205 IBU??? Is this right?

[knelson]

Ok so I am looking to brew up a IIPA this weekend and found this recipe http://homebrewtalk.com/f69/hop-juice-imperial-ipa-24919/

I changed a couple of things:
1.) i increased the Extract from 8 to 9 LBS
2.) I subbed Amarillo for the Willamette hops

This was my first time entering a recipe into Beer Recipator. I am getting an IBU of 205. The recipe states 120. Did I do something wrong?

I am a huge hop head but I think 205 IBU's would be a bit much even for me.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[benko]

Did you adjust the times for the amarillo to dry hop and 10 minutes, or is the software defaulting to a 60 or 90 minute boil? Just changing those hops wouldn't have increased it by that much. There's a variable in there that was altered that caused the math to come out wrong. Also, for what it's worth, you aren't really going to notice a difference between a 120 IBU beer and a 205 IBU beer, other than maybe a little more aroma/flavor. Your mouth can only taste around 100 IBUs of bitterness, so anything over that is basically theoretical.

 

[BadgerBrewer]

You should also compare the actual AA% of you hops to the AA% default in your software as they might be different. Depending on when they were added to the boil it might account for a large part of the difference.

 

[Potter1]

yeah, unless you have some sophisticated equipment, you wont be able to tell any difference above 100 ibu

 

[BioBeing]

It might also be a difference in the units used for the hops. Beersmith defaults to Rager, while other programs might use Tinseth or Garetz. These are just different ways of guessing/calculating how much bitterness a given amount of hop at a certain time in the boil will give.

Regardless - just brew it!

 

[david_42]

Anything over 100 IBUs ain't real. Utilization drops rapidly as alpha acid concentration rises and NONE of the software packages out there deal correctly with the effect.

 

[Yooper]

Anything over 100 IBUs ain't real. Utilization drops rapidly as alpha acid concentration rises and NONE of the software packages out there deal correctly with the effect.

I agree. But even if the IBU measurement isn't real, you'll get plenty of hops aroma and flavor from more hops.

One of my all-time favorite recipes on this site is the Pliny clone. I think Beersmith gave me 200+ IBUs. Of course, that's not really possible, so it wasn't all that bitter. But there was great hops flavor and aroma from the 14 ounces of hops in a 5 gallon batch!

 

[bovineblitz]

I agree. But even if the IBU measurement isn't real, you'll get plenty of hops aroma and flavor from more hops.

One of my all-time favorite recipes on this site is the Pliny clone. I think Beersmith gave me 200+ IBUs. Of course, that's not really possible, so it wasn't all that bitter. But there was great hops flavor and aroma from the 14 ounces of hops in a 5 gallon batch!

I'm brewing an adaptation tomorrow, Pliny the Evil... black Pliny, same hop schedule!

Everything I've looked into has said 100ish is the max and more than that contributes to flavor and aroma... sounds great to me!

 

[david_42]

True, I haven't found any evidence that the flavor/aroma oils have maximum solubility levels.

 

[Edcculus]

solubility issues aside, I'm sure your problem is tha AA% in Beersmith. Don't have the program open, but depending on your settings, Amarillo can be as much as 1.5 to 2x the AA% as Willamette. The sheet from my LHBS says Armarillo comes between 7-9% and Willamette comes between 4-6%.

 

[knelson]

Cool, thanks for the reply's guys. I am excited to brew this beer this weekend. I was just a little worried about the intense IBU's. I was not aware that anything above 100 IBU's is a moot point.

I was using the free calculator on Beer Recipator. I put in the AA values the best I could find either from the recipe or websites.

I am excited to hear that the additional hops is going to give me some intense hop aroma and flavor and not necessarily the bitterness. That is exactly what I am going for!!!

Looking forward to drinking this in a month or two!