. A fungal disease that bleaches out the color in the spikelets of barley.
G
germination. The process in which the grain begins to grow shoots.
germination room. Where grains are placed as part of the malting process for beers made at commercial breweries.
glumes. The bottom of the bristly parts of the barley plant.
gray leaf spot. Gray leaf spot will infect the leaf sheaths and leaf blades. It appears as long gray or pale brown lesions that are long and narrow and run parallel with leaf veins. These lesions are about ¼-inch wide and about 1 inch long. If the disease progresses, the lesions will grow together into long stripes and will kill the leaf, which will affect the yield of the plant.
green malt. Barley that is placed in the germination room to begin the malting process.
H
headspace. The area between the top of your beer and the top of the vessel.
home brew. 1. (noun) referring to a homemade beer: “I just drank some home brew.” 2. (verb) to describe the process of creating beer at home: “I have yeast, hops, and malt ready to home brew.”
home brewer. Someone who creates beer at home.
hooded. A term for barley that means it has a short awn.
hop yard. This is the place where hops are planted in a garden.
hull. The outer protective layer of the barley.
I
inoculation. The process of placing live yeast cells into growth media in order to increase cell production.
inoculation loop. The tool used to move small amounts of yeast cells from one place to another.
K
kiln. A large, high-temperature oven.
L
lager malt. Lager malt is used to make lagers, which are usually a pale-golden color. Lagers usually do not contain any other roasted grains that would make the darker color often found in many types of ales.
lodging. When grain falls and clumps due to wind and rain.
Lovibond. Refers to the color degree of a grain. The higher the number, the darker the grain. This helps a brewer determine the flavor, aroma, and color a grain will produce in a beer.
M
maize dwarf mosaic virus. Corn infection in which young leaves will have light and dark mottled or mosaic patterns on them. Corn infected will have excessive tillering, multiple ear shoots, and poor seed sets. If the infection occurs early in the plant’s maturity, it may develop root and stalk rots and die off.
mashing. Done by adding boiling water to the grains. Mashing activates enzymes that break the starches released during modification into fermentable sugars. This is the process used to create pale-colored malts, pilsner malts, and malted wheat.
modification. Process during which enzymes begin to break down the proteins and carbohydrates into simpler sugars, lipids, and amino acids and open up the starch reserves that exist to help the plant grow. The enzymes rip open this bag and allow the starch to be released.
N
net blotch. A serious disease that can cause loss of yield. It is identified by its light-brown spots with dark-brown, net-like patterns on the leaves, glumes, and sheaths.
nodes. This part of the plant contains the hop buds and will grow into cones that are used in home brewing.
northern corn leaf blight. When this fungus attacks corn, it looks like tan to grayish-green, elliptical lesions that range from 1 to 6 inches long on the leaves of corn. The infection begins on the lower leaves first, but does the most damage to the upper leaves. It can kill corn plants and gives a gray look to the leaves.
P
Parafilm®. This a wrap used in a laboratory to stop the drying of slants and plates.
Plates. These are sometimes known as petri dishes. Plates work cultures in order to show if there is some sort of contamination and are used to test cultures to make sure they are pure.
powdery mildew. Plant disease that can affect grains and hops as well. It resembles gray patches of fluffy fungus.
primary fermentation. The beginning stage in brewing when vigorous bubbling caused by yeast transforms sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide.
R
rack. Process of clearing the beer off of the dead yeast called trub.
rhizome. The name of the horizontal stem of a hop plant. A rhizome is planted underground, where it send out roots and shoots from its nodes.
S
scald. One of the most destructive barley diseases that results in the highest lost of yield from a garden. This disease affects the sheaths, leaves, glumes, and awns of barley plant.
seed rot and seedling blight. When a seed is germinating, fungi in the soil or hiding in the seed can attack it. Some of the species of fungi are Pythium, Diplodia, and Fusarium. These types of diseases will kill a seedling.
sheath. The leaf that grows under the head of the barley and covers it. On corn, these are the outside leaves you have to peel away.
sheave. A bundle used to dry the grain before threshing.
slants. Solidified wort-agar media has a large slanted growth surface that allows the maximum exposure to oxygen for long-term storage. Slants can be placed with a mother culture in a refrigerator and can keep for up to a year.
southern corn leaf blight. This fungus causes sores or lesions on the leaves of the corn plant. They appear as long, tan sores that are up to an inch in length on the leaves that have brown borders. This fungus can destroy a corn plant.
southern rust. Southern rust can be seen as circular to oval pustules and give the leaves that they infect a rusted look. These pustules are pinhead-sized and are full of orange spores that can be rubbed off a leaf. This rust can damage or kill corn.
sowing. The process of planting seeds in the ground.
stalk rots. These are caused by Diplodia zeae and Fusarium species of fungi. These infections will destroy a corn plant. If cold, leaf diseases, or insects have injured stalks; they are more susceptible to be attacked by these fungi.
sting. Corn nematode that feeds on the outside of the roots, root tips, and along the sides of the roots. If untreated, the root will die. These types of nematodes are found most often in soil that is made of 80 percent or more of sand.
straw. The straw is the stalk and head that is left of the plant after the grain is removed.
stubby root. Caused by a corn nematode that feeds on the root tips. The damage they cause stunts the growth of the roots, hence the name. The result of the stubby roots is that the ears that formed on the plant are very small and underdeveloped.
T
threshing. The process of removing the grain from the head of the plant.
tillering. Extra offshoots on a barley plant that create a greater yield of grain per square foot.
trellis. A trellis provides a support and a direction for hop vines to grow.
trub. The sediment in the bottom of a fermentation vessel or sometimes in the bottom of a beer bottle.
U
unfermentable sugars. Some of these malts undergo a special heating process that converts the starch in the hull into complex, yet unfermentable, sugars. They are unfermentable because they are still in a form that yeast cannot process.
W
winnowing. The process of separating the grains from the bits of straw.
wort. Term used for fermenting beer.
wort media. Malt sugars mixed with nutrients in order to encourage the most optimum growth of yeast.