Replacing Continental/American brewing terms to bring back UK brewing terminology

[darkbright]

After a discussion on a different thread. I was wondering how it came to be that we use German and American terms or brewing in the U.K.

As an example, why do we use Krausen, instead of the traditional brewing term, Barm? Why whirlpool, vorlauf or lauter?

I found a few articles on old English brewing terms and thought maybe we should come up with an agree a set of terms to use as UK brewers.

See here Terminology

I would start by using the word "Barm" instead of "Krausen". It has always bugged me for some reason. I like the term "leaking on" for "sparging".

 

[MyQul]

As long as the final product is 'Beer', I dont much care where the terms come from

 

[darkbright]

As long as the final product is 'Beer', I dont much care where the terms come from

Maybe not, but it would be nice to examine the older terminology and maybe bring it back or least have some knowledge of it.

 

[dan125]

I thought Barm just meant Yeast

 

[MyQul]

Maybe not, but it would be nice to examine the older terminology and maybe bring it back or least have some knowledge of it.

I could imagine there are people doing just that. Just like the brewers who are interested in re-creating historic beer (and blogging about it)

 

[darkbright]

I thought Barm just meant Yeast

From what I have read I think it relates more to the foam on the top of fermenting beer. This could be wrong. I have a fondness for the term Barm as my Nan always referred to bread buns as Barm cakes.

 

[darkbright]

I could imagine there are people doing just that. Just like the brewers who are interested in re-creating historic beer (and blogging about it)

Yes, I am. I love looking at the history and origin of words.

My friend is Lithuanian as is looking at the history of their beers. Some very unusual practices.

 

[Sadfield]

Probably when we adopted continental equipment and techniques when breweries started making lager around the 1830s.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I thought Barm just meant Yeast

I have heard of Barm cakes but never knew how they got their name.

BARM CAKE.
The word used by people in the north west of England, including Manchester. In a poll conducted by The Bolton News, 4 out of 6 shoppers used the term barm. The name came from the use of the foam on top of beer- which is called barm, this was used to help the bread to rise. In Wigan, a pie served between a barm cake is known locally as a “Wigan Kebab.”

 

[darkbright]

Probably when we adopted continental equipment and techniques when breweries started making lager around the 1830s.

I didn't expect it to be that far back but probably right and seems logical.

 

[darkbright]

I have heard of Barm cakes but never knew how they got their name.

BARM CAKE.
The word used by people in the north west of England, including Manchester. In a poll conducted by The Bolton News, 4 out of 6 shoppers used the term barm. The name came from the use of the foam on top of beer- which is called barm, this was used to help the bread to rise. In Wigan, a pie served between a barm cake is known locally as a “Wigan Kebab.”

I was brought up in Liverpool and this is a fairly common term for a bread roll.

Have you ever had Pea wet with your chips?

 

[An Ankoù]

After a discussion on a different thread. I was wondering how it came to be that we use German and American terms or brewing in the U.K.

As an example, why do we use Krausen, instead of the traditional brewing term, Barm? Why whirlpool, vorlauf or lauter?

I found a few articles on old English brewing terms and thought maybe we should come up with an agree a set of terms to use as UK brewers.

See here Terminology

I would start by using the word "Barm" instead of "Krausen". It has always bugged me for some reason. I like the term "leaking on" for "sparging".

I agree with you that we should use traditional terms, where such exist, instead of fanciful "european" terms, which only serve to mystify the process on the level of "******** baffles brains". Barm, though, to the best of my knowledge, is the yeast itself. We pitch the barm. The head which follows is either foamy or rocky or just the "head". I think the German terms have come to the UK via the US, who, I suspect have a closer affinity with German brewing than English, especially after prohibition.

 

[MyQul]

I agree with you that we should use traditional terms, where such exist, instead of fanciful "european" terms, which only serve to mystify the process on the level of "******** baffles brains". Barm, though, to the best of my knowledge, is the yeast itself. We pitch the barm. The head which follows is either foamy or rocky or just the "head". I think the German terms have come to the UK via the US, who, I suspect have a closer affinity with German brewing than English, especially after prohibition.

The thing is brewing is full of fanciful terms such as kettle and liquor. I think it only mystifies the the process if you dont know what they mean

 

[Sadfield]

I agree with you that we should use traditional terms, where such exist, instead of fanciful "european" terms, which only serve to mystify the process on the level of "******** baffles brains". Barm, though, to the best of my knowledge, is the yeast itself. We pitch the barm. The head which follows is either foamy or rocky or just the "head". I think the German terms have come to the UK via the US, who, I suspect have a closer affinity with German brewing than English, especially after prohibition.

Define tradition.

Prohibition was the 1920s, Wrexham Lager Brewery was established in the 1880s, so highly likely the terminology was widespread and adopted directly from Europe long before then. Coincidentally when we had a Queen with a German husband, and a boom in travel and the sharing of ideas during the industrial revolution.

 

[Clint]

My brother in law's family founded Wrexham Lager...

 

[Sadfield]

My brother in law's family founded Wrexham Lager...

Can you ask them when they started using krausen, vorlauf and lauter?

 

[Clint]

Well..not really as the ones who used to do that stuff are long dead...
They were however German immigrants, university educated,two brothers..one was in the brewery one founded Monsanto chemicals..
They made black lagers to start I think..

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I was brought up in Liverpool and this is a fairly common term for a bread roll.

Have you ever had Pea wet with your chips?

I have never heard of it.

 

[An Ankoù]

I was brought up in Liverpool and this is a fairly common term for a bread roll.

Have you ever had Pea wet with your chips?

I wasn't brought up in Liverpool, but my dad, a Yorkshire man still referred to a certain type of bread roll as a barm cake. I took this to mean a cake made with yeast, ie bread, rather than a cake which doesn't have yeast, like a scone.
What's pea wet?

 

[An Ankoù]

The thing is brewing is full of fanciful terms such as kettle and liquor. I think it only mystifies the the process if you dont know what they mean

True enough and every craft has its own jargon. Things like "the copper" and "pitching" the yeast used to be everyday terms which have fallen out of general use and are only retained in a specialist context. My gran used to do the washday laundry in a "copper" which was a big galvanised boiler on three legs where she used to literally boil the washing until the house was full of steam- so a "copper" was any large boiler whether made of copper or not. Liquor derives from latin and has given us the word "liquid" so we have the dry addition (malts) and the liquid addition (liquor) when making a mash. I can see the yeast bubbling away in a galvanised bucket before being "pitched" into the wort. etc.
I think the OP is wondering, as I do, why we have adopted another country's jargon when we have a rich technical language of our own. Perhaps if we've adopted a process that wasn't used in British brewing, like priming a lager with newly fermenting beer before bottling or "krausening", but that doesn't mean we need to refer to all foam and fluff as "krausen". I don't remember reading these terms in the early homebrew books by the likes of Dave Line and others. They've drifted over the pond with cascade hops. We'll keep the hops, thanks, and send the rest back where they came from.