Cream Ale

Photo By: thorntm

According to the BJCP a Cream ale or also referred to as a "creamer," is related to American lagers. They are generally brewed to be light and refreshing with a straw to pale golden color. Hop and malt flavor is usually subdued but some breweries give them a more assertive character. Two examples are Genesee Cream Ale (made by High Falls Brewing) and Little Kings Cream Ale (by Hudepohl-Schoenling Brewing.)

While cream ales are top-fermented ales, they typically undergo an extended period of cold-conditioning or lagering after primary fermentation is complete. This reduces fruity esters and gives the beer a cleaner flavor. Some examples also have a lager yeast added for the cold-conditioning stage or are mixes of ales and lagers. Adjuncts such as maize and rice are used to lighten the body and flavor although there are all-malt examples available.  Source: Wikipedia

Cream ale, also called American sparkling ale, is an American ale-hybrid style, now taken up residence in Canada. Coincidentally, it also came about in the late 1800s. It developed out of the need by the few remaining ale brewers to find a beer style with which to fight the battle of the marketplace against golden lagers. Lager won, and ale brewers continued their decline. As sales shrank, the remaining ale brewers cheapened and blandified their product until it was no longer worth a thought.

The style dwindled to just a few brands, but is now undergoing somewhat of a rebound--and a much needed improvement. Craft brewers, who have picked up the gauntlet of improving the style, are making it a more distinctive beer deserving of our attention.

A procedure that differentiates this hybrid from others is the cold lagering (age conditioning) it undergoes. It may be argued, as it long has been in some American brewing circles, that the primary determining factor in classifying beers is fermentation temperature, not yeast strain.

Use of corn grits and/or flakes is typical of the grain bill for cream ale, but not always so. Expect better of any microbrewery brands, and those from regional brewers who actually care about what they sell. Some are kraeusened, often with lager wort and yeast, to induce natural carbonation, as opposed to artificial carbonation. Natural carbon dioxide tends to produce a smoother mouthfeel. A combination of American and German hops may be used, as well as North American grains.

Color is pale to bright yellow to medium gold. Body should be light to medium. Hops should be subtle on the nose, with possibly some fruity notes. Bitterness is moderate, and these beers are well carbonated, spritzy, and refreshing in the manner of blonde lagers. Cream ale is appropriate for those hot, muggy North American summer days. Poorer examples are best drunk as cold as possible and quickly, before they warm.  Source: All About Beer

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Steam Beer

Photo by Orin Optiglot

A name trademarked by the Anchor Steam Beer brewery of San Francisco. This brewery's principal product is made by a distinctive method of bottom-fermentation at high temperatures and in unusually wide, shallow vessels. This technique, producing a beer with elements of both lager and ale in its character (though also distinctive in its own right), is said to have been common in California when, in the absence of supplies of ice, early brewers tried to make bottom-fermenting beers. The very lively beer was said to "steam" when the casks were tapped.   Source: Beer Hunter

Brewing Process:

In 19th-century California, not only ice, but even sources of naturally cold water, were probably unavailable to brewers. California brewers were forced to use lager yeast at higher ale temperatures.

Final flavors of beer are influenced by the strain of yeast and the fermentation temperature. Lager yeast is best used at temperatures from 55°F down to 32 °F. Classic lagering of beers takes place over a period of time from weeks to many months at a temperature of 45°F. Lager yeasts are bottom fermenting, which is to say that they ferment the wort while sitting on the bottom of the fermenter. Papazian, Charlie (2003). The Complete Joy of Home Brewing: 3rd Edition.

Ale yeast is best used at temperatures from 55°F to 75°F. Fermentation by ale yeasts produces a beer that has a distinctive ale flavor. Ale yeasts are Top-fermenting, that is they settle out on top of the wort after fermenting (fermentation itself takes place in a suspension. Papazian, Charlie (2003). The Complete Joy of Home Brewing: 3rd Edition. Steam Beer uses bottom fermenting lager yeasts at ale temperatures, which results in a very distinctive flavor profile that includes both ale and lager characteristics.

While steam beer is considered a specialty microbrew style of beer today, it was originally a cheap beer made for blue collar workers. Wahl & Heinus’ “American Handy Book of Brewing and Malting” (1902) describes California Steam Beer as “a very clear, refreshing drink, much consumed by the laboring classes.” And while Anchor Steam is an all-barley malt beer, additives were often used in the early days. According to Wahl & Heinus’ book, “Malt alone, malt and grits, or raw cereals of any kind, and sugars, especially glucose, employed in the kettle to the extent of 33 1/3 percent…. Roasted malt or sugar coloring is used to give the favorite amber color of Munich beer.”

Source: Wikipedia

Other Articles Worth Reading

Steam Beer at Brew Your Own Magazine
California Steaming at Brewing Techniques
Anchor Brewing

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Altbier

Alt is German for "old", and these beers are of a style older than the lagered beers, a remnant of the time before lager was invented. Altbier is top fermented then cold lagered for a few weeks. Altbiers are copper-bronze in colour and mostly brewed around Düsseldorf. Altbier is the closest Germany gets to the style of a British bitter but the lagering period gives them a quite different character. The best English bitters are cask-conditioned or bottle-conditioned but Germany does not have the tradition of cask-conditioning ales so Altbiers are not cask-conditioned and, when bottled, are not bottle-conditioned. Generally around 4.8abv, mildly fruity, with a typically dry finish, there is more hop bitterness here than in most German beers. A good sessional drink, and goes well with cheese. Source: German Beer Guide

A little history from Wikipedia.com

The Bavarian Reinheitsgebot (beer purity law; literally "purity order") of 1516 was drawn up to ensure the production of decent-quality beer; however, this decree did not affect brewers of the Rhineland. As such, the brewing traditions in this region developed slightly differently. For example, brewing during the summer was illegal in Bavaria, but the cooler climate of the Rhineland allowed Alt brewers to brew all year long and to experiment with storing fermented beer in cool caves and cellars.

The name "altbier" first appeared in the 1800s to differentiate the beers of Düsseldorf from the new pale lager that was gaining a hold on Germany. Brewers in Düsseldorf used the pale malts that were used for the modern pale lagers, but retained the old ("alt") method of using warm fermenting yeasts.
The first brewery to use the name Alt was Schumacher which opened in 1838. The founder, Mathias Schumacher, allowed the pale ale to mature in cool conditions in wooden casks for longer than normal, and laid the foundation for the modern alt beer - an amber coloured, lagered ale. The result is a pale ale that has some of the lean, dryness of a lager, with the fruity notes of an ale.

I have tried a few locally brewed Altbiers and have found them to be quite tasty. For a recipe on how to make an Altbier, try this one: German Altbier.



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Ascorbic Acid

Often called "Vitamin C" by laymen, for a short time ascorbic acid was thought to be a viable substitute for sulfur dioxide (SO2) in wine; i.e. it was thought that ascorbic acid would protect wine against oxidation as well as SO2 does. Research has demonstrated this belief to be false. In an oxidative environment, ascorbic acid leads to rapid browning of catechin, a component of wine. The co-presence of SO2 delays the browning, but the delay is prolonged without ascorbic acid present. In other words, the wine ages better with sufficient SO2 present and without any ascorbic acid.

From Jack Keller's Glossary

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Conditioning

Period of maturation intended to impart "condition" (natural carbonation). Warm conditioning further develops the complex of flavors. Cold conditioning imparts a clean, round taste.


Source: Jack Keller

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Wine Press

A wine press is a device used to extract juice from crushed grapes during winemaking. There are a number of different styles of presses that are used by winemakers but their overall functionality is the same. Each style of press exerts controlled pressure in order to free the juice from the fruit. The pressure must be controlled in order to avoid crushing the seeds and release a great deal of undesirable tannins into the wine.

Press Types

A basket press consists of a large basket that is filled with the crushed grapes. Pressure is applied through a plate that is forced down onto the fruit. The mechanism to lower the plate is often either a screw or a hydraulic device. The juice flows throw openings in the basket. The basket style press was the first type of mechanized press to be developed, and its basic design has not changed in nearly 1000 years.

A horizontal screw press works using the same principle as the basket press. Instead of a plate being brought down to put pressure on the grapes, plates from either side of a closed cylinder are brought together to squeeze the grapes. Generally the volume of grapes handled is significantly greater than that of a basket press.

A bladder press consists of a large cylinder, closed at each end, into which the fruit is loaded. To press the grapes, a large bladder expands and pushes the grapes against the sides. The juice then flows out through small openings in the cylinder. The cylinder rotates during the process to help homogenize the pressure that is placed on the grapes.

A continuous screw press differs from the above presses in that it does not process a single batch of grapes at a time. Instead it uses an Archimedes' screw to continuously force grapes up against the wall of the device. Juice is extracted, and the pomace continues through to the end where is it extracted. This style of press is not often used to produce table wines, and some countries forbid their use in higher quality wines.

Source: EncycloWine

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Brew Pub

Pub that makes its own beer and sells at least 50% of it on premises. Also known in Britain as a home-brew house and in Germany as a house brewery.

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Dry Wine

A wine lacking or deficient in residual sugar. A wine becomes dry when all or most of the sugar within it has been converted through fermentation into alcohol and carbon dioxide. A wine is usually perceived as dry when residual sugar is at or below a specific gravity of 0.999.

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Source: Jack Keller

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Wort

The solution of grain sugars strained from the mash tun. At this stage, regarded as “sweet wort”, later as brewed wort, fermenting wort and finally beer.

Wort is the liquid extracted by the process of worting, the mashing of malted barley to use in brewing beer. Adding other grains to the barley is used for some varietal beers (wheat beer and oatmeal stout, for example) or, more commonly, to cheapen the ingredients, as in the case of most beer produced by large breweries in North America. It is known firstly as sweet wort and then hopped wort after hops have been added at the boiling process. Wort contains sugars that will be fermented by yeast added once the solution has cooled down sufficiently to allow the yeast to survive.

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Winemaking Terms - Yeast Starter to Zymase

Yeast Starter:

 

A media in which a wine yeast is activated and encouraged to multiply to a high density so that when added to a must it will have a better chance of populating it successfully. There are several ways to make a starter. To make a really vigorous starter for inoculating a must initially or restarting a stuck fermentation, in a quart jar dissolve 1 teaspoon of sugar and 1/8 teaspoon of yeast nutrient in 1 cup of warm water (less than 104° F.). To this, add 1/4 cup of the juice from the must to be fermented. Sprinkle 1 packet of active dry yeast on the surface of the liquid. Do not stir. Cover the jar with a paper towel or napkin held in place with a rubber band. Wait for the yeast to become active. This could become obvious in as little as 15 minutes or could take as long as 2-4 hours. If no evidence of activation in 4 hours, the yeast was too old or dead from exposure to temperature extremes (usually heat, but possibly extreme cold). In such a case, sprinkle another packet of yeast into same jar and recover. When yeast (first or second sachet) is evidently active, add another 1/4 cup of juice from the must and recover. Wait until vigorous activity returns (usually 30-90 minutes) and add another 1/4 cup of juice. When again vigorously active, add yet another 1/4 cup of juice. Wait 1-2 hours and gently pour half the liquid over the surface of the must. Do not stir. The idea is for the starter to remain on or close to the surface where there is plenty of air for the yeast to "breath." Cover the primary fermentation vessel with a sanitized cloth or sheet of plastic. After 2-4 hours, the surface of the must should have small bubbles rising from fermentation or a healthy layer of yeast culture. Stir shallowly and recover the primary. Wait another 2-4 hours and fermentation should be more vigorous. Add the remainder of the starter and stir deeply. Recover primary. If the starter does not produce a vigorous fermentation in the primary, add another 1/4 cup of juice to the reserved half of the starter media. Wait 2 hours and add yet another 1/4 cup of juice. This starter is now 2 parts juice and 1 part water. When this is fermenting vigorously, add half of it to the must as before and try again.

 

Zest:

 

While "zest" is a quality a good, fresh wine might possess, when mentioned as an ingredient in the recipes on this site, zest refers to the grated rind of lemon, orange, grapefruit, or lime. Only the colored portion of the rind is used, as the white pith is bitter and will spoil the batch. When a recipe calls for 2 lemons, both the zest and the extracted juice are intended unless otherwise stipulated.

 

Zymase:

 

The name given to the group of enzymes which yeast use to transform sugar into alcohol.

Source: Jack Keller

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Winemaking Terms - Yeast to Yeast Nutrient

Yeast:

 

A unicellular fungi, principally of the genus Saccharomyces, capable of fermenting carbohydrates. Before adding yeast to a liquor or must to initiate active fermentation, it should be "started." After mixing the primary ingredients, but before adding crushed Campden tablet or other sterilizing compound to the must, set aside one cup of the liquor or juice into which the yeast nutrient (or energizer) is dissolved. Add 1/2 to one tsp. yeast, stir gently, and allow to sit, covered with a clean towel or cloth, in a warm place. Allow the culture to "bloom" (grow) a total of 24 hours since adding Campden to the must. Then add this cup of yeast culture to the must, stir and cover, and allow the yeast to "do its thing."

 

Yeast Energizer:

 

An extraordinary nutrient, energizer is useful when making wines of high alcoholic content (over 14%) and to restart fermentation when the secondary fermentation seems "stuck." Yeast energizer contains many ingredients not found in normal nutrient, such as Riboflavin and Thiamine. The energizer is best used by dissolving 1/2 tsp. in 1/2 to 1 cup of the must or wine before adding. If the fermentation is truly "stuck" and not simply run out, the energizer may be dissolved in 1/4 cup must or wine and 1/2 cup warm (75 degrees F.) water and a pinch of fresh wine yeast added and allowed to bloom under cover over a 12-hour period. An additional 1/4 cup of wine or yeast is then added and the yeast given another 12 hours to multiply before the enriched solution is added to the fermentation bottle.

 

Yeast Nutrient:

 

Food for the yeast, containing nitrogenous matter, yeast-tolerant acid, vitamins, and certain minerals. While sugar is the main food of the yeast, nutrients are the "growth hormones," so to speak.

Source: Jack Keller

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Winemaking Terms: Wood Aging to Yeast

Wood Aging:

 

This is the process of maturing wine in barrels or casks prior to bottling. This process allows young wines to soften and absorb some of the wood's flavors and tannins and allows the wine's flavors to become concentrated through slight evaporation through the wood. While oak is the overwhelming wood of choice for wood aging, mesquite, hickory, pecan, apple, orange, and cherry wood can also contribute unique qualities to wines aged with their chips or shavings. The taste a wood tends to impart in wine is that of its smell. 

 

Woody:

 

A wine fault denoting too much contact with wood, usually oak.

 

Yeast:

 

A unicellular fungi, principally of the genus Saccharomyces, capable of fermenting carbohydrates. Before adding yeast to a liquor or must to initiate active fermentation, it should be "started." After mixing the primary ingredients, but before adding crushed Campden tablet or other sterilizing compound to the must, set aside one cup of the liquor or juice into which the yeast nutrient (or energizer) is dissolved. Add 1/2 to one tsp. yeast, stir gently, and allow to sit, covered with a clean towel or cloth, in a warm place. Allow the culture to "bloom" (grow) a total of 24 hours since adding Campden to the must. Then add this cup of yeast culture to the must, stir and cover, and allow the yeast to "do its thing."

 

Source: Jack Keller

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Winemaking Terms - Wine Glass to Wine Yeast

Wine Glass:

 

Specially designed glassware for enjoying wine, characterized by bowls or flutes on stems. Quality wine glasses are designed to capture and hold a wine's bouquet and are ideally shaped and angled to present the wines properly, according to style.

 

Wine Stabilizer:

 

Potassium sorbate, also known as "Sorbistat K," which produces sorbic acid when added to wine. When active fermentation has ceased and the wine racked the final time after clearing, 1/2 tsp. added to 1 gallon of wine will prevent future fermentation. Sodium benzoate, sold as "Stabilizing Tablets," and Potassium Sorbate, are other types of fermentation inhibitors. These are primarily used with sweet wines and sparkling wines, but may be added to table wines which exhibit difficulty in maintaining clarity after fining. For sweet wines, the final sugar syrup and stabilizer may be added at the same time.

 

Wild Yeast:

 

Any mixture of the thousands of yeast strains which may be airborne or on the fruit, exclusive of the cultured wine yeast deliberately added to a must. Grapes, fruit and the air often contain spoilage bacteria, molds or yeast which can destroy a wine's quality, but if no spoilage yeast or bacteria are present in the must the fermentation can produce an acceptable wine. Due to the risk from spoilage organisms, prudent winemakers treat their must with an aseptic dose of sulfite to kill non-yeast organisms, stun wild yeasts into temporary inactivity, and thereby allow their own choice of cultured yeast to dominate the fermentation.

 

Wine Yeast:

 

Yeast cultured especially for winemaking, with such desirable attributes a as high alcohol tolerance, firmer sediment formation, and less flavor fluctuation. Wine yeasts are usually obtained from a winemaking/brewing specialty shop or by mail order.

 

Source: Jack Keller

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Winemaking Terms - Thin to Volatile Acidity

Thin:

 

A wine lacking body. A wine with a viscosity approximately the same as water.

 

Titratable Acidity:

 

Also called TA and sometimes total acidity, titratable acidity is the sum of the fixed and volatile acids present in a wine. This is determined by a chemical process called titration. The titratable acidity is usually expressed in terms of tartaric acid, even though the other acids are also measured. Titratable acidity is expressed either as a percentage or as grams per liter. For example, 0.7% TA is the same as 7 grams per liter (or 7 g/l) TA.

 

Top Up:

 

To add liquid (finished wine of the same type, grape juice, sweetened water, or plain water) to a wine after racking it to replace any volume lost in the sediments left behind. One can also top up by adding sanitized marbles or glass pebbles to the carboy, thereby displacing the lost volume.

 

Turbinado Sugar:

 

A raw sugar which has been partially processed, removing some of the surface molasses. It is a blond color with a mild brown sugar flavor that enhances some wine bases as no other sugar can.

 

Ullage:

 

The air space between the surface of the wine and the bottom of the bung, cork or other closure. In a cask or barrel, it is the volume of wine missing, which if present would result in a full container of wine.

 

Unctuous:

 

The thick, unpleasant, almost syrupy texture of an overly sweet wine.

 

Varietal:

 

Technically, any wine made from a single variety of grape (e.g. Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel) or non-grape base (e.g.Santa Rosa Plum, Navajo Blackberry).

 

Vinegar:

 

"Sour wine," caused by vinegar-producing bacteria, most notably acetobacter. These bacteria are principally airborne, but are also carried by the so-called vinegar fly.

 

Volatile Acid:

 

Those acids created during fermentation or reduction processes (aging) which are not stable; they can be altered through further reduction or by evaporating from the wine altogether. Acetic acid and Butyric acid are the two most notable volatile acids in wine and contribute wholly or largely to the wine's volatile acidity and partially to its bouquet.

 

Volatile Acidity:

 

Also know as VA, volatile acidity is the that acidity produced by volatile acids as opposed to fixed acids. Fixed acids are those occurring naturally in the grape or fruit base, those added by the vintner, and those acids created furing fermentation which are stable -- fixed. Volatile acids are those created during fermentation or reduction processes (aging) which are not stable; they can be altered through further reduction or by evaporating from the wine altogether. Acetic acid and Butyric acid are the two most notable volatile acids in wine. VA contributes to a wine's bouquet, which is transitory, but if too intense will spoil it.

 

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Winemaking Terms - Sweet Reserve to Texture

 Sweet Reserve:

 

A sample of the original juice from which a wine is made, used to sweeten the finished wine after fermenting to dryness and stabilized. The sweet reserve is either refrigerated or frozen until needed. When making a sweet reserve from whole fruit, such as strawberries, peaches, or plums, the fruit must be crushed and pressed and the juice stood in a tall, clear, glass bottle in a refrigerator until the juice separates (i.e. pulp sediment settles to the bottom of the bottle). The clear juice is very carefully racked off the sediment and stored for the reserve. The sediment can be lightly pressed through a double layer of sanitized muslin cloth and the liquid obtained allowed to separate out again, with the clear juice again removed and stored with the sweet reserve. The advantage of using a sweet reserve to sweeten a stabilized dry wine is the it adds sweetness, fresh flavor, and natural aroma to the wine. It may also improve the color of the finished wine somewhat.

 

Sweetness:

 

A taste sensation most commonly associated in wines with sugars (glucose and fructose), glycerol, ethanol, and 2,3-butanediol (the latter in trace amounts). While the threshold for detecting sweetness (as sugars) is about 1% by weight, the threshold for classifying a wine as sweet is usually 2% by weight (specific gravity of 1.008) for a wine with 12% alcohol by volume. Sweetness does appear to soften some flavor components and blend with others to enhance their recognition. A wine with poor fruit flavor as a dry wine may possess more recognizable fruitiness when sweetened.

 

Table Wine:

 

A still wine, usually light to medium in body, dry to semi-dry, low to moderate in alcohol (10% to 13% by volume), and often served with meals. Also called dinner wine.

 

 

Tannin:

 

Tannic acid, essential for good aging qualities and balance, gives most wines their "zest" or "bite." Tannin is found naturally in the stems, skins and pips (seeds) of most red and dark fruit such as grapes, elderberries, sloes, apples, and plums, but also in pear skins, oak leaves, and dark tea leaves. Most grains, roots and flowers used in winemaking lack any or sufficient tannin, so must be supplemented with grape tannin or tannin from another source. Wines containing too much tannin can be ameliorated by adding a little sugar or glycerine, fined with gelatine, or blended with another, softer wine.

 

Tannisol Tablets:

 

Proprietary product that contains potassium metabisulfite, ascorbic acid and tannin in premeasured amounts. The ascorbic acid is supposedly used to increase the effectiveness of sulfite (SO2). Actually, research has shown that SO2 protects wine better without ascorbic acid present. Use only as directed by the manufacturer.

 

Tartaric Acid:

 

  A reddish acid found in grapes and several other fruit.

 

Taste:

 

A sensory perception almost totally localized on the tongue. Although there is some dispute over this, we most often perceive only four basic tastes -- sweetness, sourness, bitterness, and saltiness. The latter is seldom encountered in wines. The flavors perceived in wines are most often integrations of both odor and taste and can be often be altered by pinching the nose tightly and sipping the wine. Still, the loss of odors through evaporation can affect taste by concentrating a certain characteristic, such as sourness of certain acids.

 

Texture:

 

The impression on the palate delivered by dense, intense, and full-bodied wines.

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Source: Jack Keller

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Winemaking Terms - Starter Solution to Sur Lie Aging

Starter Solution:

 

A solution of water, juice, sugar, and nutrients into which a culture of yeast is introduced and encouraged to multiply as quickly as possible before adding to a must. The purpose of the starter solution is to achieve a greater density of yeast than contained in the original culture sample so that the cultured yeast will dominate the fermentation process, literally smothering out any wild yeast that might be present. It is also used to restart a Stuck Fermentation. 

 

Still Wine:

 

A finished, non-sparkling wine. A finished wine containing no noticeable carbonation. 

 

Stuck Fermentation:

 

A fermentation that has started but then stops before converting all fermentable sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide or before reaching the toxicity level of the particular yeast strain(s) involved. A stuck fermentation is usually due to an imbalance in the ingredients or to temperature extremes unacceptable to the yeast.

 

Sucrose:

 

A natural, crystalline disaccharide found in grapes, most fruit and many plants. This is the type of refined sugar obtained from sugar cane, sugar beets and other sources which, when added to a must or juice to make up for deficiencies in natural sugar, must be hydrolyzed (inverted) into Fructose and Sucrose by acids and enzymes in the yeast before it can be used as fuel for fermentation.

 

Sulfite:

 

Technically, a salt or ester of sulfurous acid, but more commonly, sulfur dioxide (SO2). Sulfite is the most effective and widely used preservative in winemaking. It preserves by safeguarding musts and wines against premature oxidation and microscopic life forms that could otherwise spoil wine. It preserves a wine’s freshness, helps maintain its color, and is essential for aging wines beyond their first year without deterioriation. It also inhibits wild yeasts, thereby allowing cultured wine yeasts to dominate the fermentation. Sulfites may be "bound" or "free." Bound SO2 combines with aldehyde compounds, those most responsible for oxidation in wines. Free SO2 results from the dissipation of active SO2 and is the only SO2 that provides antiseptic and oxidative protection to wines. The most efficient wat to add free SO2 to a must, juice or wine is by adding dissolved potassium metabisulfite to it. The effectiveness of free SO2 is dependent on the pH of the media to which it is added.

 

Sultana:

 

A small, pale golden-green grape originating in Smyrna, Turkey. It is the most widely planted variety in California, where it goes by the name of Thompson Seedless. It is the common "white" or "golden" raisin sold in America.

 

Sur Lie Aging:

 

French for "on the lees", this is the process of leaving the lees in the wine for a few months to a year, accompanied by a regime of periodic stirring. Certain wines such as chardonnay or sauvignon blanc benefit from autolysis because they gain complexity during the process that enhances their structure and mouthfeel, give them extra body, and increase their aromatic complexity. Aging sur lie with lees stirring can result in a creamy, viscous mouthfeel.

 

 

 

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Winemaking Terms - Sodium Benzoate to Stablization

Sodium Benzoate:

Sold as "Stabilizing Tablets," sodium benzoate is used, one crushed tablet per gallon of wine, to stop future fermentation. It is used when active fermentation has ceased and the wine racked the final time after clearing. It is generally used with sweet wines and sparkling wines, but may be added to table wines which exhibit difficulty in maintaining clarity after fining. For sweet wines, the final sugar syrup and crushed tablet may be added at the same time. When using it to stabilize a wine, it must be used in conjunction with an aseptic dose of postassium metabisulfite (1/4 teaspoon per 5 gallons or 1 crushed and dissolved Campden tablet per gallon).

Sodium Metabisulfite:

One of two compounds commonly used to sanitize winemaking equipment and utensiles, the other being potassium metabisulfite. Its action, in water, inhibits harmful bacteria through the release of sulfur dioxide (SO2), a powerful antiseptic. It can be used for sanitizing equipment, but the U.S. government prohibits its inclusion in commercial wine and thus should not be used to sanitize the must from which wine is to be made. It is about 17.5% stronger than potassium metabisulfite and should be mixed accordingly.

Solera:

The Spainish system of maintain quality and style consistency in some fortified wines. One-quarter to one-third of the oldest wine is drawn off for bottling and replaced with the next oldest wine, which in turn is replaced with the next-yet oldest wine, and so on until the youngest wine is being used to replace the next youngest wine.

Sourness:

A tart taste in wines, most often associated with acids and ethyl acetate. The degree of sourness in acid is a function of the pH of the wine and its titratable acidity. In technical terms, it is the hydrogen ion (actually, the hydronium ion) that stimulates the sour taste on the taste buds. The order of decreasing sourness og the primary prganic acids in wine are tartaric, malic, citric, lactic, and succinic. Wines with a pH less than 3.1 or a titratable acidity more than 0.9% will taste sour.

Soyeux:

French for silky. An incredibly smooth, lush, and finely textured wine. See Soyeux.)

 

Sparkling Wine:

 

Any wine that has been allowed to complete the final phase of its fermentation in the bottle so that the carbon dioxide produced is trapped within. A carbonated wine, on the other hand, is a still wine that has been artifically carbonated by infusing carbon dioxide into the wine before or during the bottling process.

 

Specific Gravity:

 

A measure of the density or mass of a solution, such as must or wine, as a ratio to an equal volume of a standardized substance, such as distilled water. Before fermentation, the density of the must or juice is high because sugar is dissolved in it, making it thicker than plain water. As the sugar is converted by the yeast into alcohol and carbon dioxide, the density (specific gravity) drops. A hydrometer measures specific gravity (s.g. for short), with an s.g. of 1.000 being the calibrated density of distilled water at a specific temperature (usually 59 or 60 degrees F.). Because alcohol is actually less dense than water, the finial s.g. of a wine can be less than 1.000, or lighter than water.

Spirits:

Beverages with high alcohol content obtained through distillation. Examples are brandy, gin, rum, vodka, and whiskey.

 

Stable:

A state attained by wine when all fermentation has ceased at 60 degrees fahrenheit

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Stabilization:

The process of rendering a wine stable, either naturally or through intervention.

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Technorati Tags : Wine, Winemaking, Sodium, Benzoate, Metabisulfite, Solera, Sourness, Soyeux, Specific, Gravity, Spirits, Stable

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Source: Jack Keller

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Winemaking Terms - Sediment to Skunky

Sediment:

The grainy, bitter-tasting deposit sometimes found in bottles of older wines. Sediment is the natural separation of bitartrates, tannins, and color pigments that occurs as wines age and may indicate a wine of superior maturity. Also known as Crust, especially in port wines.

 

Semi-Dry:

The term denoting a wine as neither dry nor sweet, but closer to dry than sweet. Although usually reserved for sparkling wines, it is gaining frequent use describing still wines. A wine is usually perceived as semi-dry when its specific gravity is in the range of 1.000 to 1.003. The French call such wine demi-sec, which has been bastardized into the half English, half French semi-sec.

 

Semi-Sweet:

The term denoting a wine as neither dry nor sweet, but closer to sweet than dry. Although usually reserved for sparkling wines, it is gaining frequent use describing still wines. A wine is usually perceived as semi-sweet when its specific gravity is in the range of 1.004 to 1.007. The French term for this type of wine is demi-doux.

 

Sherrified:

A table wine that has become sherry-like due to oxidation.

 

Silky:

An incredibly smooth, lush, and finely textured wine. 

 

Skunky:

A severe off-odor caused by mercaptan formation.

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Technorati Tags : Wine, Winemaking, Sediment, Semi-Dry, Semi-Sweet, Sherrified, Silky, Skunky

 

Source: Jack Keller

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