203 IBU's ?

[h4rdluck]

I made a 5 gallon IPA about 4 years ago. My system upgraded to 10 gallons now so I decided to remake it but 10 gallon batch. So I just doubled the ingriedients.

I only recentley got beer smith and have never tracked my recipies in it or calculated...anything.

The previous IPA was a big hit. Everyone liked it. It got drank in no time flat.

That said after entering the brew in the beersmith I realized that my IBU are off the chart.

I boiled with 5 gallons of DME and with rough calculations probably 5 pounds of mashed sugars from a 8 pound partial mash done beforehand.

so boiling with about 10 pounds worth of sugars in 8 gallons of water.

4oz Nuggest and 4 oz Cascade at 60min
2oz nugget and 2 oz cascade at 30min
2 oz amarillo and 1 oz simco at 5 min

My IBU is estimated at... 210. Which seems to be ridiculous.

I would think this isn't even drinkable but would just be nothing but bitterness but it was really really good. last time.

I have heard that past a certain amount of IBU's you really can't taste further bitterness ect. But I also feel like I have drank far more bitter beers/barleywines than how this one came out before.

I guess I will just have to see how this new one tastes as the technique an water source have changed but I am curious if anyone else ever ends up with recipies into this far extreme of IBU's.

I think my next batch I will use the same recipe but cut the hop utilization in half to get the IBU's down to 100 and see how that affects taste.

PS: I add the rest of my DME at the end of boil... about 10 pounds additional at flameout to get to my desired OG.

 

[filthyastronaut]

To be honest with you, that 8 oz. bittering addition is a huge waste of hops. I'd even argue that 30 min. additions are a bit of a waste. Your bittering hop does matter, but the flavor and aroma contribution is nothing. Typically, it just determines how "soft" or harsh the bittering is perceived and can contribute to mouthfeel depending on the oils. 30 minute additions don't really contribute any flavor and aroma, and are limited in their IBU contribution. Some may argue they have value, but I'd say skip it. Try lowering your bittering to around 2 oz. of Nugget and use the rest of your hops 15 or later in the boil. Look into hopstands as well, but more importantly, dry hop. At least 2 oz. You can play around with which hops you include and in what ratios. Not saying your first IPA wasn't good or even great, but you can get more out of your hops. And with how expensive they are, you might as well.

Pretty much, if it's true that humans cannot perceive above 100 IBUs, what's the point of using hops to go above 100 unless they're also adding something to the beer?

 

[Bramstoker17]

To be honest with you, that 8 oz. bittering addition is a huge waste of hops. I'd even argue that 30 min. additions are a bit of a waste. Your bittering hop does matter, but the flavor and aroma contribution is nothing. Typically, it just determines how "soft" or harsh the bittering is perceived and can contribute to mouthfeel depending on the oils. 30 minute additions don't really contribute any flavor and aroma, and are limited in their IBU contribution. Some may argue they have value, but I'd say skip it. Try lowering your bittering to around 2 oz. of Nugget and use the rest of your hops 15 or later in the boil. Look into hopstands as well, but more importantly, dry hop. At least 2 oz. You can play around with which hops you include and in what ratios. Not saying your first IPA wasn't good or even great, but you can get more out of your hops. And with how expensive they are, you might as well.

Pretty much, if it's true that humans cannot perceive above 100 IBUs, what's the point of using hops to go above 100 unless they're also adding something to the beer?

A big +1 to all of this! Use an ounce or so (maybe up to 2 if you want more bite) of something high alpha acid like Warrior, Columbus, Nugget, or Apollo and save everything else for late. With the hops you used in this recipe, I'd have gone with:

1 or 2oz (Depending how bitter you want, I'd go 1) Nugget at 60
An ounce each Nugget and Cascade at 10
3 oz Cascade and an ounce or 2 of Nugget in a hopstand

Save all the rest for a dry hop

 

[m00ps]

are we sure that the OPs hop addition times arent actually all turned on their head? Like the 60min addition was flameout, 5min was 5min into the boil (basically bittering), etc?

Aside from a nearly nonexistent boil vigor, thats about the only explanation I can think of

 

[dmtaylor]

In real life it is impossible to get more than 90-100 IBUs, somewhere in that range. So if you can design your recipes to use no more hops than necessary, you will save money and beer volume by reducing your hopping to achieve no more than 100 IBUs.

 

[h4rdluck]

No those are my hop additions. I've just never honestly paid attention to hop utilization and ibu calculations. I make my own recipes and over time appear to be slowly increasing how much hops I use (especially since bumping to 10 gallons from 5 gallons).

Obviously I feel silly now, but I guess I have a new goal and that is to be more mindful of hop utilization in future brews
The cost of hops hasn't been a big problem and have always found good deals on all hops purchasing by the pound.

 

[Bramstoker17]

No those are my hop additions. I've just never honestly paid attention to hop utilization and ibu calculations. I make my own recipes and over time appear to be slowly increasing how much hops I use (especially since bumping to 10 gallons from 5 gallons).

Obviously I feel silly now, but I guess I have a new goal and that is to be more mindful of hop utilization in future brews
The cost of hops hasn't been a big problem and have always found good deals on all hops purchasing by the pound.

No need to feel silly, its all a learning process! Using a recipe calculator definitely helps with these things. I think you'll find when you adjust your recipe you'll be getting a lot more flavor and aroma from your hops!

 

[Vandulus]

I've been putting my IPA hops in at the last 8-10 minutes of the boil and not bothered using any bittering hops. It seems like I get a lot more hop flavors instead of outright bitterness this way.