Craft Beer Glossary: 30 Terms, Explained

Craft beer comes with its own vocabulary, and most of it is simpler than it sounds. This glossary keeps each term to a single line and groups them so you can scan fast. If you only learn two, learn ABV and IBU — start with our deeper guide on ABV and IBU explained.

Strength, bitterness and the basics

• ABV — alcohol by volume, the percentage of alcohol in the beer; most craft beers sit between 4% and 8%.
• IBU — international bitterness units, a lab measure of bitterness that only roughly matches what you taste.
• OG / FG — original and final gravity, how dense the liquid is before and after fermentation; the gap hints at strength and body.
• Session — a deliberately low-ABV beer (often under 5%) built for drinking more than one.
• Imperial / Double — a bigger, stronger version of a style, with more malt, more hops and more alcohol.
• Body — how heavy or light the beer feels in your mouth, from watery to full and chewy.
• Mouthfeel — the overall texture: carbonation, body and finish combined.

Strength and bitterness are the two numbers people misread most. A high IBU does not always mean an aggressively bitter beer — soft malt and fruit can hide it.

Hops and aroma

• Hops — the flower that gives beer bitterness, aroma and flavour, from pine and citrus to mango and grass.
• Dry-hop — adding hops after fermentation for big aroma without extra bitterness; the secret behind juicy IPAs.
• Hazy — cloudy, soft, low-bitterness beer packed with tropical fruit aroma, also called New England or NEIPA.
• Resinous — a sticky, pine-and-grapefruit hop character typical of West Coast IPA.
• Dank — slang for an intense, herbal, almost cannabis-like hop aroma.
• Single hop — a beer brewed with just one hop variety so you can taste exactly what it brings.
• Bittering vs aroma hops — added early for bitterness or late for smell; same plant, different job.

Malt, fermentation and ingredients

• Malt — grain (usually barley) that is sprouted and kilned; it gives colour, sweetness and bread, caramel or roast flavours.
• Adjunct — any fermentable ingredient beyond barley, such as oats, wheat, rice, corn, fruit or lactose.
• Ale vs lager — ale ferments warm and fast for fruity, expressive beers; lager ferments cold and slow for clean, crisp ones, like a lager.
• Yeast — the microbe that turns sugar into alcohol and shapes much of the flavour.
• Dry — a beer with little residual sweetness and a crisp finish.
• Roasty — the coffee and dark-chocolate notes from heavily kilned malt, classic in a stout.
• Wild / Brett — fermented with wild yeast or Brettanomyces for funky, tart, farmhouse character, as in many a sour.

Pouring, packaging and serving

• Head — the foam on top of a poured beer; it carries aroma and protects carbonation.
• Lacing — the rings of foam left clinging to the glass as you drink; a sign of a well-made pour.
• Nitro — beer served with nitrogen instead of CO₂, giving a creamy, smooth, cascading pour.
• Cask / real ale — unfiltered, unpasteurised beer that finishes fermenting in its container and is served gently carbonated.
• Canning date — when the beer was packaged; for hoppy styles, fresher is always better.
• Cold chain — keeping beer cold from brewery to glass so hop aroma and freshness survive the trip.
• Best before — a guide to peak condition, not a hard expiry; some big dark and sour beers improve with age.

That last one matters in a tropical climate. We keep everything chilled and deliver it cold across Đà Nẵng, because a hazy IPA that has sat warm is a different, sadder beer.

Learn the words, then forget them — the only review that counts is your own sip.

Frequently asked

Do I need to know all these terms to enjoy craft beer?

No. A couple — ABV and 'hazy' versus 'West Coast' — will get you a long way. Pick something that sounds good and ask us; we are happy to point you to a match.

What is the difference between an ale and a lager?

It comes down to yeast and temperature: ales ferment warm for fruitier flavours, lagers ferment cold for a clean, crisp result. If you are new, our styles-for-beginners guide is the place to start.

Why does 'fresh' matter so much for IPA?

Hop aroma fades within weeks, so a fresh IPA tastes vivid while an old one tastes flat. Check the canning date and store it cold.

Ready to put the words to use? Open the full beer list or pick a style by name from the guide hub.