Beer Geek 101 - IBUs (measuring the Bitterness of Beer)

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.

Home brewing with a green thumb

Want to give your love for home brewing a natural twist? Consider planting and growing your own hops. This member of the hemp family quite literally grows like a weed here in the midwest. All it needs is a lot of sun and a lot of space. For those of you who don't know this plant can grow in excess of 20 feet. My solution to this fast growing plant...

I mounted a pulley to the apex of my garage. A rope attached to a board with ropes going down to the base of my plants. When it comes time to harvest the hops I just lower the board down to ground level. Once the hops get growing you have to direct the plant by wrapping the feelers the plant puts out around the rope so it grows in the right direction.

For those of you who have never brewed with whole hop flowers, not just pellets, beware displacement, because the flowers occupy a lot more volume. Get out your larger brew kettles!

I get my rhizomes from Jerry at the Bluff Brew Haus in Dubuque, IA. If you live anywhere in the Dubuque area I highly recommend you check out  his store - he is a great guy and a great resource.

If there are any brewers out there with a green thumb with any tidbits to share on growing or using hops, please share with us here at PCSOBs.

Avoid Buying an Aeration Stone and Oxygen Tank

     So here is a little tidbit for you home brewers:  avoid the temptation to get really geeked out learning about surface tension and bubble physics.You do not need to add oxygen to jump start your yeasties. If you want to give them a head start to reproduction all it takes is one drop of extra virgin olive oil to 5 gallons of wort (yes I said only one drop). I add it after the wort has been chilled.
     Of course if you want to geek out - then by all means, geek away. Half of all the fun is trying new things. But be wary of the aeration stone and the potential for contamination.
    Like this tidbit? Agree/Disagree? Let us at PCSOBS know at pearlcitysobs@yahoo.com.