Beer Glossary
| A | |
| Authentic Trappist Product | This means that the product comes from a Trappist abbey, that it is made by the monks or under their control and responsibility and that most of the return is used for charitable purposes. |
| B | |
| Bottling | The action of carefully transferring the beer from a container into bottles. |
| Bottom Fermentation | Fermentation that place at low temperature (from 6 to 14°C (42,8° to 57,20°F)). When the fermentation is complete, the yeast falls to the bottom of the fermentation vat. "Pils" beers are an example. |
| Brewing | The malt is crushed then gradually mixed with water and other non- germinated grains, such as rice, maize or wheat. The mixture is heated through several temperature steps. |
| C | |
| Cistercian monk | A Cistercian monk is a member of the Order of Citeaux. The 'New Monastery' of Citeaux was founded in 1098 by the holy abbots Robert of Molesme, Albericus and Stephanus Harding. They introduced a new specific form of the Benedictine tradition. Citeaux became the cradle of the Cistercian Order. |
| Clarification | The purification of a liquid by eliminating suspended particles. In the case of Chimay beer, clarification is frequently carried out by centrifuging , but it can also be done by filtering, for example. |
| D | |
| Draff | The residue of the grain, after decanting and filtration of the wort. The draff is used for livestock feed. |
| F | |
| Fermentation | The addition of yeast to the wort allows the fermentable sugars (simple sugars) to be converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide. |
| G | |
| Gourmet | A glass chalice with a capacity of 18 cl (6.1 fl.oz.) for drinking Chimay. |
| H | |
| Hops | Hops are the female flower clusters (commonly called seed cones or strobiles), of a hop species, Humulus lupulus. They are used primarily as a flavoring and stability agent in beer, to which they impart a bitter, tangy flavor, though hops are also used for various purposes in other beverages and herbal medicine. |
| M | |
| Malt | Barley which is partially germinated in a controlled manner, then kiln dried. Used in the manufacture of the beer, the purpose being to liberate granules of starch (a complex sugar) from the grain and the enzymes which will convert then into simple sugars during brewing. |
| Mash Tun | Barley which is partially germinated in a controlled manner, then kiln dried. Used in the manufacture of the beer, the purpose being to liberate granules of starch (a complex sugar) from the grain and the enzymes which will convert then into simple sugars during brewing. |
| T | |
| Mashing | The first stage in the manufacture of the beer which consists of mixing, in the mash tun, the various primary ingredients, that is water, malt (germinated and dried barley) and wheat starch. In order for the grain starch to convert itself into fermentable sugars, the liquid mass is heated while observing certain temperature levels. |
| P | |
| Paste, hard and semi-hard pressed | To obtain a hard or semi-hard pressed paste, the milk (pasteurised or not) is heated to + 36°C (96,80°F) then quickly curdled in a room whose temperature is maintained at + 30°C (86°F). The curd is separated then churned until the particles of curd are reduced to the size of a grain of wheat. To obtain a semi-hard pressed paste, the grains of curd are gently reheated during the churning which hardens them and gives the paste more body. Next, in both cases, it is placed in a mould which is placed under a hydraulic press for the purpose of extracting the suspended whey. The cheeses are then removed from the mould and immersed in tanks filled with brine for several hours. After immersion there follows dry salting which allows the salt to penetrate right to the heart of the paste and forms the protective rind. Then it is stored in the cellar for several months. |
| Pasteurised milk | Pasteurised milk is milk which has been sterilised by pasteurisation, that is to say it has been heated and then quickly cooled to destroy the germs of fermentation. |
| R | |
| Refermentation in the bottle | Immediately before decanting, a second dose of yeast and sugar is mixed with the matured and filtered beer. This is th e beginning of the second fermentation or "natural champagnisation" which will continue in the bottle. |
| T | |
| Top Fermentation | Fermintation that takes place at a temperature between 18 and 32°C (64,4°F and 89,6°F). During fermentation, the yeast rises to the surface of the fermented beer. Most special beers are of this type. |
| Trappist | Originally the name of a monk of the Cistercian Abbey 'La Trappe', which was reformed by the Abbot de Rance. Later on this name was given to the Cistercian monks of abbeys which followed this reformation. A Cistercian monk devotes himself entirely to God. He engages himself only to God and leads a monastic and contemplative life. |
| W | |
| Wort | Wort is the liquid extracted from the mashing process during the brewing of beer or whisky. Wort contains the sugars that will be fermented by the brewing yeast to produce alcohol. |
| Y | |
| Yeast | Yeast is a single-celled vegetable micro-organism that converts sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide. |
