Language for Beer Geeks

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

>> Graveyard

[greyv-yahrd], noun The orderly arrangement of empty bottles as tombstones in a cemetery following a craft-beer drinking session. Also known as “boneyards,” graveyards often appear in photos on social media. “Did you see the graveyard from Steve’s bottle share last night on Instagram? I think there were six or seven loons in there.”

>> Beerstorming

[beer-sto˙rm-ing], verb The practice of upgrading regular brainstorming sessions to include your favorite craft beer. Beerstorming sessions result in improved cooperation, creativity, and morale almost 100 percent of the time. “Before we changed our beer label brainstorming sessions into beerstorming sessions, all our IPA labels were using only black capital letters.”

>> Fronters

[fruhn-terz], noun, plural These are the beers that you buy before hosting a party and put in the front of your fridge, deftly blocking access to the better beer selection in the back. For homebrewers, fronters are often comprised of under-carbonated bottles of kolsch and Irish red homebrew. “I saw that John was coming to the party and knew I needed some fronters in the beer fridge so he wouldn’t drink my whales.”

>> Shame Shield

[shaym-sheeld], noun Often made from newspaper or cardboard boxes, shame shields are placed on top of recycling bins in an attempt to disguise the contents of the bin. “I used a Pampers box as a shame shield this morning so my neighbors wouldn’t think I have a drinking problem. What I really need is a larger bin with a lid.” Alternative definitions include sunglasses to hide your bloodshot eyes and the partition found between urinals in men’s restrooms.

For many more picayune beer terms, visit beerandbrewing.com and search for “beerslanging.”