Extras
A
Alcohol by Volume (ABV) - A standard measure of how much alcohol is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage. Expressed as a percentage.
B
Backsweeten - A process commonly used in mead-making to reintroduce sweetness to a fermented drink.
Bottle Bomb - A bottle of mead exploding due to excess pressure. Caused by refermentation or excess gas remaining in the beverage from fermentation.
Brix - A measurement that reads the sugar content of a solution, usually measured with a refractometer.
C
Carboy - A container for mead, ideally glass.
Carbonated - A beverage containing carbon dioxide, creating a fizzy drink.
Cold Crash - The process of using cold temperatures to make yeast fall out of solution or “crash” out.
Contamination - Unwanted bacteria or yeast being present on equipment or in mead.
D
Demijohn - European word for carboy.
Dry - Mead that has no remaining sweetness once it has fermented. These meads will have a gravity between 1.000 and 0.985
E
Esters - Aromatic compounds created by yeast as a by-product of fermentation.
F
Ferment - The process of yeast turning sugars into alcohol.
Fusels - Alcohol molecules that contain more than two carbons that, when present in mead, produce undesirable flavors.
G
Gravity - Relative density of a beverage at various stages of fermentation. This is measured with a hydrometer. Can be used to calculate ABV.
H
Hydrometer - An instrument that measures the gravity of a beverage.
L
Lees/Sediment/Yeast Cake - The accumulation of yeast cells and proteins at the bottom of a vessel.
M
Mead - An alcoholic beverage created by fermenting honey with water.
Meniscus Line - The surface level of a liquid.
Metabolize - The process yeast carries out when changing fermentable sugars into alcohol.
Must - An unfermented mixture of ingredients in mead and wine making.
O
Oxidized - The process of a mead being united with oxygen, increasing the aging process and producing undesirable flavors such as cardboard.
P
Pasteurize - An alternative method of stabilizing.
pH - Expresses the acidity or alkalinity of a beverage on a logarithmic scale, on which 7 is neutral, lower values are more acidic, and higher values are more alkaline.
Pitch - The process of adding yeast to a must.
R
Rack - The process of using a siphon to move liquid from one container to another.
Refractometer - An instrument that measures the brix of a beverage.
S
Sanitize - The process of reducing surface bacteria along with any contaminants.
Siphon - Synonym for rack.
Skunking - A mead that’s been compromised by exposure to UV rays. This is only really an issue with meads that contain herbs or hops.
Stabilize - The process of adding potassium metabisulfite and potassium sorbate to mead to ensure fermentation does not restart.
Staggered Nutrient Addition (SNA) - A protocol that clearly defines at which intervals to add yeast nutrients as well as the amount of yeast nutrients to be added at each interval.
Y
Yeast - Microscopic fungus used in homebrewing to create alcohol.
Yeast Nutrients - Ingredients that are designed to aid yeast health, leading to faster fermentation times and less stressed yeast.