No idea what they mean. Lookin' forward to some learnin' ...
Beer drinkers ... explain "IBU" numbers to me.
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International Bitterness Unit!
What's The Meaning Of IBU? - https://beerconnoisseur.com/articles/whats-meaning-ibu
Shocking stuff.
I used to score high on this, but I fixed my attitude.
International Bitterness Units, how much hops/bitterness to expect .
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Beer Styles – IBU Chart Graph (Bitterness Range) - Brewer's Friend
NOTE: This chart has been updated with the latest BJCP style guidelines; please see the new chart here: Beer Styles – IBU Chart (Bitterness Ranges) – 2017 Update Beer comes in a wide range of bitterness. This chart shows the BJCP beer styles and their international bittering unit (IBU) ranges in...
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It's a decent way of determining if the beer is too hoppy for you or not. There are, of course, other factors at play. Some high IBU beers I've had don't come across as bitter as other low IBU beers. I'm not smart enough or concerned enough to figure out why. 
I do think that many micro-brew IPAs are just trying to max the IBU number, and end up with awful beers as a result. But that's my opinion.
I do think that many micro-brew IPAs are just trying to max the IBU number, and end up with awful beers as a result. But that's my opinion.
+1 Craft combined with IPA is nowadays a pretty sure way to get disappointed. Barley Wine and Imperial stuff is usually more interesting for blind buys.It's a decent way of determining if the beer is too hoppy for you or not. There are, of course, other factors at play. Some high IBU beers I've had don't come across as bitter as other low IBU beers. I'm not smart enough or concerned enough to figure out why.
I do think that many micro-brew IPAs are just trying to max the IBU number, and end up with awful beers as a result. But that's my opinion.
It's a decent way of determining if the beer is too hoppy for you or not. There are, of course, other factors at play. Some high IBU beers I've had don't come across as bitter as other low IBU beers. I'm not smart enough or concerned enough to figure out why.
I do think that many micro-brew IPAs are just trying to max the IBU number, and end up with awful beers as a result. But that's my opinion.
High IBU beers that don't seem like it tend to be higher alcohol content and/or have a lot of other things going on flavor wise. As an example: Old Rasputin Imperial Stout is 75 IBU. Bell's 2 Hearted IPA and Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA both are way more hop forward flavor wise than Rasputin but in the low to mid 60's IBU. The Maltiness of Rasputin hides the hop flavor.
Think of it this way: IBUs are a measure of how much bitterness is in a beer, not how bitter the beer is. I hope that makes some sense (because I'm not sure it does).
Strictly speaking, it's a statement of the concentration of iso-alpha acids in the beer (and it may be specific to isohumulone, but I don't recall right off-hand). Iso-alpha acids (or "isomerized alpha acids") are the main source of bitterness in beer. Stating the IBUs isn't really a statement of how bitter the beer is when you taste it because many other things affect your perception. Bitterness is offset by sweetness (in fact, the bitterness is there to offset sweetness). Bitterness also can be accentuated by other factors such as roasted malts or higher carbonation. It's also a matter of personal perception--some are more or less sensitive to iso-alpha acids than others.
So, saying that a beer has "50 IBU" is sort of like saying that a drink has "5% sucrose." If that drink is just water, then it probably tastes sweet. However, if that drink happens to be strong coffee, then it may taste sweet but rather just balanced.
Well stated @TexLaw !
I drank two beers yesterday. One was Miller Lite, the other was enjoyed a few hours later "Berry Weiss" by "Lukenkugels" or however it is spelled. I call it "Barry White" to irritate my son the Beer Route Salesman. He has no idea who Mr White was in the 70's, so the lame joke is lost on him.
Miller Lite tastes like a beer should to my tastes when I am hot and thirsty. Barry White probably tastes more like Barry Manilow : sweet and like Kool aid.
No idea what the bitters number is, but they both fill a need for my taste buds moods, much like when my buds want a heavy bread like dark beer; nothing else will do!
I drank two beers yesterday. One was Miller Lite, the other was enjoyed a few hours later "Berry Weiss" by "Lukenkugels" or however it is spelled. I call it "Barry White" to irritate my son the Beer Route Salesman. He has no idea who Mr White was in the 70's, so the lame joke is lost on him.
Miller Lite tastes like a beer should to my tastes when I am hot and thirsty. Barry White probably tastes more like Barry Manilow : sweet and like Kool aid.
No idea what the bitters number is, but they both fill a need for my taste buds moods, much like when my buds want a heavy bread like dark beer; nothing else will do!
You brought up a couple good examples of how IBUs are not strictly about how bitter a beer is. Miller Lite clocks in at 10 IBU. That is VERY low, but you also couldn't say that Lite is sweet. Berry Weiss comes in higher at around 13 IBU. That's still low, but it's higher than Miller Lite. However, it's also sweeter because it has more sweetness going on.
Spoken like a true Schaefer man
All I know is don’t exactly judge a beer by the IBU. Judge it by how it tastes to you. I’ve had some high IBU beer that was awesome and some that I didn’t like at all. I used to think “eww 60 IBU gotta be nasty”, and honestly most were to me. But then I had some in the same IBU range that were pretty damn good. I don’t even worry about it anymore.
I think it’s more for competition. Judges like to know that stuff. I just wanna know what it tastes like.
I think it’s more for competition. Judges like to know that stuff. I just wanna know what it tastes like.
AMEN, brother!
There's little better than an ice cold Miller Lite after an afternoon of yard work!
Olympia, Hamm's and Coors Banquet were a few of my dad's go-to lawnmower beers.There's little better than an ice cold Miller Lite after an afternoon of yard work!
Hamm's was a go to for me.Olympia, Hamm's and Coors Banquet were a few of my dad's go-to lawnmower beers.
It's a decent way of determining if the beer is too hoppy for you or not. There are, of course, other factors at play. Some high IBU beers I've had don't come across as bitter as other low IBU beers. I'm not smart enough or concerned enough to figure out why.
I do think that many micro-brew IPAs are just trying to max the IBU number, and end up with awful beers as a result. But that's my opinion.
IPAs (India Pale Ales) came about when the British tried sending pale ales from Britain to India. The long journey and and very hot climate in India often meant that the cache of precious ale often spoiled in route. Someone discovered that adding extra hops to the pale ale acted as a preservative. However, it ruined the balance of malt and bitterness found in pale ale, at least to my taste buds.
I rarely drink beer, but do enjoy one occasionally. When making my selection, I look for a beer that has a proper balance of malt and bitterness. I hate any light or lite beers as they often use rice as part of the beer mash. I prefer beer made from water, barley malt, and hops as mandated by the German Beer Purity Law. That can include things such as lagers, pale ale, brown ale, amber ale, porters and stouts. Guinness stout has a lot of hops, but because it also has a lot of malt, it is a well balanced ale. I am definitely not a fan of the trend in craft beer in which the brewer tries to produce an beer with record levels of bitterness. While most beers have IBU values ranging from 5 - 100, some craft beers are well over 1000 IBU..... no thanks.
While I do not like IPAs because they have too much hop bitterness relative to the malt; I do not like Scottish ales for the opposite reason. Most Scottish ale is very high in malt, but has insufficient hops to balance the maltiness. If I want to drink Scottish ale, I much prefer it to be distilled in copper kettles and bottled as Scotch single malt whisky.
I mostly use IBU to weed out the tryhard microbrews, heh. Anything with more than about 50 IBU that isn't a dark lager or a stout I just avoid.
I find that's more prevalent on the left coast. Here on the east coast we have NEIPAs (New England) that are much more fruit forward, which pleases my palate a great deal more. For years I was all about the stouts, but I've found many NEIPAs that are delightful. Breweries I'm fond of: Tree House, Equilibrium, Sloop, Industrial Arts, SingleCut, Artisanal.It's a decent way of determining if the beer is too hoppy for you or not. There are, of course, other factors at play. Some high IBU beers I've had don't come across as bitter as other low IBU beers. I'm not smart enough or concerned enough to figure out why.
I do think that many micro-brew IPAs are just trying to max the IBU number, and end up with awful beers as a result. But that's my opinion.
Some, not all - but a surprisingly high number - of Microbrewers seem to make craft beer that is so bitter and hoppy that I feel like they all gather around a table laughing at the nasty stuff they produce which is praised by "Beer Aficionados" as wonderful.
Kind of like in the movies, when an Indigenous tribe tells the dumb guy "This is one our delicacies, try it!" and when he does, they all laugh and say "I can't believe he ATE that!"
Kind of like in the movies, when an Indigenous tribe tells the dumb guy "This is one our delicacies, try it!" and when he does, they all laugh and say "I can't believe he ATE that!"
