Ridiculous IPA recipes

I was just scanning the IPA recipes on the Recipator database--many of them are just flat ridiculous, with IBU values in the triple digits being not all that unusual. I saw one with a gravity in the 60s and 175 IBUs!

Isn't there some level, around 90 or so, where additional bitterness is allegedly not detectable by humans, and you're just wasting your hops beyond that?

cweston said:

Isn't there some level, around 90 or so, where additional bitterness is allegedly not detectable by humans, and you're just wasting your hops beyond that?

Click to expand...

I think the threshold is about 100 IBUs, but you are correct that human perception maxes out eventually.

Just braggin' rights. See hopwine below.

What was Dude's Pliny the Bastid? 278? Something like that?

I'm curious what a beer with that level of hops actually tastes like - is Pliny the clone of something I should be looking for?

cweston said:

I was just scanning the IPA recipes on the Recipator database--many of them are just flat ridiculous, with IBU values in the triple digits being not all that unusual. I saw one with a gravity in the 60s and 175 IBUs!

Isn't there some level, around 90 or so, where additional bitterness is allegedly not detectable by humans, and you're just wasting your hops beyond that?

Click to expand...

Have you ever tasted one of these beers?

Dude said:

Have you ever tasted one of these beers?

Click to expand...

I have not--but since some of the IPAs I've tasted with considerably lower IBUs than those (like, say, in the 70-80 range, maybe) have tasted over-hopped to me, I'm guessing I wouldn't especially dig 175 IBUs in an IPA, either.

But I'm always willing to experiment if you have something you want to send

cweston said:

I have not--but since some of the IPAs I've tasted with considerably lower IBUs than those (like, say, in the 70-80 range, maybe) have tasted over-hopped to me, I'm guessing I wouldn't especially dig 175 IBUs in an IPA, either.

But I'm always willing to experiment if you have something you want to send

Click to expand...

All I'm trying to say is if it is a known fact that the human tongue can't detect anything higher than around 100 IBUs, there must be another solid reason for adding more hops than a recipe deems necessary, right?

When you say over-hopped, do you mean overly bitter?

Dude said:

All I'm trying to say is if it is a known fact that the human tongue can't detect anything higher than around 100 IBUs, there must be another solid reason for adding more hops than a recipe deems necessary, right?

When you say over-hopped, do you mean overly bitter?

Click to expand...

OK--are we talking about a hop buzz here? I hadn't thought of that angle. I have always assumed it was more of a dicksizing thing: "Oh yeah, well my IPA has 175 IBUs!"

Yeah, I mostly meant overly bitter, although I've also tasted beers that I thought weren't necessarily overly bitter, but had too much hop flavor (overwhelming the malt/yeast backbone).

The IPAs I've liked best tend to have a BU:GU ratio of no more than about 1, I'd say. My best IPA effort to date was something like 1.065 and 66 IBUs.

It's like scovilles and chile peppers. Hot sauces want the marketing claim of "Hottest sauce in the universe", but there's little difference after you hit a certain level.

Marketing. Pure Marketing. It's the same reason why people think they need a camera with more than 5 megapixels. Very few people print 16x20 pictures, yet everyone wants the bragging rights.

Yeah well my eye Pee Ayy is um .... small, so my wife says.

Ouch! Shrinkage I tell her. TOO many hops not enough malt. Mines well suck on a cone.

- WW

Make it how YOU like it and the rest of the world be damned! Its HOMEBREW after all.

Cheesefood said:

It's like scovilles and chile peppers. Hot sauces want the marketing claim of "Hottest sauce in the universe", but there's little difference after you hit a certain level.

Marketing. Pure Marketing. It's the same reason why people think they need a camera with more than 5 megapixels. Very few people print 16x20 pictures, yet everyone wants the bragging rights.

Click to expand...

Sorry, but that is a crock.

Step away from the caramel beer and try one with hops.

Pliny the Elder is NOT marketing.

Oooooo - we've got a fight!

Screw you guys I'm going the opposite direction No Hop Flavor,aroma,taste. thats right I'm making BMC beeotch(j/k)

My first taste of an IPA was yesterday and it was great! Does anyone know what the number is for the Goose Island IPA? Don't have much to referance from you know.....

You turning into a hophead, too? I can tell that I'm slowly moving in that direction.... damn, that Dogfish 60's a good beer.

the_bird said:

You turning into a hophead, too? I can tell that I'm slowly moving in that direction.... damn, that Dogfish 60's a good beer.

Click to expand...

try the 90. I feel down the first time I drank that

Yeah I know... I feel that my taste in beer will forever change... not hopped enough that is

Cheesefood said:

Marketing. Pure Marketing. It's the same reason why people think they need a camera with more than 5 megapixels. Very few people print 16x20 pictures, yet everyone wants the bragging rights.

Click to expand...

Ehh? My 8.2MP camera which prints 6ft long:


My 13MP camera that has ungodly print qualities:



Ok, sorry I just HAD to thread-jack. My other hobby that makes me money is photography...

cweston said:

OK--are we talking about a hop buzz here? I hadn't thought of that angle. I have always assumed it was more of a dicksizing thing: "Oh yeah, well my IPA has 175 IBUs!"

Yeah, I mostly meant overly bitter, although I've also tasted beers that I thought weren't necessarily overly bitter, but had too much hop flavor (overwhelming the malt/yeast backbone).

The IPAs I've liked best tend to have a BU:GU ratio of no more than about 1, I'd say. My best IPA effort to date was something like 1.065 and 66 IBUs.

Click to expand...

I wouldn't necessarily say a hop buzz. But LOADS of flavor, yes. Hops have flavor too--not just bitterness. You'd be astounded, I think, by a beer of Pliny's character. I have no idea how to describe the flavor of that beer.
Yes, it is bitter as hell, but you'd think that 10 ounces of hops would just totally kill any type of malt character in the beer, but it doesn't. That is why SwAMi said that recipe was well thought out.

I'm not a proponent of throwing hops into a beer just to say I did. Why would I waste the hops?

To make a point about hoppy beers, go try Three Floyds "Pride and Joy." It's a claimed 35 IBU, and has a teriffic hop flavor and aroma.

Sure, anyone can toss a ****load of hops into a beer, but the same can be done with malt. I think it comes down to recipe formulation. It's all about making things blend. Some beers exist just to showcase the hops, some exist to showcase the malt. Some exist to showcase the yeast. They're all good, and it's just a matter of taste.

I also fail to see how you can chalk hoppy beers up to marketing. First of all, how can homebrew be marketed? And if we're talking about micros or brewpub beer, I'm willing to bet that 90% of their sales are of their mildest, lowest IBU beers regardless of what kind of big hoppy stuff they're advertising.

In the micro/craft/botique beer market right now, the biggest hype revolves around Belgian styles, IMO.

I think this thread has ventured far from the original poster's intent. Yes, there are some rediculous IIIIPA recipes out there. But hoppy beers have their place, as do super malty ones, Belgians, etc. And if you haven't done so, you all should try a Pliny or brew the recipe Dude has done. It's friggin' incredible.

Anybody ever drank 65-65-65-6.5? Thats going to be my next weekend brew and was wondering about the results from some experienced folk.

My hop sch. will be
Summit - 1/2 oz
Simcoe - 3/4 oz
Cascade - 1 oz
All of them broke into 14 parts and added every 5 min for 65 min.
1/2 oz of each for dry hopping

I have a big (OG 1.090) Rye P.A. that has about 100 IBU. It is definitely not over hopped - the big body balances out the bitterness nicely. What you end up with is a nice balance of hop flavor and malt.

Now, OG 1.060 and 175 would be a little out of balance, IMHO .

Interestingly enough, I've been trending away from hoppy beers - I'm really starting to get into Belgian styles, where the hops are much less prominent.