I have been researching this and the more I read the more confused I seem to get. I like mid ranged bitterness and trying to figure put IBUs vs AA There just has to be a better way to look at a recipe and see if the bitterness that comes to the pallet no so much on a calculation or am I just looking this wrong? Please enlighten me in layman's terms.
IBU bitterness
- Thread starter halister
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
broadbill
Well-Known Member
IBU is a lab-derived measurement of the amount of bitterness in a beer. Alpha acids is a measure of the amount of bittering compounds in a hop. Alpha acids go through a chemical process during the boil so they becomeare soluble in water and dissolved into the wort. IBU calculations take into account factors such as amounts of hops used, their AA%, the boil time, utilization, etc. to determine the amount of IBU in a recipe/beer. This calculated IBU may or may not be close to the lab derived measurement (if you had a laboratory do an IBU test).
The human palate cannot taste anything above 100IBU (or thereabout). There are other hop compounds that provide flavor/aroma, but I won't get into those.
Without a specific question, its hard to give you an answer.
The human palate cannot taste anything above 100IBU (or thereabout). There are other hop compounds that provide flavor/aroma, but I won't get into those.
Without a specific question, its hard to give you an answer.
IBUs really aren't helpful in determining how balanced or bitter the beer will be- until you look at the OG.
The important part of the recipe is the IBU/SG ratio. For example, a beer with an OG of 1.053 and IBUs of 30 will not be bitter (ratio is .568) so will be balanced. But a 1.053 beer with IBUs of 56 will have a ratio of 1.079- THAT will be firmly bitter. And a 1.053 beer with 14 IBUs would have a ratio of .270 which means very little bittering.
Or in another way, let's say ALL these beers have 30 IBUs: A Vienna lager, an APA, a barley wine, and an oatmeal stout.
Since the lager and oatmeal stout aren't "hoppy" or bitter, you can assume the OG is higher (lower IBU/SG ratio) while the APA probably has a lower OG. The barley wine, with a very high OG would be terribly sweet at 30 IBUs and cloyingly so (undrinkable)- while the APA would have a nice firm bitterness to it.
That's really how you balance the beer. It's more about the IBU/SG ratio than the actual amount.
The important part of the recipe is the IBU/SG ratio. For example, a beer with an OG of 1.053 and IBUs of 30 will not be bitter (ratio is .568) so will be balanced. But a 1.053 beer with IBUs of 56 will have a ratio of 1.079- THAT will be firmly bitter. And a 1.053 beer with 14 IBUs would have a ratio of .270 which means very little bittering.
Or in another way, let's say ALL these beers have 30 IBUs: A Vienna lager, an APA, a barley wine, and an oatmeal stout.
Since the lager and oatmeal stout aren't "hoppy" or bitter, you can assume the OG is higher (lower IBU/SG ratio) while the APA probably has a lower OG. The barley wine, with a very high OG would be terribly sweet at 30 IBUs and cloyingly so (undrinkable)- while the APA would have a nice firm bitterness to it.
That's really how you balance the beer. It's more about the IBU/SG ratio than the actual amount.
The other thing to remember is that bitterness and "hoppiness" are two different things and really not associated with each other. That is, higher IBUs does not necessarily mean a more "hoppy" beer. Beers can be bitter but not hoppy or hoppy and not bitter or hoppy and bitter or neither hoppy nor bitter. IBUs only give some indication of the amount of bittering compounds in the beer. You get the hop flavors and aromas (what I call "hoppy" means it has a lot of hop-derived flavors) from adding hops later in the boil and AAs have nothing to do with how much flavor or aroma you will get from them.
Those beers are both lagers, and they are on the "malty" side of the beer spectrum. Low IBUs, lagered, and low hopped with little hops aroma and flavor. They aren't sweet, but they are definitely malty, with just enough bittering hops to keep the beer balanced.
Similar threads
