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| Abbey beer | A collection of beer styles traditionally brewed by Trappists, such as dubbels and tripels. See "Trappist beer." |
| accessible | Easy to drink by beer experts and novices alike; crowd-pleasing. |
| Acetaldehyde | Rarely an intended component of a beer’s profile, acetaldehyde is an off flavor characterized by a green apple, pumpkin, paint or cut grass taste. Its most common cause is early removal of the beer from the yeast, before it has completed fermentation. Acetaldehyde is perhaps most famous as the component that causes hangover. |
| Acetic acid | A bacterial byproduct, sour-tasting acetic acid is common in sour beer styles such as Flanders red ales, which are open-fermented to welcome such funk-inducing compounds. In most styles, though, acetic acid is an off flavor; it’s detectable by a green apple, vinegar or paint aroma and/or flavor. Its most common cause is a contamination in the brewing process or your pub’s tap system. |
| acidic | Tasting of acid; sharp. Common in styles like saison, but inappropriate in many others. |
| additive | A compound added to beer as a preservative or a means to augment or abridge the brewing process. |
| adjunct | A source of fermentable sugar other than malt, used to add flavor, raise alcohol content and lighten color and body in various beer styles. Examples include wheat in witbiers, and corn in American lagers. |
| aftertaste | The taste that remains on the palate after beer has been swallowed. Synonymous with "finish." |
| age | To allow a bottled beer to rest in a cool, dark place until consumption, usually for a year or more, in order to promote positive changes in the beer's flavor. |
| aggressive | Forceful in flavor and/or mouthfeel. |
| alcohol | More specifically, ethyl alcohol or ethanol, the most widely used depressant in the world and a liquid, drinkable compound in beer derived from the fermentation process. |
| alcohol by volume (ABV) | The amount of alcohol (ethanol) in a beer, measured as a percentage of the beer's total volume. |
| alcohol by weight (ABW) | The amount of alcohol (ethanol) in a beer, measured as a percentage of the beer's total mass. |
| alcoholic | Tasting of alcohol. Acceptable in a style such as barleywine, but an off flavor in many others. |
| ale | Beer produced using top-fermenting ale yeast and brewed at warmer temperatures than lagers. |
| all-extract beer | A beer made with an extract of malt, rather than malted barley, or a combination of malted barley and malt extract. |
| all-malt | Without adjuncts, with regard to a beer’s grain profile. |
| almondlike | Tastes or scents of almonds or (slightly sweeter) marzipan. |
| alpha acid | A class of resins found in hop flowers, and the primary source of a beer’s bitterness. |
| American Homebrewers Association | The division of the Brewers Association devoted to non-commercial homebrewers. |
| appearance | The way a beer looks, comprising factors like color, head, haziness, visible sediment and more. |
| apple | Tastes or scents or apples. Appropriate in ciders, but an off flavor in many other beer styles. See “Acetaldehyde” and “acetic acid.” |
| aroma | A beer's smell. |
| artificial | Unnatural in flavor, smell or character, such as a simulated berry taste in fruit beers. |
| assertive | Powerful in flavor, scent or alcohol. |
| astringent | Harshly husky or grainy. Common in rye beers. |
| attenuation | The amount of sugar converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide by yeast. |
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