Beer Glossary: 52 Brewing Terms Explained Simply
Article written by Django
Co-founder, Kilomètre Zéro
Ever nodded along when someone at the bar mentioned dry hopping or IBUs, with no clue what they meant? We've all been there. Here are the words we use every day at the brewery, explained simply, from A to Z. And since you're in Paris, we've added the French bar words you'll need to order like a local. For the big beer families, read our beer styles guide.
A
ABV: alcohol by volume, as a percentage. A pilsner sits around 5%, an imperial stout often goes past 9%.
Abbey beer: a Belgian-style beer inspired by monastic recipes but brewed outside an active abbey. Not the same thing as a Trappist.
Ale: the big family of top-fermented beers, brewed between 15 and 24 °C. Fruity and expressive: IPA, stout, saison, wheat beer.
Bitterness: it mostly comes from hops added during the boil, and it's measured in IBU.
B
Barrel-aged: beer rested for weeks or months in a wooden barrel that once held wine, whisky or cognac. Expect woody, vanilla, sometimes vinous notes.
Batch: one brewing session, and the beer it makes. At our place, a batch is up to 500 litres.
Bock: a strong, malty German lager, amber to brown. Its big sister, the doppelbock, goes one step further.
Brett (Brettanomyces): a wild yeast with leather, barnyard or tropical fruit notes. Wanted in some beers, a flaw in others.
Brewpub: a bar that brews its beer on site and sells most of it on draught. That's us.
C
Craft beer: beer made by an independent brewery, in small volumes, with real freedom in the recipe.
D
Demi: in a French bar, a 25 cl glass. Ours is €3.50 for a house beer.
DMS: a compound that tastes like cooked corn. It's a flaw, often caused by a boil that's too short.
Draught (on tap): beer served from a keg through a tap. We pour 12 of them, all listed on our menu.
Dry hopping: hops added cold, during or after fermentation. You get loads of aroma and barely any extra bitterness.
E
EBC: the European colour scale for beer. A pilsner sits around 8, a stout often goes past 70.
Esters: compounds made by yeast, with notes of banana, pear or red fruit. Mostly found in ales.
F
Fermentation: yeast turns the sugars in the wort into alcohol and carbon dioxide. Top-fermented (ales, warm) or bottom-fermented (lagers, cool).
Flight: several small glasses served together to compare styles. The best way to find out what you like.
G
Galopin: a small 12.5 cl glass, perfect for trying several beers. It's a glass size, not a beer.
Gose: a sour, slightly salty German wheat beer, often spiced with coriander.
Gravity: how much sugar is in the wort, measured before (original gravity) and after fermentation (final gravity). The gap between the two gives you the alcohol content.
Growler: a reusable bottle filled at the tap, so you can take beer home.
H
Hazy: a beer that's cloudy on purpose, typical of NEIPAs.
Helles: a pale lager from Munich, malty, soft and very easy to drink.
Hops: a climbing plant whose cones bring bitterness, aroma (citrus, resin, tropical fruit, flowers) and help keep beer fresh.
I
IBU: International Bitterness Units. A mass-market lager sits around 10, an IPA often between 40 and 70.
IPA: India Pale Ale, a very hoppy pale ale. Comes as West Coast (dry and bitter), NEIPA (hazy and juicy) or Double IPA (stronger).
K
Keg: the stainless steel container that feeds the tap, usually 20 or 30 litres. It's also what we rent out with a beer tap for your parties in Paris.
Kettle sour: a quick way to sour the wort with lactic bacteria before the boil. The base of many fruited sours.
L
Lager: the family of bottom-fermented beers, brewed between 7 and 13 °C, then aged cold. Clean and refreshing: pilsner, helles, bock.
Lambic: a Belgian beer from the Brussels area, fermented spontaneously by wild yeasts in the air. The base of gueuze and kriek.
M
Malt: grain, usually barley, sprouted then dried or roasted. It brings the sugars, the colour and flavours of biscuit, caramel or coffee.
Mash: crushed malt mixed with hot water, around 65 °C, to turn starch into sugars the yeast can eat.
Microbrewery: a small independent brewery producing small volumes. Ours sits right in the bar, a few metres from your glass.
N
NEIPA: New England IPA. Hazy, low bitterness, very fruity, with citrus and mango notes.
Nitro: beer served with a mix of nitrogen and carbon dioxide. Finer bubbles, creamier head.
P
Pale ale: a golden to amber beer, balanced between malt and hops. Ours is called La Brêche and it won the Fabriqué à Paris 2026 label.
Phenols: compounds with spicy, clove or smoky notes. Wanted in a weizen, unwelcome in a pilsner.
Pilsner: a golden lager born in Plzeň in 1842, with the fine bitterness of noble hops. The most popular beer style in the world.
Pinte: in a French bar, a 50 cl glass. A British pint is 56.8 cl, but we won't argue over 6.8 cl. Our house pint is €6.50.
Porter: a dark beer born in 18th-century London, with roasted malts and notes of chocolate and caramel. The stout's ancestor.
S
Saison: a dry, peppery, sparkling Belgian ale, first brewed for seasonal farm workers.
Session beer: a low-alcohol beer, often under 4.5%, that you can enjoy all evening.
Sour: a tart beer. The acidity comes from lactic bacteria or wild yeast. Often fruited: we've brewed one with clementine.
Stout: a black beer with roasted malts, coffee and chocolate notes. Its colour says nothing about its strength.
T
Tap list: the list of beers on draught right now.
Trappist: beer brewed in a Trappist abbey under the monks' supervision, which can carry the Authentic Trappist Product label.
Tripel: a strong golden Belgian ale, spicy and dangerously easy to drink.
W
Weizen (hefeweizen): a cloudy German wheat beer with banana and clove notes from the yeast.
West Coast IPA: a clear, dry, properly bitter IPA with resin and citrus aromas.
Witbier: a Belgian wheat beer, cloudy and soft, spiced with coriander and orange peel.
Wort: the sweet liquid you get after mashing, before the yeast steps in.
Missing a word? Ask us at the bar, we love talking about this stuff. And if you want to taste all of it, we're at 39 rue Notre-Dame-de-Nazareth, 2 minutes from République metro.
