Thanks to some cutting, copying and editing from Wikpedia we can begin our Journey into the language of home brewing. Today I would like to start with the IBU - a subject near and dear to my heart as the number gets higher with the more hops you use and I love hops!
The International Bittering Units scale, or simply IBU scale, provides a measure of the bitterness of beer, which is provided by the hops used during brewing. Bittering units are measured through the use of a spectrophotometer and solvent extraction. [11]
The bittering effect is less noticeable in beers with a high quantity of malt, so a higher IBU is needed in heavier beers to balance the flavor. For example, an Imperial Stout may have an IBU of 50, but will taste less bitter than an English Bitter with an IBU of 30, because the latter beer uses much less malt than the former. The technical limit for IBU's is around 100; some have tried to surpass this number, but there is no real gauge after 100 IBUs when it comes to taste threshold. Light lagers without much bitterness will generally have 5 IBUs, while an India Pale Ale may have 100 IBUs or more.
This is the beginning of a series of posts to discuss the terms home brewers know and use, if you have any comments or questions, or any specific terms you wanted summarized please let me know by commenting below.
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