a short glossary of brewing and beer terms

do you know your top fermented beer from your bottom?

take a look through these pages to find out more about some of the phrases used on our site.

Original Gravity

This refers to a system for measuring the fermentable material (such as malt, garins and sugars) found in a beer pre-fermentation. It is correct to refer to the original specific gravity reading as the OG, and by considering the original sugar content the brewer is able to obtain an indication as to the probable final alcoholic content of his product.