Getting a taste for different IBUs

My girlfriend always says I have a pretty good palate (we love to explore new/interesting restaurants) and so I was thinking about acclimating it to different IBUs. I was wondering if there's any IBU list for commercial beers (just short of going on each of their web-sites and trying to find it) so that I can start getting a feel for approx. how bitter, say, a 20 IBU beer is vs. a 50 IBU one.

Anyone know if such a list exists?

IBU by itself is really just an indicator of hopping rates. On the palate, bitterness is not perceived in isolation, but as a part of the overall flavor profile, i.e. 50 IBUs in a barleywine vs. 50 IBUs in a blonde ale will appear to be very differently bittered when you taste them. Also, different types/methods of bittering result in a different perception of bitterness.

I recommend checking out Randy Mosher's excellent book "Tasting Beer". It doesn't have the list you ask for (the best way to go about that is probably to pick up one of those books that review commercial beers), but it does go into a lot of detail on sensory evaluation, etc.

Aha! Good to know! I figured there would be interfering factors from other ingredients but I didn't know you couldn't get an idea of IBUs by simply tasting.

Thanks!

You could get an idea by comparing similar styles. For example, I think Heineken is around 20 IBUs. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is around 40. These are different styles, but it's not like one's an Imperial Stout. I believe Jever Pilsner is in the low 40s, but you may not easily find that.

way too many factors (OG, FG, roast, cohomulene, crystal, early vs late boil, etc) to really get a feel for different IBUs alone. I think the only true way to do this would be to split a boil identically, use something clean for bittering like magnum, and use 2x in one for the bittering add keeping everything else the same.