Language for Beer Geeks

A quick and humorous key to deciphering the slang terms thrown around in the world of Beer Geekdom.

>> Shelfies

noun Photos taken of your stash that are usually posted to social media, demonstrating the breadth and depth of your killer collection of delicious and hard-to-find beers. “That guy works at Bevmo and his Instagram account contains nothing but shelfies. I think there was a photo of his cat once, though.”

>> Mule

noun A primarily affectionate term for the friend, acquaintance, or hired hand who transports beer for you. Can also be used as a verb. “Abby was headed back to Colorado from Boston so she muled some Jack’s Abby Barrel-aged Framinghammer for me.”

>> Proxy

noun This is the highest and most respected class of Mule. “I had four cases being held at the brewery because I bought a reserve membership to a brewery that doesn’t ship beer out of state. Luckily, my proxy was able to pick them up and ship them to me, so I sent a sick thank-you box in return.”

>> Bugs

noun, pl. Bacteria and wild yeast added to beer (often after primary fermentation is complete) that “sour” the beer by producing lactic acid and other byproducts. Pediococcus and Lactobacillus are two of the most common bacteria used to sour beer. “We fermented out the base beer then threw it into a barrel and let the bugs do their thing for twelve months.”

>> Stoob

noun A person who disagrees with your obviously superior opinion in beerrelated matters. “The dude’s been into craft beer for six months, and now he says Fou is just as overrated as West Ashley. What a stoob.” Stoobs gotta stoob. For many more obscure beer terms, visit beerandbrewing.com and search for “beerslanging.”