Pivní slovníček

Alcohol By Volume, i.e. the percentage of alcohol by volume. If a beer is labelled 5% ABV, every 100 millilitres contains 5 ml of alcohol. In the Czech Republic, alcohol percentages by weight were formerly used; because alcohol is lighter than water, percentages by weight are lower than percentages by volume.

Takes place in the presence of oxygen.

A hop variety registered at the beginning of the third millennium. It is one of the most bitter hop varieties grown in the Czech Republic, with a more pronounced spicy aroma, and is used in more strongly bitter beers.

A designation for top-fermented beers. The yeast works at higher temperatures and remains near the surface during fermentation. This produces more aromatic compounds and gives the drink spicy or fruity notes. The category includes a wide range of beers such as IPA, Pale Ale, Stout and others, with many different flavours and aromas.

Our brewery has a centrally cooled fermentation room with open fermenters, so at present we are not able to produce ALE-style beers.

Malt amylases (α and β) are present in malt and, during mashing, break down cereal starch into dextrins and simpler sugars (especially maltose), which later ferment into alcohol.

α-amylase has an optimum temperature of 70 °C and is deactivated at 80 °C. The optimum for β-amylase is 62 °C and it is deactivated at 75 °C. This is why the mash is gradually heated to different temperatures during mashing.

A molecule which, together with amylose, forms starch granules in barley.

A molecule which, together with amylopectin, forms starch granules in barley.

Takes place without the presence of oxygen (e.g. alcoholic or butyric fermentation).

The term covers fragrance, odour, bouquet and nuances—in other words, the overall impression obtained when smelling beer. The aroma may be natural or artificially added during the production process.

Literally, the Czech word means the rumen, one of the stomach compartments of ruminants. In old brewery slang it also referred to a padded sack used to catch or cushion beer kegs unloaded from delivery trucks before hydraulic tail lifts became common; jokingly it can also mean a large belly.

Slang term for one type of keg coupler (see entry).

Beer colours include YELLOW (pale, medium, golden, dark golden), AMBER (pale, copper, red), BROWN (pale, medium, dark, very dark/black) and BLACK (fully dark). The malts used for brewing determine the final colour of the beer.

Colour is assessed using the European Brewery Convention scale, or EBC (see entry).

Slang term for a crate used to transport beer bottles. Today these are usually made of hard plastic and hold twenty bottles. The most common dimensions are 400×300 millimetres. The bottles are held firmly so they cannot move and break against one another—rather like prisoners in a jail, which is the source of the Czech slang term.

Slang term for a barrel used to store and transport beer. Historically, however, the Czech word also denoted an old Bohemian unit of beer volume (and occasionally wine; merchants even used it for quantities of salt or tin ore), whose size varied by region. One such barrel could therefore hold an estimated 70, 100 or even 270 litres of liquid.

A Linde trade name used for food-grade mixed gases for beverage dispensing. A common beer-dispense blend is approximately 80% nitrogen and 20% carbon dioxide, although other ratios also exist. Because the mixture contains no oxygen, it avoids oxidative flavour damage associated with compressed air, while the carbon dioxide component helps maintain appropriate carbonation as the keg or tank empties.

Today, Bock is understood as a strong bottom-fermented lager (16%+ original extract and 6.5%+ ABV). It originated in the town of Einbeck in Lower Saxony, where it was originally top-fermented.

The style has a rather tangled history. In the 17th century it became popular in Munich, Bavaria, where locals distorted the name of its place of origin into „ein Bock“—German for a billy goat—and local brewers gradually switched to bottom fermentation. It has many variants: dark, pale, and even top-fermented wheat versions (Weizenbock).

A type of beer brewed in spring, usually in March. This fermented but unfinished beer was stored for long-term lagering in a cellar that was packed with ice and often even sealed up, to be used toward the end of the year.

A medieval association of people practising the same trade, created to protect the interests of its members. It also regulated their activities, supervised product quality and prices, competition, the training of apprentices and the form of master examinations. In a sense, it partly fulfilled the role of modern social security and used its own symbols.

The production of any alcohol in the Czech Republic is regulated by the relevant laws. This also applies to beer brewing above a certain annual output (>2000 litres per year). Up to this amount, so-called home brewing only needs to be reported; above it, beer production must be carried out under the regime of a so-called excise tax warehouse. The operation then has a system for recording production and measuring the alcohol produced and the amount of beer dispensed, on the basis of which tax is assessed to the producer. Customs Administration officers are authorised to carry out inspections at any time and sanction breaches of the regulations. The brewery premises must be visibly marked as an Excise Tax Warehouse.

Probably one of the oldest alcoholic beverages in the world. It is not beer, but a drink produced by fermenting apple juice, usually from specially selected apple varieties. In general, cider contains less alcohol than wine and does not reach the bitterness typical of beer.

The English abbreviation Clean In Place refers to technological systems consisting of pumps, filters and tanks. They provide fast, comprehensive, effective and reliable cleaning of production equipment (vessels, pumps, piping, etc.) in place, without dismantling, using special chemicals, water and heat.

It is also, in Czech, an incorrect transcription of a popular Ostrava swear word.

A brewery strainer or sieve: a sheet-metal vessel with a perforated bottom. In brewing it is used to strain hops during wort boiling. Spent hops are trapped in it, preventing them from entering pumps and valves unintentionally.

A cylindroconical tank (CCT) is a vessel designed for large-volume fermentation, secondary fermentation or maturation of beer. It is a closed cylinder with a conical bottom in which yeast collects. CCT capacities range from hundreds of litres to thousands of hectolitres. The system shortens the overall beer-production time, allows the process to be controlled with high precision, simplifies operation and enables automatic washing and sanitation of fermentation vessels.

Beer produced in CCTs has a longer shelf life, high quality and fully preserved flavour characteristics. The tank is made of chromium-nickel stainless steel with a polished inner surface. The outer shell is fitted with a cooling jacket divided into several independently controlled zones. The exterior is insulated and clad in stainless-steel sheet.

It is equipped with temperature and pressure sensors and may also have a sampling tap.

Beer from a craft brewery.

Also referred to as dark beer, it is characterised by a very dark to black colour and flavours with notes of roasted coffee or cocoa. Its typical shade depends on the ingredients used, especially speciality malts such as roasted, caramel or Munich malt. There are several styles, and black beer can be produced across almost the entire range of original extract—from session beer through lager to Porter—although most examples fall into the strong/special beer category. Compared with pale beer, it is brewed and sold in much smaller quantities.

Some breweries make black beer by colouring it afterwards with caramel colouring (see entry). Such beers can be recognised by their yellow-brown foam. Foam on beer brewed from dark malt is snow-white.

A type of malt dried at higher temperatures and then roasted, used in the production of black beer.

Saaz semi-early red-bine hop is the flagship variety of Czech growers. It is a proven, world-famous and highly valued variety. In Czech lagers it is renowned for its delicate bitterness, herbal aroma and the high drinkability it gives the beer.

Besides this hop, Czech growers offer other varieties that broaden the range of beers that can be brewed, including Kazbek, Premiant, Sládek and others. 

An excellent overview can be found in the hop atlas.

A Czech style of serving draught beer: the glass is filled right to the rim with virtually no foam, and the beer should be drunk as quickly as possible.

In other words, tasting. It is the sensory assessment of the quality of different samples from one producer, or of beers from several producers. It follows precisely defined rules (covering appearance, mouthfeel, flavours, aromas, etc.) and involves all human senses, perhaps with the exception of hearing. Depending on the source, 1,200 to 2,000 compounds have been identified in beer as contributing to its complex flavour, so tasting helps to create the most objective possible description of a beer's sensory profile.

The “blanket” is the foam that forms on the surface of the wort during primary fermentation. It contains substances that can negatively affect the taste of the beer—especially proteins, hop residues, yeast and other components carried to the surface. In the open fermentation vats used in our brewery, the blanket is removed manually after primary fermentation, a process known as skimming. Thanks to this traditional method, our beer differs from most modern microbreweries that ferment in closed cylindroconical tanks (CCT), where the blanket cannot be removed. The result is a fuller, cleaner and more distinctly balanced beer flavour.

One of the two basic mashing methods used in brewing. Compared with the other method (infusion), it is more complicated, takes longer and costs more, and is typical of Czech lager, to which it gives a character that distinguishes it from most beers produced elsewhere in the world. Decoction mashing gives beer a slight astringency and excellent drinkability.

The principle is to mix crushed malt with warm water. A portion of the mash is then separated, heated through saccharification rests and boiled. While boiling, it is returned to the portion left behind, thereby raising the temperature of the whole mash. The process is repeated once or, depending on the recipe, twice more. This gives rise to single-, double- or triple-decoction mashing.

A Czech term for ten-degree beer. It does not indicate the alcohol content (usually around 3–4%), but a beer whose wort, during brewing and before fermentation, measured 10% original extract. In other words, a “ten” has a density corresponding to 10 grams of extract (mainly cereal sugars) per 100 ml of wort. Traditional producers often use an original extract of 9.8 or 10.2%, with only a minimal difference in flavour.

During primary fermentation, yeast converts part of this sugar into alcohol, so by the end of the process a glass of “ten” contains only about 4 grams of sugar per 100 ml.

Beer with a reduced sugar content, intended as an alternative for people with obesity or diabetes who want to enjoy beer without significantly affecting their blood glucose level. Conventional beer is less suitable because it contains both alcohol and high-glycaemic-index carbohydrates, which can cause hyperglycaemia after consumption. Carbohydrates in DIA beer must not exceed 0.75 g/100 ml.

This takes place after primary fermentation in closed tanks under pressure (about 1.0 atm gauge pressure) and at low temperature (1 to 4 °C). During this process the beer settles, clarifies and becomes saturated with carbon dioxide, giving it a smoother flavour and aroma.

Bottom-fermented session beers are conditioned for about 20 days; top-fermented beers need less time, while lagers may mature for up to 60 days.

A slowing or suppression of germination. It is characteristic of the several-week period after harvest, when barley grains germinate only slowly even under consistently ideal conditions.

The basic division is by fermentation method: top fermentation and bottom fermentation. Top-fermented beers include Ale (Anglo-American, Belgian and wheat ales), Porter and Stout. Bottom-fermented beers mainly include lager and Bock. There are also spontaneously fermented beers such as Lambic, and today many hybrid styles are being created as well.

There are many criteria for classifying beer into categories, including historical context, typical geographical features, production technology, ingredients, sensory characteristics and others. For these reasons, precise classification can be difficult and one beer may fit more than one category.

A Czech term for twelve-degree beer. It does not indicate the alcohol content (usually about 4.5–5%), but a beer whose wort, during brewing and before fermentation, measured 12% original extract. Thus a “twelve” has a density corresponding to 12 grams of extract, mainly cereal sugars, per 100 ml of wort. It is typically a pale lager and, because of the higher extract in the wort, has a fuller and more pronounced flavour than a “ten”. It is popular for its characteristic bitterness and malty aroma.

European Brewery Convention units are used to express beer colour by spectrophotometry.

Examples of European beers:
Beer type | Colour [EBC]
Industrial pale-yellow beers | 2 - 5
Blanche Biere | 5 - 10
Kölsch | 7 - 14
Lager | < 10
Oktoberfest | 8 - 12
Pale wheat beer (Weissbier) | 8 - 14
Pale Bock and Doppelbock | 8 - 18
Kellerbier | 10 - 18
Belgian ALE | 20 - 40
Märzen | 20 - 45
Dark beers | 25 - 60
Smoked beers (Rauchbier) | 30 - 60
Dark Bock and Doppelbock | 30 - 100
Porter | 80
Stout | 100 - 250

A unit of beer bitterness (European Bitterness Units). You may also encounter the abbreviation IBU (International Bitterness Units), which is essentially the same measure.

See BITTERNESS for more information.

Formerly referred to in Czech as the “degree” of beer; under current legislation it is the original wort extract. Many consumers incorrectly confuse it with alcohol content.

Beer quality is determined to a large extent by the proportion of substances released from malt and hops during brewing. The more of these substances there are, the more flavourful, full-bodied and substantial the beer tends to be. A Czech “ten” therefore contains 10% of these extract substances, a “twelve” 12%, and a “fourteen” 14%.

It is the concentration of all extractive substances (water-soluble compounds) in the wort before pitching yeast. These substances pass from the raw materials (malt and hops) into the brewing liquor during the brewhouse process. They include fermentable and non-fermentable sugars as well as non-sugar components such as minerals, vitamins and other compounds dissolved from the ingredients during brewing.

In numbers: for example, a 12% beer contained 12 kg of dissolved substances from the raw materials in 100 kg of wort before fermentation. Among other things, this means that a 12% beer contains less water than a 10% beer.

Important compounds in the aroma bouquet of beer.

In general, the minimum durability or best-before date, which food producers are required to state on the packaging. As a rule, the longer beer remains in the bottle, the more its flavour properties deteriorate.

There are, however, special beers such as Vintage Ale that are intended for cellaring and are made so that they can continue to ferment and mature in the bottle for many years, developing their flavour positively over time.

Also called brewing fermentation, this is a key process in beer production in which yeast converts sugars in wort into alcohol and carbon dioxide. This gives the beer its characteristic flavour and carbonation. There are two basic types: top fermentation and bottom fermentation.

The course of fermentation is influenced by temperature, oxygen and the yeast strain. It is divided into a primary phase (the yeast works intensively and the beer develops its characteristic flavour) and a secondary phase (the beer becomes saturated with carbon dioxide and matures in the lager cellar, where it conditions and develops its final flavour).

Along with pasteurisation, filtration is a process used to extend the shelf life of beer. Diatomaceous-earth filters are most commonly used to remove residual yeast and fine suspended particles from the beer before packaging. The result is a clearer beer with a longer shelf life. This is valued mainly by distributors and retailers, whereas consumers drinking beer close to the source often prefer unfiltered beer for its fuller flavour.

The filtration station: a production area, most often in the brewery cellar, where beer filtration takes place.

The name of one of the three types of keg coupler (see entry), more commonly called the “flat” type or, in Czech slang, the “iron”.

A term used for the coupler fitted to old types of beer barrels that required a traditional tap.

Excessive foaming in which beer erupts forcefully from a bottle or can when opened. If the container has not first been shaken or knocked, this is an undesirable phenomenon most commonly caused by mould contamination in the malt used.

A metric unit of volume equal to 100 litres. One hectolitre corresponds to about 26.4 US gallons or 22 Imperial gallons. In brewing it is commonly used to measure production volume or brewery capacity.

High Gravity Brewing is a technology that allows breweries to reduce production costs, among other things because of the way excise duty is calculated. It was originally intended to help optimise and standardise the original extract of beer.

When the method is used—or abused—beer is brewed at a higher original gravity (around 16% original extract or even more) and, after fermentation, diluted to its final strength with deaerated water and carbon dioxide. Handling a smaller volume of liquid in the brewhouse and fermentation cellar naturally reduces costs.

Besides the dilution itself, the main issue is fermenting beer at such high gravity. Fermentation proceeds differently and can produce a different flavour profile, associated by critics with more neutral “Euro-lagers”. A diluted “twelve” does not taste the same as a traditionally brewed “ten”. Despite assurances from some breweries, HGB therefore influences the final flavour, which is one reason its use is not always prominently disclosed.

A Czech draught-pouring style: a large beer with a level cap of foam flush with the rim of the glass, without a raised “head”. It is poured in a single continuous draw.

A large, wide, mug-shaped vessel. Today it is usually a half-litre mug with one handle; historically it could be enormous, have two handles and often a lid made of tin, glass, ceramic or wood, decorated with painting or relief. The Czech term also denoted an old measure of volume whose size varied considerably by region.

The English term for brewing beer at home, which has also become commonly used in Czech. A Czech equivalent, “domovarnictví”, is used as well.

One of beer's important flavour characteristics, influenced primarily by hops. Some beers use aged hops so that hop bitterness has as little effect as possible on the final flavour, while others—such as IPA—deliberately emphasise bitterness. Bitterness is expressed in IBU or EBU.

One IBU or EBU corresponds to one milligram of so-called iso-alpha bitter acids per litre of beer. Czech lagers such as Pilsner Urquell, Gambrinus and Staropramen typically have about 20–40 IBU. India Pale Ale (IPA) commonly ranges from 40–100 IBU, while Double IPA can reach around 120 IBU.

An ancient tool consisting of a perforated wooden board on a long handle. It was used for stirring and for pulling yeast from the bottom of the fermentation vat. It is still used for this purpose in traditional open fermenters. The tool appears in the emblem of maltsters' and brewers' guilds.

The section of a traditional malt house where steeped barley germinates in a cool environment to form green malt. The floor on which this process takes place is called the malting floor.

A part of a malt house, traditionally a tower-like building with a chimney topped by a rotating cowl, usually with a square ground plan. This is where the final stage of malting takes place: drying and stabilising the malt so that its water content falls below about 2% and enzymatic activity is reduced or stopped.

Green malt (germinated barley) is spread over a system of perforated floors or screens through which hot air is forced. The higher the temperature and the longer the kilning time, the more caramel-like compounds are formed and the darker the finished malt becomes. Malt is produced in many types and shades; varieties intended for very dark beers may then be roasted further in a manner similar to coffee.

The person who operates the malt kiln. In old Czech brewery slang, the worker was called “čouda”, a name referring to the smoke in kiln rooms.

Historically used to cool hot wort with freely circulating air. Cooling is important because it brings the wort to a temperature suitable for yeast fermentation.

In very old breweries, coolships were made of wood. From the mid-19th century, wood was increasingly replaced by metals and alloys such as copper, brass or iron. Later, coolships were largely replaced by whirlpool vessels.

A haze that forms when beer is cooled to around 0 °C and dissolves again when the temperature rises to about 20 °C.

A genus of plants in the hemp family (Cannabaceae), whose brewing-relevant fruiting structure is the hop cone. Hops are one of the three basic raw materials used to make beer. They provide characteristic bitterness, contribute to aroma and help improve preservative properties. The most important hop compounds include resins, essential oils and polyphenols.

Traditional European hops have also been classified by the colour of the bine as red-bine and green-bine types. Red-bine hops are grown especially in Germany, Poland, Slovenia and the Czech Republic, which is home to the world-famous Saaz semi-early red-bine variety used particularly for Pilsner-style beers.

Green-bine hops are grown mainly in England, the USA and Australia.

A method in which additional hops are added to the beer only after the wort boil.

This may take place during fermentation, but more often during conditioning. At lower temperatures, a large amount of beta bitter acids is released from the hops, giving the drink new and pronounced hop aromas with only a minimal increase in bitterness.

The final stage of the hot side of brewing, in which sweet wort is boiled for about 60 to 90 minutes while hops are added as whole cones, pellets/pressed hops or liquid extract. As a general rule, hops added earlier in the boil contribute more bitterness to the finished beer.

Once the sweet wort has been boiled with hops it becomes hopped wort. It is then transferred to a clarification vessel (historically a coolship, today most often a whirlpool), where hop residues and protein flocs are removed before fermentation into alcohol and carbon dioxide.

There are many hop varieties, each with a different level of bittering compounds and a different intensity and composition of flavour and aroma. Lagers commonly use European-type varieties with delicate bitterness and herbal, floral and mildly spicy character. The Czech Saaz semi-early red-bine hop is rightly regarded as one of the classic noble varieties of Europe.

British ales, Porters and Stouts traditionally use local varieties with earthy and spicy profiles, while dry-hopped beers such as IPA often employ American varieties with strong citrus, resin and tropical-fruit notes.

Breeding of new hop varieties has intensified greatly in recent decades, giving brewers an increasingly broad selection.

Ground hop cones compressed into small pellets.

Essentially a strainer: a sheet-metal vessel with a perforated bottom that catches spent hops from the wort in the brewhouse.

A concentrated extract produced by dissolving and extracting compounds from hop cones into a carrier solution.

A unit of beer bitterness (International Bitterness Units).

You may also encounter EBU (European Bitterness Units), which is essentially a comparable measure.

See BITTERNESS for more information.

A mashing method that requires less time and energy than decoction and generally gives a somewhat lower extraction yield from the malt. It is used mainly for top-fermented beers.

Compared with decoction, the infusion method is simpler and is well suited to Ale-style beers. Abroad it is also commonly used for lagers, which then tend to have a maltier flavour and a character different from a typical Czech lager.

Crushed malt is mixed with warm water and the mash is heated through the required saccharification temperatures. Once the enzymes have done their work, the sweet wort is lautered. No portion of the mash is boiled, so the process is faster and less expensive.

India Pale Ale belongs to the category of top-fermented Ale beers. Its history goes back to the 18th century, when it was brewed in England mainly for export by ship to India.

Unlike lager, IPA is made using top fermentation. The brewer uses yeast that ferments at higher temperatures, which speeds up the process and produces significant quantities of secondary fermentation products such as esters and phenols. These compounds give IPA its typical fruity to spicy character.

Its bitterness, caused by a higher proportion of hops in the wort, ranges from 40 to 70 IBU (for comparison, Pilsner beer has 38 IBU). It is usually a pale 14° to 18° beer with a higher alcohol content, around 6%.

It should be served at around 13 °C so that its flavour characteristics stand out well. Stronger versions are recommended at an even higher temperature, around 15 °C (for comparison, in the Czech Republic people are used to beer at about 9 °C).

A counter-pressure system for filling beer into lager tanks, transport kegs or PET bottles. The empty container is first pressurised with air or carbon dioxide and only then is beer admitted. This prevents excessive foaming during handling and helps preserve the beer's natural condition.

The most important cereal used in beer production. The overwhelming majority of brewing malt worldwide is made from barley. Beers using other cereals, whether malted or unmalted and in varying proportions, are far less common.

A metal barrel used to store beer. It is usually made of stainless steel and is easy to clean thanks to its removable spear assembly. Beer is held under pressure, which helps preserve freshness and makes subsequent dispensing easier.

The modern keg system was first introduced in the United Kingdom in 1964. Kegs come in many sizes; 50 litres is very common, while our brewery also offers beer in 10, 15, 20 and 30 litre kegs.

A traditional process with separate stages and vessels for the brewhouse, primary fermentation and lager cellar—the opposite of modern all-in-one CCT technology.

In malting, germination follows steeping and precedes kilning. Malting barley kernels are soaked and allowed to germinate in the dark while their enzymes become active. Rootlets emerge from one end, while the embryonic shoot (acrospire) grows inside the kernel from the other.

An indicator of the quality and degree of modification of malting barley and malt. It expresses the ratio of soluble nitrogen to total nitrogen in malt and is given as a percentage. A value around 40 is traditionally considered a good indication of adequately modified brewing malt.

A lower value can adversely affect fermentation and therefore the final quality of the beer.

A type of keg coupler (see entry), used most often for Kofola but also by a few Czech breweries. At first glance it resembles a standard flat coupler, but the movable metal ring that opens the keg valve is noticeably smaller.

Usually horizontal vessels installed in cellars, in which beer undergoes secondary fermentation and maturation. In a sense, they are a predecessor of modern CCT technology.

A device used to loosen the grain bed during lautering and to remove the spent grain after the process is complete.

One type of keg coupler (see entry), commonly referred to in Czech as the “bayonet” type.

A humorous Czech slang term for a beer the drinker has neglected while talking or watching television: the foam has collapsed, the beer has warmed up and lost carbonation—in short, it has gone stale.

Filtered beer to which a small amount of actively fermenting fresh wort—called “Kräusen”—is added after transfer from the lager tanks.

The Czech term refers to the propagation of brewing yeast and to the vigorous “white rings” stage visible during active wort fermentation.

You may also hear the Czech phrase that a beer “rings nicely”: after each sip, a line of dried foam remains on the glass at the previous beer level.

A loose, silica-rich sedimentary material composed mainly of fossilised shells of diatoms, a type of unicellular algae. Since the early 20th century it has been used industrially, including in brewing, as a filtration medium for liquids.

Caramelised sugar, the best-known colouring used in beer (see BLACK BEER).

Brewing yeast: single-celled fungi that convert fermentable sugars into ethanol (alcohol) and carbon dioxide during primary fermentation, while also creating many of the beer's flavour compounds. In a traditional open fermenter, primary fermentation typically lasts about 6 to 13 days.

Beer with an increased content of active yeast, added during packaging in the form of actively fermenting wort. It usually has a visible haze and a distinctive flavour and aroma.

The process in which yeast “consumes” sugar and converts it into alcohol, carbon dioxide and small quantities of other flavour-active compounds.

The main types are SPONTANEOUS, TOP and BOTTOM FERMENTATION (see the relevant entries).

A technological process using so-called bottom-fermenting yeast, which works optimally at 6 to 8 °C. After fermentation is complete, the yeast settles to the bottom of the fermentation vessel and does not leave as many fruity and similar flavours in the beer. Compared with top fermentation, the process takes somewhat longer.

This method is used by all large Czech breweries to produce classic beer of the national type.

The historically oldest form of beer fermentation, in which microorganisms from the surrounding environment inoculate the wort naturally rather than a pure cultured yeast strain being pitched. Wild yeasts and bacteria can both take part in the process.

Today such beers are most strongly associated with Belgium. Examples include Lambic, Gueuze (a blend of young and old Lambic), Kriek (cherry Lambic) and, more broadly, other mixed-culture sour styles such as Flanders Red Ale.

A process in which brewing yeast ferments at the surface of the open fermentation vessel at temperatures of 15 to 24 °C; fermentation ceases at around 10 °C. Beers produced this way require a shorter period of conditioning and can therefore be drunk after as little as two weeks.

At these higher fermentation temperatures, aromatic compounds (esters) are formed that give the drink its characteristic aroma and fruity flavour.

Typical examples are IPA, Pale Ale, Stout, Weizen and Porter, popular abroad, for example in Germany.

A gas present in air. Oxygen is very important at the beginning of fermentation to support yeast growth and start the process. In later stages of production it is undesirable, because oxidation can cause unwanted flavour changes during production, storage and dispensing.

A bottom-fermented beer with a clean, smooth and refreshing flavour, light bitterness and typically golden colour.

Closed vessels installed in a refrigerated area (lager cellar) and intended for the conditioning and maturation of beer.

A space in which beer matures for a defined period at a controlled temperature.

A designation for bottom-fermented pale or dark beers fermented at temperatures around 10 °C and having an original wort extract (EPM) of 11% to 12.99%. After fermentation they lager for more than a month at low temperatures in the cellar. Their “degree” may range from 8° to 17°.

Internationally this type is known as Lager; in the Czech Republic the Pilsner type is especially popular. Compared with Czech session beers, it is fuller, stronger and more substantial.

A hand tool used to spread, rearrange and level a layer of germinated malt while it dries on the kiln floor. It is made of wood and resembles a narrow board with one rounded short end and a hand hole at the other.

It can be seen in traditional emblems of brewers and maltsters.

A part of a malt kiln: a wire-mesh or perforated surface on which a layer of malt is dried by warm air, or historically smoke, passing through the openings. In very old malt houses it was woven from hazel twigs, which gave rise to the Czech name.

Clear sweet wort becomes cloudy after the start of the boil as flakes form through protein denaturation. The break is assessed at the end of the wort boil. Well-defined flocs and clear wort indicate that the process has proceeded properly.

A hand tool used for the traditional manual turning of grain on a malt-house floor. It was originally made from a single piece of wood; later versions had a separate handle and blade. It forms part of the traditional emblem of maltsters and brewers.

A cleaning cycle used for brewhouse vessels that are not equipped with a CIP system. A 1–3% caustic solution is heated in the first vessel and then circulated through all vessels and the complete pipework to clean them thoroughly.

A malt-house vessel, historically often a stone tank (also brick or concrete) sunk partly into the malting-floor area. It was used for steeping grain and was a predecessor of the modern steeping vessel.

The first technological step in malting. Grain is covered with water in a dedicated steeping vessel and allowed to absorb moisture, which can take up to a day depending on the type of malt being made. During air rests, carbon dioxide is removed from the vessel.

After steeping, the grain is ready to be spread out for germination.

A machine used in floor maltings to turn the malt. Traditionally this work was done with a wooden maltster's shovel.

A personal drinking vessel for beer, often handed down from generation to generation. Traditionally it was usually made of copper with a tinned interior; modern versions are typically stainless steel.

A medieval privilege that allowed towns to maintain a monopoly on brewing (the brewing right) and prevented anyone else within a radius of one old Bohemian mile—about 11.2 km—from producing or selling beer without prior permission from the town council.

A brewery producing no more than 10,000 hectolitres of beer per year. It often has no bottle-filling line and therefore packages mainly into kegs and PET bottles.

Beer that has completed primary fermentation but is not yet finished and is maturing in lagering tanks.

The main sugary intermediate in brewing: essentially sweet wort after hops have been added and boiled, formed during the brewhouse stage.
After yeast is pitched, the fermentable sugars are converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide.

A key heated vessel in the brewhouse, traditionally often made of copper and nowadays also of steel or stainless steel. It was once the most valuable piece of equipment in a brewery. Sweet wort is boiled with hops in it, producing hopped wort.

The residual material left on the filter bed after sweet wort has been separated during brewing. It consists of insoluble malt residues removed in the lauter tun. Spent grain is a highly nutritious by-product. The husks and fibrous material from germinated barley contain valuable nutrients and fibre, so fresh or dried spent grain is widely used as animal feed.

At our brewery, some of the spent grain is fed to a colleague's pig, which later provides traditional pork dishes for us at Christmas.

A distinctive Czech draught-pouring style. The glass is filled almost entirely with dense, wet beer foam, which slowly settles from the bottom into liquid beer. Served this way, the beer has softer carbonation and seems sweeter.

An old brewery ladle, traditionally a wooden vessel with a long handle used to transfer a brew before pumps existed. It is part of the traditional emblem of maltsters and brewers.

A malt-house vessel used for steeping grain, replacing older stone steeping vats. Today it is usually a steel tank built into the floor above the malting floor. Its outlet leads to the germination floor below, where the wet grain is spread out.

Also called a coupler or tapping head. It connects the beer line and dispense-gas line to a keg and is used both for filling and for dispensing. Three common systems in the Czech market are the bayonet/Korb type, the flat/Flash type and the Combi type. When engaged, the coupler admits dispense gas to the headspace above the beer and connects the beer outlet to the keg spear, a stainless-steel tube reaching close to the bottom. Non-return valves help retain keg pressure and prevent beer or gas from flowing in the wrong direction. When the coupler is disengaged, its mechanism closes the gas path so the gas supply does not normally have to be shut off at the cylinder each time a keg is changed.

A malting operation following steeping, in which the wet grain is spread over the malting floor to create suitable conditions for germination.

Beer that is not filtered before being packaged into kegs or bottles. Because yeast and fine particles remain in suspension, it is more or less hazy. Unfiltered beer generally has a richer, fuller flavour, although people who are sensitive to large amounts of live yeast may prefer to consume it in moderation.

Pasteurisation (named after its discoverer Louis Pasteur) is a process in which, generally speaking, food is heated to a high temperature. This destroys bacteria, yeast and other microorganisms that could spoil the food during storage. See also PASTEURISATION.

Unpasteurised beer does not undergo this process and therefore retains a full flavour, aroma and naturally fresh character. One of its main advantages is that it contains natural enzymes and vitamins (for example B vitamins).

Because it contains live yeast, it usually has a limited shelf life and requires special storage conditions. It is important to keep it cold and consume it as soon as possible after purchase.

Alcohol content is not the same as the original extract or “degree” of beer; they are two different figures. A Czech “twelve” is usually stronger than a “ten”, but the final alcohol level also depends on the degree of attenuation. The greater the attenuation, the more alcohol is generally produced.

Beer most commonly ranges from about 0 to 12% ABV, although stronger examples exist. A 10° Czech beer is typically around 3.5–4.5% ABV, while a 12° beer is commonly around 5%.

A technological operation in which, after fermentation is complete, settled yeast is slowly discharged from the conical bottom of a CCT.

A traditional accessory for drinkers who want to warm their beer slightly without letting it go flat. It is a small stainless-steel cylinder with a hook or handle, closed with a lid and filled with hot water. The cylinder is hung inside the beer mug and removed once the beer reaches the desired temperature.

A paler type of Ale with gentle hop bitterness and a more malt-forward flavour, usually less intense than IPA.

A brief heat treatment used to reduce bacteria, yeast and other microorganisms in beer and extend its shelf life. A modern alternative sometimes called “cold pasteurisation” is sterile membrane filtration, in which microorganisms are removed without heat.

Two common heat-treatment methods are used depending on the package. For kegs and some plastic bottles, flash pasteurisation heats the beer for roughly 30–60 seconds, typically to around 72 °C. Oxygen should be kept as low as possible because high temperature accelerates oxidative changes in beer.

Cans and glass bottles are often tunnel-pasteurised: filled and sealed packages pass through heated zones for around 10–20 minutes, usually reaching temperatures around 60 °C.

Primarily, the last water remaining after sparging the spent grain in the lauter tun. It is no longer returned to the wort kettle but goes to a collector, from where it is later used as mash-in water. This technology is used by breweries that are primarily concerned with quantity rather than quality.

Figuratively, the Czech word means an undrinkable beverage of zero quality and disgusting taste.

In a broad sense, the term refers to beer inspired by the Pilsner-style pale lager first brewed in 1842 by brewer Josef Groll at the newly founded brewery in Pilsen.

It became the world's most widely produced beer family and now exists in many forms that differ from the original in mashing, hopping, attenuation, colour and ingredients.

Typical features are a pale colour, pronounced hop bitterness and a clean malt profile.

Originally, the Czech term referred to a tap hammered directly into a wooden barrel—a tradition still seen when beer festivals are ceremonially opened in Germany.
A modern beer faucet is essentially a specialised valve mounted on the dispense tower or counter. Its main control is a handle, which may be plastic, wood or porcelain, and many Czech-style faucets also have a small lever for regulating flow and foam. A skilled bartender can use these controls together with proper glass handling to pour Czech styles such as hladinka, šnyt, mlíko and čochtan. Cheaper faucets may use a saddle-type valve and can disturb the flow, making the beer foam more readily. Higher-quality faucets commonly use a rotary handle and an internal ball or similarly unrestricted valve so that, when fully open, beer flows smoothly and the bartender creates the desired foam deliberately. Decorative luxury faucets may be ornate or gold-plated, but appearance alone does not guarantee good pouring. Perfect cleanliness of the equipment is also essential.
On so-called party sets, the tap is mounted directly on the dispensing unit—see DISPENSING EQUIPMENT.

Restaurants and pubs use many different types of beer glasses and mugs. Breweries often supply venues with branded glassware as part of their promotion. For our beer we chose a robust, rounded Tübinger-style half-litre mug. In our restaurant we also serve Ostravar, which may come in a Bohemia-style mug or in a tall, slender beer glass known locally as a “výška”. Upscale restaurants may use smaller stemmed tulip glasses, while wheat beer is traditionally served in a tall, tapered glass with a substantial base.

Subcategories within broader beer types. A style is generally defined by a combination of production technology, ingredients, geographical or historical origin and characteristic sensory features.

A fermented, usually bitter beverage made from water, malt, hops and brewing yeast, and one of the world's most popular alcoholic drinks. Beer is an important symbol of the Czech Republic, and the term „České pivo“ (“Czech Beer”) has been protected as a geographical indication since 2008.

A technological production complex whose final product is beer. Its core sections are the brewhouse, fermentation area, lager cellar and packaging area. Some breweries also have their own malt house, and many use filtration and pasteurisation.

Single-celled microorganisms that play a key role in beer production. During fermentation they convert sugars in the wort into alcohol and carbon dioxide. They also produce various aromatic compounds that contribute to the characteristic flavour and aroma of the beer.

During fermentation the yeast multiplies and works actively for several days or weeks depending on the beer type. After fermentation, yeast settles or is harvested from the vessel and can be cleaned and reused for another brew. In many breweries a culture is repitched several times, subject to quality-control limits.

The tactile sensation of beer in the mouth. It is perceived largely through mechanoreceptors rather than taste buds. Body results from factors including original extract, alcohol and colloidal substances such as dextrins, polyphenols and other compounds.

Beer derives much of its body from the original wort extract: all else being equal, higher extract tends to produce a fuller, more substantial beer. Greater attenuation generally reduces residual fullness.

Very high fullness may be described in Czech brewing language as “breadiness”. The opposite is a thin or watery beer. Light beers naturally have less body, which may be entirely appropriate for the style and does not in itself indicate poor quality.

The outer husk layers of cereal kernels. In brewing they form a natural filter bed, so it is important to preserve them as intact as possible when crushing malt. During lautering they settle into the grain bed and help filter the wort from solid particles before the boil.

Unlike a mixed “cut” beer, semi-dark beer is brewed from a blend of different malts, so it has its characteristic colour from the brewhouse onward and that colour remains throughout production. A common sensory feature is a somewhat sweeter, maltier flavour.

A strong dark beer related to Stout, usually with a somewhat lighter body and gentler flavour. The style originated in England in the 18th century.

A medieval property to which a non-transferable right to brew beer was attached. The building did not necessarily contain a brewery; its owner could have the beer brewed elsewhere, while also holding the privilege to sell and serve it in a tavern.

The ratio between the amount of sugar present in beer at the beginning of fermentation and the amount remaining at the end. For example, in a beer with 10% EPM (= 10 g of sugars per 100 ml), if 2 g of sugar per 100 ml remain, then 8 g of sugars have fermented in every 100 ml, so the attenuation is 80%.

The higher the attenuation, the more alcohol and the less sugar the beer contains. The brewer can of course influence it, so in theory a Czech “ten” can be produced with 3.5, 4 or even 4.5% alcohol.

Introduced at the end of the 19th century. This is a special department intended for maintaining a brewery's own yeast strain, which the brewery has cultivated and continues to propagate. It consists of hermetically sealed vessels through which oxygenated water flows and in which the yeast can be maintained for decades.

Tanks used to store beer before dispensing. Beer can be pushed from the tank to the tap using dispense gas (see entry), or the beer can be held inside a single-use food-grade bag within the tank and the bag compressed with ordinary air. The bag-in-tank system can lower dispense-gas costs and keeps the beer from direct contact with any external gas, reducing the risk of oxidation or over-carbonation.

An ingredient added to beer during production, most often fruit- or spice-based. The range is very broad and can include coffee, chocolate, caramel, banana, coconut, floral, resinous, malty and many other notes.

At Heřmanice Brewery we do not use industrially produced flavour essences or concentrates. If you drink our spruce beer, for example, its subtle spruce note comes from real young spruce tips gathered in the Beskids. Likewise, our elderflower beer is made by boiling real elderflowers together with the standard brewing ingredients, usually hand-picked near Heřmanická Bučina.

A space by the furnace of a traditional malt kiln, also used as a resting place for workers.

A cereal used in brewing for beer styles that have wheat in their name (Weizen, Wit, Wheat). It is also used in recipes for other beers, mostly top-fermented ones. Its share in beer is usually limited to a maximum of 50%, because wheat has no husks, which complicates lautering.

Wheat beer has a fresh, gently sweet flavour and often a hazy appearance.

Until the middle of the 19th century, wheat beers were very widespread in the Czech lands and were called „white“ beers.

A bundle of beer lines combined with a pair of lines carrying recirculating cooling water. The whole bundle is wrapped in thermal insulation. It keeps beer at the correct temperature while it travels from a tank or keg to the tap.

A mixture of crushed malt and water undergoing mashing.

The time-and-temperature schedule used during mash preparation.

A heated vessel in the brewhouse, often technologically integrated with or paired with the wort kettle.

A vessel used for heating and, where required, boiling portions of the mash.

The stage after malt crushing and mixing the grist with water. The mash is heated while being stirred, with defined temperature rests during which malt enzymes convert starch into fermentable and non-fermentable sugars. The mash profile therefore has a major influence on the flavour, fermentability and body of the finished beer.

The two basic methods are infusion and decoction mashing.

Many Czech breweries use a double-decoction process. In a typical version, roughly one third of the mash is transferred to a mash kettle, heated through a saccharification rest around 70–73 °C, then brought to the boil and returned to the main mash, raising its temperature to roughly 63–65 °C. The process is repeated, with the second decoction raising the main mash to about 73–75 °C.

Our brewery uses double decoction for pale beers and a single decoction for amber and dark beers.

Also called a “cut” beer. A skilled bartender can pour dark and pale beer into one glass in roughly equal proportions while keeping the layers visibly separate for an attractive presentation.

Other customers prefer the two beers fully mixed. The resulting flavour combines the bitterness of pale beer with the sweeter, roasted character of dark beer.

Mixing different batches or types of beer together.

A Czech sensory term referring mainly to the amount and perception of carbon dioxide in beer, much of which is produced naturally during fermentation. Different beer styles are carbonated to different levels; an average lager may contain around 5 g of CO₂ per litre.

More highly carbonated beers feel fresher and more sparkling and are often intended for relatively quick drinking, because carbon dioxide gradually escapes after pouring. Lagers, Weizen and some Bitters are typical examples. Stronger beers, especially those intended for slower sipping, are often carbonated more gently.

The mechanical and chemical cleaning, and where necessary disinfection or sterilisation, of all technical equipment that comes into contact with raw materials or beer during production.

An unheated brewhouse vessel used for separating sweet wort from the grain bed, sometimes combined with the mash-in vessel.

The stage of beer production that follows mashing. The liquid portion of the mash is separated from the solid malt residues, or spent grain. The process takes place in a lauter tun and may last from around thirty minutes to several hours depending on the equipment and method. The result is sweet wort, a clear, sweet-tasting liquid.

The name for cereal grain—predominantly barley—that has been germinated and dried during the malting process. Wheat, rye and oat malts are also used in brewing. Germination partly breaks down proteins and activates or forms enzymes in the living grain that are essential for brewing, including those that break starch down into sugars. See MALTING.

Roughly 2,000 malted grains are needed to brew one half-litre serving of beer.

Malt production has several stages:

- steeping the grain in a steeping vessel,

- spreading the wet grain in layers about 10 cm deep on a malting floor or another dark germination system,

- germination, lasting around six to seven days with regular turning,

- gathering and moving the green malt to the kiln for drying, which stabilises it so it can be stored and later used.

The temperature and duration of kilning influence the colour and many other properties of the malt.

Originally associated with British brewing, this base malt is slightly darker than Pilsner malt, typically around 5–8 EBC, and usually gives a somewhat fuller malt flavour. It is a fundamental base malt for many top-fermented Ale styles.

With a colour commonly around 11–17 EBC in lighter versions, Munich malt is an important base or speciality malt for amber and dark beers. Its specific kilning process gives beer a rich, bready and strongly malty aroma.

A cornerstone of Czech brewing and closely associated with the tradition of pale Pilsner-style lagers. At roughly 3–4 EBC it has a very pale colour and strong enzymatic activity, making it highly suitable as a base malt for mashing.

Available in a pale version (EBC 3 to 5) and a darker version (up to EBC 18). It has no husks, which complicates lautering, but gives a specific flavour and aroma. Its use is usually limited to 60 to 80% of the grist. It is especially popular for producing wheat beers, which have gained popularity particularly among women thanks to their gentler flavour and lighter hopping.

Roughly twice as dark as Pilsner malt, Vienna malt gives beer a characteristic golden to light amber colour. It is popular in festive and speciality beers, particularly in smaller breweries, because it adds fuller malt character while retaining enough enzymatic activity to function as a substantial part of the grist.

From the point of view of beer quality, one of the most important people in a brewery. The brewer or brewmaster is responsible for the quality of the beer and, traditionally, for managing the brewery crew.

In a small brewery like ours, the brewer may begin the morning by firing the brewhouse, milling the malt and starting the mash, then follow the entire brewing process through wort cooling, transfer to the fermentation vessel and pitching the yeast. A brew day can take around ten hours. In a very small operation the brewer may do much of this work alone.

The first major intermediate in beer production: a sweet, unhopped solution of sugars, proteins and other malt-derived substances obtained after mashing and lautering.

In beer, sweetness comes mainly from malt-derived sugars and dextrins. In lagers it is often most noticeable in the middle of the sip, contributing to the beer's body before the bitter finish appears. In less heavily hopped and stronger beers, sweetness may be perceived throughout the sensory experience.

All else being equal, beers with higher original extract often tend to taste fuller and sweeter.

The production of malt from barley. It is a multi-day process that “awakens” the grain and changes its internal structure. During malting, enzymes needed for subsequent brewing become active and the grain is modified so that starch can later be converted efficiently into soluble sugars.

Without malting, boiling crushed barley would mainly produce a thick cereal porridge rather than a suitable base for brewing beer.
 

Used in dark and black beers. They are produced by roasting malt at temperatures that can reach around 225 °C, giving them a characteristic aroma and coffee-like bitterness. Their colour can be extremely intense—up to roughly 1500 EBC—so the grist proportion is usually only about 2–5%. To limit harsh bitterness, very dark malt may be added late in mashing or during lautering.

Chocolate malt is one subtype, with flavour characteristics reminiscent of dark chocolate. Beers commonly associated with these roasted aromas include Stout and Porter.

Malts with high enzymatic power, used especially when processing ingredients with low enzyme activity, including some adjuncts.

These malts are finished at temperatures that can reach around 180 °C, so they have little or no enzymatic activity and cannot convert their own starch independently. They are usually used at up to about 10% of the grist, depending on the type.

There are many subtypes. A common dark caramel malt is around 120 EBC and is suitable for adjusting beer colour while also adding characteristic aroma and fullness.

Light caramel or dextrin malt is also popular, especially in smaller breweries. Because it is produced at lower temperatures, it can be very pale, around 3–6 EBC. Its higher proportion of non-fermentable dextrins can increase body and foam stability without strongly changing the beer's colour.

Malt that can be used to lower mash and beer pH. Its acidity comes mainly from lactic acid introduced or formed during malting.

A relatively dark malt, typically around 20–80 EBC, whose colour is developed not by heavy roasting but by intensive non-enzymatic reactions between sugars and amino acids. Compared with strongly roasted malts, it retains a pronounced malty aroma and flavour with less roast bitterness. It can add reddish colour and fuller malt character to beer.

It is commonly used in amber and dark beers.

Malts dried over smoke, for example peat smoke in some whisky production or beechwood smoke in traditional smoked-beer malt. They have a distinctive smoky aroma and can range from pale to dark depending on the production method.

They are used to brew speciality smoked beers.

They are produced by spraying with a lactic culture, which leaves 0.7 to 4% lactic acid in the malt. Adding these malts (2 to 10% of the grist) increases acidity, which is attributed with a higher brewhouse yield, better foam formation and longer beer stability.

In Czech classification, beer with an original wort extract of at least 13%.

The operation in which hot wort is rapidly cooled to pitching temperature, transferred to the primary fermentation vessel and inoculated with brewing yeast. In traditional open fermentation, the wort may be allowed to fall or splash during transfer to provide the oxygen needed by yeast at the start of fermentation.

The brewery area containing open fermentation vats in which primary fermentation takes place. In large modern breweries these vessels are often replaced by CCTs. Traditional fermentation cellars are kept cool; historically this was achieved with stored winter ice, while modern breweries use central refrigeration and/or jacketed fermentation vessels that allow each tank to be controlled separately. Our current brewery uses central cooling at about +8 °C; the new facility will use jacketed fermenters.

In Czech classification, a light beer with an original wort extract up to 7.99%.

More precisely, the original wort extract (EPM). People often confuse it with alcohol content, but these are two completely different things. For example, twelve-degree beers usually have around 5% alcohol by volume, but they can be made with a lower value (e.g. 4.6%) or a higher value (over 5.5%).

It refers to the amount of sugar in the beer not consumed during fermentation.

It is measured using a hydrometer, an instrument used to measure liquid density. Knowing the initial gravity (OG = Original Gravity) of the malt solution and the final gravity (FG = Final Gravity) of the beer allows the amount of sugar not used by the yeast to be calculated.

CATEGORIES

NON-ALCOHOLIC (up to 0.5% alcohol by volume)

LOW-ALCOHOL (0.5 to 1.2% alcohol by volume)

TABLE (up to 6°)

SESSION / VÝČEPNÍ (7° to 10°)

LAGER (11° to 12°), but only for bottom-fermented beers

FULL (11° to 12°), but only for top-fermented beers

STRONG (13° and above)

The transfer of so-called green beer from primary fermentation to the lager cellar, where it continues conditioning and becomes young beer.

Replacing traditional raw materials (malt, hops) with substitutes—so-called surrogates. Today this is used mainly by large non-European producers, primarily for economic reasons to reduce beer-production costs. However, the procedure can have an adverse effect on the beer's sensory properties.

You will not find surrogates in our brewery.

The term has historical roots. Early beers were often very dark because malt was dried over less controllable heat sources. Truly pale beers became possible after improved malting and kilning methods allowed malt to be dried at lower, more controlled temperatures.

The quantity and composition of crushed malt and other grist ingredients prepared for a brew. The amount of grist strongly influences the original extract and potential strength of the finished beer.

A Czech draught-pouring style with a large proportion of dense foam and a softer perception of carbonation while retaining the beer's flavour. It is typically served in a half-litre glass with roughly 0.3 litre of liquid beer and the rest made up of foam.

Barley malt arriving from the malt house still looks like ordinary grain. Before mashing, the brewer crushes it in a specialised mill to produce grist. The mill must be adjusted carefully: if the grist is too fine it can compact and block the lauter bed; if it is too coarse, extraction during mashing is poor. Ideally the starchy endosperm is crushed well while the husks remain relatively intact to aid filtration.

A Czech slang term for a small 30-litre beer keg. The nickname partly derives from older words for a quarter-size barrel and partly from the fact that a 30-litre keg looks like the “young one” of a standard 50-litre keg.

As the name suggests, it is the gas used to push beer from a keg or tank to the tap. Ordinary compressed air can work for very short-term dispensing, but the oxygen it contains can oxidise and spoil beer if contact continues for too long. Carbon dioxide (CO₂) avoids oxygen exposure but, if used at excessive pressure or for long periods, can over-carbonate the beer and make it foam excessively. Mixed gases such as Biogon (see entry) are therefore often preferred for suitable dispense systems. Required pressure depends strongly on line length, resistance and vertical lift. At a simple garden party with the keg directly beneath the dispenser, roughly 1–1.5 bar (100–150 kPa) is often sufficient.

See BLACK BEER. It is brewed from a combination of malts that give it its characteristic dark colour.

A Czech term for a large beer glass or mug, derived from the German word Doppel (“double”). It holds twice the volume of a standard half-litre mug, i.e. about one litre.

A closed cylindrical vessel with a flat bottom and cooling equipment. It was used to remove trub and sediment from hot wort while also cooling it toward fermentation temperature.

An older form of malt kiln, often installed in vaulted rooms. It consisted of a long furnace with a front or side firebox. Smoke and heat passed through the structure, drying the malt spread on the perforated floor while also imparting smoky combustion aromas.

A malt-house area used to store and pre-dry unfinished green malt. Excess moisture evaporated gradually there, reducing the amount of energy later required in the kiln.

A completed batch produced in the brewhouse.

The part of a brewery where mash-in, mashing, lautering and wort boiling are carried out.

Depending on the chosen technology, a small brewhouse may use one or two main vessels, while larger systems can have more. The vessels are usually stainless steel; some breweries add decorative copper cladding.

A former manual malt-house operation in which germinating grain was repeatedly turned with a shovel. In modern industrial maltings this work has been almost entirely replaced by machinery.

Also called a whirlpool vessel: a closed, upright cylindrical tank into which hot wort is introduced tangentially and set into rotation. The resulting vortex causes hop particles and protein trub to collect in a cone near the centre of the bottom, allowing clarified wort to be drawn off from the side.

The most important of the basic raw materials used to make beer, and also essential in many related brewery processes. A brewery typically consumes several litres of water for every litre of packaged beer, often around four to eight times the final beer volume depending on its efficiency and technology.

In Czech classification, beer with an original wort extract of 8.00% to 10.99%. Colloquially, the common 10° version is often simply called a “ten”.

Also informally called a beer cooler, dispenser or “box”.

The term commonly refers to a portable system that can dispense beer from a keg after being connected to mains electricity.
Besides the tap, it usually contains a flow-through cooler and often an air compressor supplying roughly 2–3 bar. Such a portable unit, together with a keg coupler, is popular at smaller private events. Professional pubs and restaurants more often use systems in which beer travels from refrigerated serving tanks through insulated, cooled bundles of lines known as pythons to a dispense tower with several taps. Cooling water circulating in the python keeps the beer at the correct temperature all the way to the faucet. In our restaurant, beer travels directly from tanks in the lager cellar through pythons to the taps and is pushed by Biogon mixed gas (see DISPENSE GAS).

Wort at the end of the brewhouse process. Its volume must be measured and recorded. A traditional method uses a calibrated wooden dipstick lowered to the bottom of the vessel to determine the volume. Despite modern instrumentation, this simple method is still used in some breweries.

A term for the total volume of beer produced by a brewery, brewery group or even an entire country over a defined period.

A brewhouse vessel equipped with an agitator for mixing a specified amount of crushed malt with water at the required temperature.

Historically such vessels were made of wood and the mixing was done by hand.

At the start of brewing, malt is crushed and mixed with water. This mash-in process takes place in a mash vessel, traditionally at a relatively low starting temperature, often roughly 38–53 °C in step- or decoction-mashing schedules. A common liquor-to-grist ratio is around four parts water to one part malt by weight. Thorough mixing produces a thick mash.

As the temperature is raised, malt enzymes break down starch into soluble and fermentable sugars.

Brewing traditions use different mashing methods. British breweries historically favoured infusion mashing, often holding the mash around 65–68 °C for one to several hours. Continental European brewing, especially traditional Czech lager production, frequently uses decoction: part of the mash is transferred to a separate kettle, heated or boiled, and returned to the cooler main mash to raise its temperature. Step mashing and decoction schedules include timed rests at temperatures chosen for specific enzymatic processes.

A type of beer glass: tall, slender and made of relatively thin glass. It is popular with many drinkers but less so with bar staff because it is easier to break and, when a beer tends to foam strongly, takes longer to fill than a wide mug. See also BEER GLASSWARE.

Getting beer from a keg into a glass or mug. Czech language purists point out that the proper verb is “to tap/pour beer”, not literally “to turn” it, but the colloquial expression is deeply established.

To serve beer at a private event you first need the beer itself, then a keg coupler (see entry), a 9.5 mm (3/8") plastic beer line from the coupler to the dispensing unit (see entry), and an 8 mm (5/16") plastic line for connecting the dispense gas (see entry) to the coupler and dispensing equipment. All of these components can be borrowed from our brewery.

A few practical notes:

Plastic lines are connected using push-fit couplings (also called J-G or John Guest fittings after the manufacturer). It is important to push the tube in about 1 cm, past the resistance of the rubber O-ring. Licking the end of the tube is very unhygienic, although admittedly effective.

To disconnect a tube, FIRST press the plastic collar around the tube into the fitting (this releases the sharp metal jaws holding it), and ONLY THEN pull the tube out. If the collar is not fully depressed without simultaneously pulling the tube, you can struggle with it for quite a while.

If beer or dispense gas leaks at a push-fit connector, the end of the tube may be damaged. Disconnect it, cut off about 2 cm cleanly with a sharp knife, and try again.

If you plan to drink one keg over more than one day at a private event, it is worth using CO₂ as the dispense gas—for example from a suitable cylinder. The beer will keep better in the keg. Ideally the cylinder should have a regulator set to roughly 1–2 bar for dispensing. Without a regulator, you need to add a little pressure whenever the beer starts to flow too slowly.

Although dispensing units include a flow-through beer cooler, if you buy unpasteurised and unfiltered beer—such as our Heřmanice beer—we recommend keeping the keg as cold as possible for as long as possible. Leaving it in a hot car all day in summer or in a warm tent can spoil the flavour surprisingly quickly. As soon as you collect it, insulate it with a blanket, sleeping bag, winter coat or anything similar; the more insulation, the better.

The German term for wheat beer (see WHEAT).

The temperature of wort when it reaches the fermentation vessel and yeast is pitched. For traditional Czech lager fermentation it is commonly around 8–12 °C, depending on the process.

The name does not refer to an actual green colour. During roughly a week of germination, the grain becomes enzymatically active and undergoes the modification needed for brewing. In traditional floor malting, germination takes place on the malting floor.

Large modern maltings use mechanised germination systems instead.
Green malt contains a great deal of water and spoils quickly, so it must be stabilised by drying in the kiln.

The process in which freshly fermented green beer settles, clarifies and slowly becomes saturated with naturally produced carbon dioxide in a closed tank in the lager cellar. Its flavour becomes smoother and more rounded and approaches its final form.

A Czech slang name for the flat type of keg coupler, officially referred to here as Flash.

An old term for a small pewter beer jug with a capacity of about a quarter of a litre.

A beer brewed with rye as part of the grist, usually alongside a conventional barley-malt base. Rye can give beer a soft, distinctive grain character and fuller texture.