Some of the terms and names you may hear of can be a bit overawing on occasion. So if you don't know your Bright Beer from your Green Beer or your Ullage from your Fluffy Bottom then this brief Glossary below may be of assistance.
BARREL A 36 imperial gallon cask.
BEER ENGINE (HANDPUMP) Manual pump used to draw from the cask to the point of dispense.
BEER LINE Piping leading up to the beer engine.
BOTTLE-CONDITIONED Unfiltered, unpasteurised bottled beer.
BREWERY-CONDITIONED Filtered beer that is not cask-conditioned ale.
BRIGHT BEER Cask-conditioned beer which has been decanted into a fresh firkin (etc.) to separate it from its lees for safe transportation.
BUNG Round cork for protecting the inside of empty casks from insects etc.
CASK Traditional vessel of varying sizes used to contain real ale and allow it to have a secondary fermentation. It can be made of stainless steel, aluminium, wood or plastic.
CASK BREATHER Device that adds low pressure gas into a cask to replace dispensed beer, this prolongs the life of the beer but may affect the conditioning process slightly.
CASK-CONDITIONED BEER, REAL ALE The term 'real ale' and the following definition were coined by CAMRA. 'Real ale is beer brewed from traditional ingredients (malted barley, hops, water and yeast), matured by secondary fermentation in the container from which it is dispensed, and served without the use of extraneous carbon dioxide'. Real ale is also known as 'cask-conditioned beer', 'real cask ale', 'real beer' and 'naturally conditioned beer'.
CELLAR TEMPERATURE Around 54 or 55 degrees Fahrenheit - the ideal temperature for real ale.
CHILL HAZE A clarity imperfection caused by the beer being stored too cold.
CHINE The front or back rim of a cask, usually containing handling holes and sometimes stamped with the name of the owning brewery.
CHOCK Triangular wooden wedge used to prop up and stabilise stillaged casks.
CONDITION The amount of dissolved CO2 in the beer.
CONDITIONING The time that the beer is maturing in the cask.
COOPERAGE A brewery's stock of casks and kegs.
CYLINDER The main under counter part of a beer engine unit.
DIPSTICK A special rod that measures how much beer is present when inserted through the shive down to the belly of the cask.
DRIP TRAY The part of the beer engine unit that catches the drips.
DRY HOPPED Cask beer that has fresh hop leaves or pellets added on racking.
FINE (v.) To add finings to a cask.
FININGS A liquid substance added to the beer at the brewery or in the cellar to aid clarification. There are several types including isinglass and Irish Moss.
FIRKIN, NINE A 9 imperial gallon cask, the most common size.
FLUFFY BOTTOM Situation
where yeast and protein cells lurk in clumps near the tap
but do not stick to the bottom of the cask as they should,
this can cause beer to turn cloudy unexpectedly.
GRAVITY
Method
of dispensing cask beer straight from the cask into the
glass without need for a beer engine.
GREEN
BEER Cask ale
that hasn't matured properly.
HARD
SPILE Long,
thin, non-porous wooden peg used to broach the shive and to
prevent natural condition escaping out of the beer.
HOGSHEAD
A 54
imperial gallon cask (now virtually extinct).
HOP
FILTER A
washer-like fitting with an attached mesh filter that goes
between the tap and beer line, this catches stray particles
and helps to prevent leaks. Use of these is optional.
ISINGLASS
A type
of finings largely limited to use by British breweries.
JACKET
An
insulated covering for a SADDLE which envelops the top of a
stillaged cask.
KEG
Sealed
cooperage usually used for brewery-conditioned beer.
KEG-CONDITIONED
Unfiltered
beer that has undergone secondary conditioning in a regular
keg. Same as cask-conditioning unless attached to a gas
supply for dispense.
KEYSTONE
The
small round bung on the front of a cask where the tap is
driven in.
KILDERKIN,
EIGHTEEN An 18
imperial gallon cask.
LEES,
SEDIMENT The
yeast and protein contained in cask beer once it has
dropped to form a layer in the belly of the container. Also
applicable to bottle-conditioned beer.
MALLET
Rubber
or ash wood headed hammer used to drive in taps and spiles.
MINIPIN
Smaller
version of a polypin which holds about 17 imperial pints.
NATURAL
CARBONATION CO2
dissolved in the beer, produced naturally by the living
yeast in the beer.
NUT
AND TAIL Simple
connector to attach a tapped cask to a beer line.
PIN
A 4.5
imperial gallon cask.
POLYPIN
A 4.5
imperial gallon disposable beer container with an inbuilt
tap, similar to a large wine box.
PRIME
(v.) To add a
fermentable sugar to a cask of beer to assist with the
secondary fermentation. A practice formerly done in pub
cellars but now done before leaving the brewery whenever it
is practiced.
PUMPCLIP
Badge
for the handle of the beer engine.
RACE
CASK VENTILATOR, RACE SPILE Device
that screws into the shive which regulates escape of
natural CO2.
RACK
(v.) To fill
a cask with beer.
REFINE
(v.) To add
more finings in an attempt to clear a cask of beer when an
earlier effort didn't work.
REMOTE
COOLER A
refrigeration unit which can pump cold coolant. Used in
conjunction with a JACKET and SADDLE (or however many are
needed).
RERACK
(v.) To
transfer beer from one cask to another for whatever reason.
SADDLE
A hollow
metal pipe shaped to sit on top of a stillaged cask, with
which cold water or coolant will be circulated. Used in
conjunction with a JACKET and REMOTE COOLER.
SHIVE
The
large round bung on the top of a cask containing the tut.
SOFT
SPILE Short
porous wooden peg used to deliberately allow dissolved CO2
to escape from the beer, and to enable air to enter the
cask to replace dispensed beer.
SPARKLER
Restrictor
nozzle that fits on the spout of the beer engine which
takes condition from the body of the beer and puts it into
an artificially large or creamy head. Not beneficial to the
flavour of the beer in most circumstances.
SPEAR
Hollow
rod that inserts through the keystone eliminating the need
for a traditional stillage. It is more difficult to keep
beer properly conditioned with this system.
SPILE
PEG A wooden
peg used for venting a cask and controlling the
conditioning process. There are two varieties, see HARD
SPILE & SOFT SPILE.
STILLAGE
Sturdy
metal or wooden frame that casks rest on when in use or
conditioning.
SWAN
NECK Design
of beer engine spout that enables a glass to be filled from
the bottom up.
TAP
(n.) Plastic
or brass valve that is driven into the keystone with mallet
blows.
TAP
(v.) To
broach a cask's keystone with a tap ready for serving.
TILT
(v.) To raise
the rear end of a cask up by an inch or two to maximise
supply.
TUT
The
stopper in the centre of the shive that is pushed through
when a cask is vented.
ULLAGE
Stale or
infected beer that is unsaleable.
VENT
(v.) The act
of broaching the shive, usually done by driving a hard
spile through the tut.
YEAST
A living
component found in cask-conditioned beer.