Competition Updates, with a side of Verbiage

For those who are following the drama of my 2011 competition aspirations, I have the updates you've been waiting for!

1. I've moved the Sour Wheat to a keg and have it at room temp so as to let the Lacto bugs do their thing as fast as possible.  Tomorrow, I'll chill the keg and force carbonate so I can bottle them on Friday morning.
2. Chai Ale is in a secondary fermenter and ready to move to the keg to be carbonated on Wednesday this week.
3. No-go on the Oatmeal Stout for Bluebonnet Brew-Off, but maybe I'll enter it in later competitions this year.

It has also come to my attention that I might be getting a little to techno- jargon on my posts with talk of F.G, ABV %, and the like.  I'll try to refrain from too much brew- speak, but just in case I HAVE to give updates, I've decided to outline some of the more commonly used acronyms and jargon I use in these postings.

Wort: Wort, pronounced /ˈwɜrt/, is the liquid extracted from the mashing process during the brewing of beer or whisky. Wort contains the sugars that will be fermented by the brewing yeast to produce alcohol.
In beer making, the wort is known as "sweet wort" until the hops have been added, after which it is then called "hopped wort."

Gravity: Refers to Specific Gravity, or the ratio of the mass of a solid or liquid to the mass of an equal volume of distilled water at a given temperature and pressure.  For brewing, we use 60 deg. F. In short, the higher the Gravity of a beer, the denser or "thicker" it is.  Gravity, in the context of fermenting alcoholic beverages, refers to the specific gravity of the wort at various stages in the fermentation process.
At various stages in alcohol fermentation, the density of the wort varies. Depending upon the depth that the hydrometer falls into the wort, the percentage of alcohol can be determined.

Original Gravity (OG): The Original Gravity is the specific gravity measured before the commencement of fermentation.

Final Gravity (FG):  The Final Gravity is the specific gravity measured at the completion of fermentation.

ABV:  Alcohol by Volume, stated as a percentage (e.g 6.5%). Most brewers and consumers are used to having alcohol content reported by volume (ABV) rather than weight. Interconversion is simple but the specific gravity of the beer must be known.

Hops: Hops are the female flower clusters (commonly called seed cones or strobiles), of a hop species, Humulus lupulus.^[1] They are used primarily as a flavoring and stability agent in beer, to which they impart a bitter, tangy flavor.  Hops are used extensively in brewing for their many purported benefits, including balancing the sweetness of the malt with bitterness, contributing a variety of desirable flavors and aromas, and having an antibiotic effect that favors the activity of brewer's yeast over less desirable microorganisms. Particular hop varieties are associated with beer regions and styles, for example pale lagers are usually brewed with European (often German and Austrian, since 1981 also Czech) noble hop varieties such as Saaz, Hallertau and Strissel Spalt. British ales use hop varieties such as Fuggles, Goldings and Bullion. North American beers use Cascade hops, Columbus hops, Centennial hops, Willamette hops and Amarillo hops.

Alpha Acid (% Alpha):  Alpha acids are a class of compounds primarily of importance to the production of beer. They are found in the flowers of the hop plant and are the source of hop bitterness. Iso-alpha acids are typically produced in beer from the addition of hops to the boiling wort. The degree of bitter flavor produced by the addition of hops is highly dependent on the length of time the hops are boiled. Longer boil times will result in isomerization of more of the available alpha acids. The alpha acid "rating" on hops indicates the amount of alpha acid as a percentage of total weight of the hop. Hops with a higher alpha acid content will contribute more bitterness than a lower alpha acid hop when using the same amount of hops. High alpha acid varieties of hops are more efficient for producing highly bitter beers.

(Thanks to Wikipedia for letting me plagiarize my lazy tail off.)

I hope these definitions help for anybody feeling left out of the lingo conversation.

Cheers!