| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Cabbage like | Aroma and taste of cooked vegetables; often a result of wort spoilage bacteria killed by alcohol in fermentation.
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| Calorie | Amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one gram of water one degree Centigrade.
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| Caramel | A cooked sugar that is used to add color and alcohol content to beer. It is often used in place of more expensive malted barley.
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| Caramel malt | A sweet, coppery-colored malt. Caramel or crystal malt imparts both color and flavor to beer. Caramel malt has a high concentration of unfermentable sugars that sweeten the beer and, contribute to head retention.
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| Carbohydrate | Any one of a group of compounds composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen with the ratio of hydrogen to oxygen usually as in water; i.e. two H: one O. They are neutral compounds comprising the sugars, starches, celluloses, pentosans, galactans, etc. These sugars, starches and fibers are found in fruits, grains, vegetables and milk products. Though often maligned in pop diets, carbohydrates, one of the basic food groups, are important to a healthy life.
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| Carbon Dioxide | A heavy, colorless, gas (CO2). Two grams fermented wort extract will produce about 1 gram of alcohol and 1 gram of CO2.
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| Carbonation | Sparkle caused by carbon dioxide, either created during fermentation or injected later.
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| Carrageenan | Is the polysaccharide fraction of Irish Moss, soluble in hot water.
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| Cask | A closed, barrel-shaped container for beer. They come in various sizes and are now usually made of metal. The bung in a cask of "Real" beer or ale must be made of wood to allow the pressure to be relived, as the fermentation of the beer, in the cask, continues.
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| Cask-conditioning | Secondary fermentation and maturation in the cask at the point of sale. Creates light carbonation.
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| Catalyst | Any substance which, by virtue of its presence, affects the rate of a chemical reaction and which may be recovered practically unchanged at the end of the reaction.
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| Check | A stoppage or slowing up of the main fermentation before the beer is completely attenuated.
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| Chill haze | Cloudiness caused by precipitation of protein-tannin compound at low temperatures, does not affect flavor.
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| Chill proof | Beer treated to allow it to withstand cold temperatures without clouding.
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| Chit Malt | Very short-grown malt.
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