How To Measure Ibu In Beer?

The Oxford Companion to Beer Definition of bitterness units, The Oxford Companion to Beer definition of Bitterness Units, known widely as the international bitterness unit (IBU) or sometimes the shortened form bitterness unit (BU is the internationally accepted unit for describing bitterness in beer).

For brewers, the IBU is an important metric for defining beer styles, beer flavor, and a particular beer’s “trueness to brand.” The IBU measurement is an important quality control measurement because it gives information regarding bitterness intensity. More specifically, it is a measure of iso-alpha acids and other bitterness compounds present in wort or beer where 1 IBU is equal to 1 mg/l or 1 ppm iso-alpha acid in solution.

IBU Explained: Measuring Beer

Brewers calculate the expected IBUs of their beers when formulating a recipe or incorporating a new hop into a beer. Beers can range from 1 to about 100 IBUs. The saturation point of iso-alpha acid in beer is approximately 110 IBUs. Brewer’s initial calculations are only an estimation of bitterness and the true IBUs of a beer must be measured.

IBUs measured in the original wort will drop dramatically during fermentation, and therefore wort IBUs and beer IBUs are two very different things. IBUs are measured in a brewing laboratory by either ultraviolet (UV) light spectrophotometric assay or high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods.

The UV method is common and is often done even in small brewery laboratories. It tends to be less accurate in measuring specifically iso- alpha acids, whereas the HPLC methods performed in larger, more sophisticated brewery labs are very accurate. HPLC can detect, separate, and measure specific analogues and non-iso-alpha acid bittering compounds that can originate in the hard resins, beta fraction, or other hop fractions.

Trained flavor panelists are able to taste and approximate IBU values quite accurately. However, the sweetness and malty component of a beer can counterbalance and cover the bitterness in a beer, making it harder to determine the IBUs by taste, especially in higher-gravity, more assertive beer styles.

IBUs do not give any information about the quality of bitterness. To use wine as an example, it is possible to measure a wine’s tannin content, but this measurement does not convey whether tannins are smooth and well integrated or rough and astringent.

It is the same with the IBU, which should be of far more interest to the commercial brewer and brewing scientist than to the consumer, who will learn relatively little about beer flavor from a number. Measured IBUs in beer, like tannins in wine, decrease as a beer ages. A barley wine that may be very tough and bitter in its youth may therefore become supple over a number of years if aged properly.

Examples of typical IBU ranges in various beer styles include the following: American light lagers (5–10 IBUs), Bavarian hefeweizens (8–12 IBUs), amber lager (20–25 IBUs), American pale ale (35–40 IBUs), American India pale ale (IPA; 55–70 IBUs), and “double IPAs” and American barley wines (65–100 IBUs).

How do you calculate IBU in beer?

International bittering units ( IBUs ) are used to tell how bitter your beer is (higher value means more bitterness). The IBU scale starts at zero for beers with no bitterness (fruit beers) and goes up to 120+ for the super bitter and hop rich beers like Imperial IPA and American Barley Wine.

The following equations assume the Tinseth bittering scale. To calculate IBUs we apply factors for the Alpha Acid Units ( AAU ), recipe volume (Vol), boil gravity and the boil time. Calculating AAU: • AAU = Weight of hops (oz) x % Alpha Acid rating of the hops. • When hops are measured in grams, divide grams by 28 to get ounces.

• Example 1: 1.5 oz Brewer’s Gold, having 6.7% Alpha Acid rating = 1.5 x 6.7 = 10.05 AAU. • Example 2: 42 g Brewer’s Gold, having 6.7% Alpha Acid rating = (42 / 28) x 6.7 = 10.05 AAU. Calculating Bitterness: The equation for IBUs is: • IBU = AAU x U x 75 / Vol The time and gravity factor of the boil are expressed as the utilization (U).75 is a constant for the conversion of English units to Metric.

The proper units for IBUs are milligrams per liter, so to convert from ounces per gallon a conversion factor of 75 (74.89) is needed. Gravity of the Boil: • See Calculating Gravity for details. • The gravity of the boil is used for figuring the utilization (U). Utilization: This number describes the efficiency of the isomerization of the alpha acids as a function of time and boil gravity.

The efficiency decreases as gravity increases. The utilization numbers of the Tinseth scale are shown in the Gravity vs. Time table below. Utilization as a function of Boil Gravity and Time (Tinseth):

Gravity vs. Time	1.030	1.040	1.050	1.060	1.070	1.080	1.090	1.100	1.110	1.120
	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
5	0.055	0.050	0.046	0.042	0.038	0.035	0.032	0.029	0.027	0.025
10	0.100	0.091	0.084	0.076	0.070	0.064	0.058	0.053	0.049	0.045
15	0.137	0.125	0.114	0.105	0.096	0.087	0.080	0.073	0.067	0.061
20	0.167	0.153	0.140	0.128	0.117	0.107	0.098	0.089	0.081	0.074
25	0.192	0.175	0.160	0.147	0.134	0.122	0.112	0.102	0.094	0.085
30	0.212	0.194	0.177	0.162	0.148	0.135	0.124	0.113	0.103	0.094
35	0.229	0.209	0.191	0.175	0.160	0.146	0.133	0.122	0.111	0.102
40	0.242	0.221	0.202	0.185	0.169	0.155	0.141	0.129	0.118	0.108
45	0.253	0.232	0.212	0.194	0.177	0.162	0.148	0.135	0.123	0.113
50	0.263	0.240	0.219	0.200	0.183	0.168	0.153	0.140	0.128	0.117
55	0.270	0.247	0.226	0.206	0.188	0.172	0.157	0.144	0.132	0.120
60	0.276	0.252	0.231	0.211	0.193	0.176	0.161	0.147	0.135	0.123
70	0.285	0.261	0.238	0.218	0.199	0.182	0.166	0.152	0.139	0.127
80	0.291	0.266	0.243	0.222	0.203	0.186	0.170	0.155	0.142	0.130
90	0.295	0.270	0.247	0.226	0.206	0.188	0.172	0.157	0.144	0.132

Handy formulas for 1 gallon batches with hops measured in grams: • IBU = (grams of hops / 28) x Alpha Acid % x U x 75 For larger batches, divide the “IBU” factor by the batch volume. • X grams hops = (((desired IBU / 75) / U) / Alpha Acid %) x 28 For larger batches, multiply the “X grams hops” factor by the batch volume.

How do you determine IBU?

Summary – An IBU value is determined by measurement of the amount of infrared light absorbed by acidified beer. The IBU deliberately includes the effects of both isomerized alpha acids and auxiliary bittering compounds. Even at higher IBUs, there is a strong correlation between IBUs and the perception of bitterness.

The SMPH model is a new method for estimating IBUs, which may be useful when trying to predict a beer’s bitterness before brewing. A key difference between the SMPH model and other IBU models is that it accounts separately for the contribution of IAAs and ABCs. Predicting IBUs is difficult because there are so many variables and there is so much variability.

The only way to really know the IBU level of a beer is to have it professionally tested, which is something I highly recommend. Laboratory testing of IBUs can be performed for around $20 by sending a 4 oz. (120 mL) sample.

Is 42 IBU bitter?

The Science Behind Beer Flavor: International Bitterness Units (IBU) Acid from hops adds bitterness to, a flavor brewers attempt to quantify with an International Bitterness Units (IBU) scale. But the perception of bitterness in beer changes with individual tastes and the amount of malt, which adds the balancing sweetness, making the scale only moderately useful in determining the “hoppiness” or perceived bitterness of a beer.

1. Hops are the flowers of the perennial vine Humulus lupulus, a member of the Cannabaceae, or hemp family.
2. Hops add both flavor and preservative characteristics to beer.
3. They have varying levels of alpha acids, which add bitterness to beer.
4. Varieties of hops that are light on alpha acids result in lighter-tasting brews.

Brewers also sometimes employ a dry-hopping method that adds flavor and aroma without increasing IBU. Commercial brewers track IBU as a method of quality control, helping them maintain consistent flavor from batch to batch. IBU measures the parts per million (ppm) of isohumulone, the chemical that results when alpha acids from the hops get heated during the boil.

1. Higher concentrations of isohumulone theoretically result in more bitter beers.
2. But other factors affect the flavor too.
3. Generally speaking, beers with IBU of less than 20 display little to no hops presence.
4. Beers with IBU from 20 to 45, the most common range, reveal a mild to pronounced hops presence.

Heavily hopped beers with IBU greater than 45 can taste quite bitter. Malt adds sweetness, so generously malted beers in the high IBU range can come across as more sweet than bitter, such as a dark stout. Guinness, with an IBU of 40, tastes sweeter to most drinkers than Odell 90 Schilling, a Scottish-style ale with an IBU of 27 but a distinctly bitter bite on the finish.

1. IPAs dominate the hoppiness race, with double and triple IPAs pushing the IBU rating into the 70-plus range.
2. By comparison, popular mass-produced American lagers such as Coors, Budweiser, and Miller land at the 10-point mark.
3. Dogfish Head Brewery in Rehoboth, Delaware, released its Hoo Lawd black IPA in 2015 at 658 IBU, the highest lab-verified IBU rating.

But many beer connoisseurs argue that any increase above 100 is nothing more than a marketing ploy as the average palate can’t discern that degree of difference. Many brewers display the IBU on their labels, so you can use this number as a guide to assess your likely enjoyment of a brew before you purchase it.

Lagers, pilsners, blonde, brown, and cream ales, porters, malts, and wheat beers usually come in on the lower end of the bitterness scale. Pale ales, IPAs, and amber ales typically range higher. But remember that the presence of fruit or honey or malt can greatly affect the perception of bitterness, adding a smooth sweetness or crisp quality to the beer.

It’s common to find IPAs with a fruit profile, such as New Belgium’s Citradelic Tangerine IPA or Ballast Point Grapefruit Sculpin. The extra flavor can come from the hops themselves, which can impart a range of flavors from fruity to grassy to spicy or from actual add-ins such as citrus zest.

What is 100 ibu in beer?

As Americans, we have a thing about 100. “100” indicates good, excellent, perfect, exceptional.100 on your test is a perfect score.100% means everything, all of it, totality.100 has become a milepost, a yardstickand a horribly unreliable one at that. Beer is maybe the best example. “100 IBU” is derived from a measurement system based on the International Bittering Units, a loose worldwide agreement we all use to measure the hops content of any beer.

• But the deceptive part of that sentence is ” hops content “.
• An IBU measures parts-per-million (ppm) of isohumulone, ( the chemical compound in hops that balances out the malt sugars in your beer and keeps it from being cloyingly sweet ) in some specified volume of brew.
• Isohumulone is infused into the liquid when alpha acids in hops isomerize ( dissolve or break down ) in the boil.

Isohumulones can also be added by hopping after the boil and that sometimes creates a more vivid and intense hop character. Hops were originally used in brewing because, as in ancient wines which were all sweet, humans got tired of sugary liquids and wanted something drier, that didn’t wear out its welcome quite so quickly. The Randall, just primed and ready Beers that are under 100 IBUs have come to be regarded as less “serious” IPAs than those which manage to reach the magical triple digits. America has gone Hops Damned Crazy and, as with everything else we do in the USA, we have quickly embraced the idea of Excess in our India Pale Ales.

One technique, called a “Randall”, adds a last-second blast of hops by attaching a clear plastic cylinder, packed with whole hops flowers, and running beer through that as it pours into your glass! ) While working in retail, I had on average, eight or ten customers a month ( 98% young men between 21 and 35 ) who came in and said flatly, ” I don’t drink anything under 100 IBU,” No amount of explanation would budge them.

Beers that were below 100 IBU were labeled “flabby” and dismissed out of hand. Breweries heard this. It became an outright rarity to find any brewery – especially here in the Pacific Northwest – that didn’t offer at least one or sometimes several IPAs that rated above 100 IBU. Flying Monkeys “Alpha Fornication” Because the Indie beer culture is so wildly dominated by young males, this Hops Arms Race became the modern equivalent to those old frat house “test of manhood” challenges. Like chugging a bottle of Tabasco, eating a habanero or, back in the 1920s, eating a tarantula.

( Yes, Grandpa was a FREAK ). The challenge became a test to see just how many IBUs you could tolerate without betraying the fact that the beer tasted like licking a pine tree and went down like acetone. Some breweries even tried creative interpretations of the IBU scale to “blow out” their bitterness claims.

Flying Monkeys Brewing, of Barrie, Ontario brewed something called “Alpha Fornication” which they rated with a straight face at 2,500 IBUs. By means which I’m not going to divulge, I got a small sample of this monster. It looked like yellow pea soup, was opaque from sediment, and was exactly like cramming your mouth full of fresh-picked hops and sitting with that for an hour.

1. Lord knows what the actual measurable IBU count was, but it was not even in the strictest sense of the word, beer.
2. It was rough going and the aftertaste went on for nearly a full hour and completely swamped anything I used – from bread to chocolate to mouthwash – to get rid of it.
3. But I drank itso, to a certain group of young knuckleheads, I’m cool.

( The only time in my life that has ever happened ) What all this manic IBU compulsion doesn’t take into consideration, at least with young beer freaks, is the amazingly variety of character we can enjoy from the the 50+ different hops that are commonly used in American Indie brewing.

The original meaning of the term that sits in the center of the acronym IBU – ” Bittering ” – was intended in the original British sense: something used to balance out the malt sugars and to cut the sweetness, i.e., “bitter” the beer. It was not intended to measure actual tangible bitterness necessarily, but the amount of isohumulone content.

And isohumulone is NOT just about bitterness. Want proof? Find and chill a bottle each of Ninkasi Brewing “Tricerahops” and one of Moylan’s Brewing “Hopsickle”, Both these beers are rated by their brewers at 100 IBU. ( NOTE : In certain years, IBUs for both can vary widely ) Pop cap. Pour into glass.

Taste, side by side. These two beers are to each other as Honey Boo Boo is to Betty White. Both are fabulous beers. Both taste incredible and intense and unforgettable. But Tricerahops shows floral and citrus and spice flavors, with muted notes of the classic IPA profile of herbs and pine/spruce resins.

Hopsickle tastes like your breakfast grapefruit, sprinkled liberally with rosemary, thyme, marjoram, and ground spruce needles. Tricerahops is milder and far more approachable for beer newbies. Hopsickle is a full-frontal, sinus-clearing Hops bombardment, a glorious tsunami of inspired, unrelenting bitterness that is absolutely thrilling, if you’re in the mood to be treated to a little zymurgical Tough Love. There are dozens of different current varieties of hop flowers that are used in Indie brewing. These break down into bittering hops, aromatics, and flavor hops and they each do as the name says, even in the ones considered “dual purpose”. These two vastly different beers have their two primary hops in common: Chinook and Cascade.

But the next three in each are totally different. In Hopsickle the assertive Simcoe, Columbus, and Ahtanum flowers are used for their bittering properties. In Tricerahops, Summit, Centennial, and Palisade are brewed differently to showcase aromas of pepper, incense, apricot, grass, pink grapefruit, and jasmine with vivid flavors of anise, orange, pink grapefruit, lemon, spices, and tangerine.

Both beers are complex but the hops are different and are used in different ways and in different quantities. Both have very similar amounts of isomerized isohumulone in the bottle but in totally discrete forms. Hops, to nutshell all this, are NOT JUST BITTER, That is the shortest capsule description of why IBU ratings are inherently deceptive and don’t really indicate anything at all about how the beer will taste or even how bitter it will be. All this careful explication of how hops differ doesn’t even begin to take into account how brewers use hops and what effect that has on what they bring to the party.

New hops are being hybridized literally monthly, and new techniques emerge just about as often. One of the latest is “hop bursting”, which is used to add massive hops in low-alcohol IPAs. Also, the new method from Dogfish Head Brewing ( Olde School Barleywine ) and Full Sail Brewing ( Hop Shooter, just released ) called “hop shooting”, which uses a pneumatic “hops cannon” to fire pelletized flowers into the tank from 35 feet overhead.

I’m waiting for the development of the logical end of that idea, the Tactical Nuclear Warhead Hops Infuser, which creates a low-yield explosion in the tank and blows hops shrapnel out through the sides. If this shows up tomorrow, you’ll know I patented it. With time, you will come to realize that you can hold a pint of Pacific Northwest Amber ale in your left hand (70 IBU) and a 100 IBU IIPA in your right from somewhere else in the US and find that the Amber is actually far more bitter than the IIPA. It’s true enough, to be basically routine.

Yeasts, water, grainsand hops. Those are really all that’s required to make any beer that deserves the name. It’s what we do with those and the thousands of other infusions and techniques that determine the actual character in your glass. In that sense, not only do IBU numbers offer NO idea of what the beer will be like, they frequently vastly understate the beer’s intensity and complexity.

Don’t be a chump. TASTE the beer before you go making a judgment. If you like the flavor, that’s a good beer – no matter what the IBU rating says.

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Steve Body is a beverage writer who started as a straight journalist, with East Coast newspapers and magazines, and took a wrong turn about thirty years ago. He’s been writing about beer since his college days and about wine and whiskey since 1999. He lives in Tacoma, Washington, freelances on subjects ranging from politics to food to real estate to laser-stream chromotography, and has a seven-pound terrier/chihuahua mix who farts and belches in his sleep. Latest posts by Steve Body ( see all )

Does high IBU mean more bitter?

What’s the Meaning of IBU? – First things first, IBU stands for “International Bitterness Unit” or “International Bittering Unit,” depending on who you ask. In other words, it is a measurement of the bitterness of a beer – it can be used for other foods and beverages, but we’re only worried about beer today.

Before this term was coined, it was quite difficult to really measure, evaluate, and discuss just how bitter one beer was compared to another. But with the IBU system, it is (somewhat) easier.The exact method of measuring and indicating IBU for a beer is relatively complicated and can involve some very precise scientific equipment.

Without getting too technical, know that it is based on measuring the number of compounds in a quantity of beer that cause bitterness on the tongue. In general, the more of those compounds that are present in a beer, the higher its IBU, and the more bitter it will taste.Have you got that? High IBU = more bitter.

What is 25 IBU in beer?

Ask A Pro: What does IBU really mean? You know that little number you sometimes see on the back of a can of IPA? In short, it stands for International Bitterness Units and IBUs are one of the ways that the brewing world quantifies the level of bitterness in a beer.

The backstory: Beer needs a couple basic components to taste like beer. There is the sweetness and flavours from the malt, like the bready/toasty/caramelized aspects, and there is also bitterness from the hops to balance out the malt. Without bitterness, beer would be very unbalanced, sweet, and clumsy.

Even the most malty beers in the world have some degree of bitterness to level out the flavours. IBUs are measured on a scale of 0-100, although it’s unlikely you’ll see one below 5 or over 100, since the human palate can’t really detect a difference past that.

To give an example of a low bitterness style (5-15 IBU) think of a light American Lager or a German Weissebier. An example of higher IBUs (in the 50-80 range) would be an American IPA or a dark, Imperial Stout. Important: while bitterness is extremely important to your beer experience, it is not the same thing as hoppiness.

Hops are added at various points in the production of beer. The further down the process that hops are added, will give different qualities to the finished beer. Hops added early in the boil provide much of the bitterness (IBUs) that we’ve been talking about.

• Later in the process will give t he actual flavour of hops and later still, in the case of “Dry Hopping”, the aromas associated with hops.
• Depending on when the hops are added there will be big differences in what you experience.
• For example, a light pale ale could have 25 IBU (not that bitter) but could have so many late addition hops, that it’s completely bursting with tropical citrus aromas and flavours (aka very hoppy).

Do you have questions about wine, beer or spirits that you’d like us to answer? Send your questions to to be featured in a future segment! : Ask A Pro: What does IBU really mean?

What does 55 IBU mean in beer?

What is the IBU? – Beer is produced by fermenting starch and then flavored with hops. Hops are the plants that contribute to the bitterness of a beer, but not all hops will make beer bitter. The bitterness comes from alpha acids found in the resin glands of the flowers of the hop plants. The degree of bitterness will depend on three factors:

The type of hops used. Hops with a higher concentration of alpha acids will generate a stronger bitter taste. These are usually referred to as “bittering hops.” Hops with less concentration are called “aroma hops” and will add flavors such as citrus, pine, or mango. The amount of hops added. It should be no surprise that the more hops added to the brew, the more bitterness there will be. When the hops are added. Adding hops early in the brewing process will make the beer more bitter. When hops are added late in the process, the hops contribute more to the beer’s aroma.

IBU stands for International Bitterness Units. The IBU scale ranges from 5 to 100+, although anything over 100 is difficult to differentiate. Most craft beers range between 10 to 80. A beer over 60 is considered bitter. However, before you rely on the IBU score to pick your beer, it’s essential to understand how ABV should impact your decision.

What does 20 IBU mean?

What’s the Meaning of IBU? – First things first, IBU stands for “International Bitterness Unit” or “International Bittering Unit,” depending on who you ask. In other words, it is a measurement of the bitterness of a beer – it can be used for other foods and beverages, but we’re only worried about beer today.

Before this term was coined, it was quite difficult to really measure, evaluate, and discuss just how bitter one beer was compared to another. But with the IBU system, it is (somewhat) easier.The exact method of measuring and indicating IBU for a beer is relatively complicated and can involve some very precise scientific equipment.

Without getting too technical, know that it is based on measuring the number of compounds in a quantity of beer that cause bitterness on the tongue. In general, the more of those compounds that are present in a beer, the higher its IBU, and the more bitter it will taste.Have you got that? High IBU = more bitter.

How do you calculate IBU from hops?

Follow @BeerSmith How much beer hops is enough? It is important to understand the quantity of hops you need to properly balance your home brewed beer. Hops are a precious and increasingly expensive commodity. Knowing exactly how much to use for your target equipment and beer style can save you a lot of money and enhance the quality of your finished beer.

1. Home Bitterness Units My first book as a homebrewer was Charles Papazian’s excellent work The Complete Joy of Homebrewing,
2. In his book he introduces the Home Bitterness Unit (HBU) defined simply as the number of ounces of hops times the alpha content for that hops.
3. Fuggles hops have an alpha acid content of about 4.5%, so 2 ounces of fuggles hops would be 9 HBUs.

While HBUs are easy to calculate for beginners, they are not very accurate. An accurate estimate of bitterness depends on important factors like the size of the batch, size of the boil, original gravity, and boils time for the hops. HBUs just don’t do it! A much more accurate method to determine beer bitterness is the International Bitterness Unit (IBU).

1. One IBU is measured directly using a formula with a spectrophotometer and solvent extraction.
2. Professionals and advanced brewers use IBUs estimates exclusively to help them design world class beers.
3. Beer Style guides such as the BJCP 2008 Style Guide list the bitterness range in IBUs for dozens of beer styles.

This provides an excellent guide for anyone who wants to know how much hops to add for a particular beer style. You can adjust your bitterness in IBUs to be within the beer style range. Estimating IBUs Measuring the actual IBU content of a beer requires a laboratory.

IBUs = U% * (ALPHA% * W_OZ * 0.7489) / (V_Gal)

Where U% is the hop utilization in percent, ALPHA% is the percent alpha for the hop variety, W_OZ is the hop weight in ounces, and V_GAL is the volume of hops in gallons. Note that the hop utilization U% varies by boil time, wort gravity, and a number of other factors.

Also, this gives the IBUs for a single hop addition. If you have multiple hop additions, you need to add up the IBUs from each. In this equation, the utilization percentage is the one factor that varies depending on equipment used, brewing methods used, boil time, boil size, and boil gravity. The variations between different hop estimation equations basically come down to different ways of estimating the utilization.

Hop Utilization: Practical Application If your eyes glaze over looking at IBU equations – here’s a practical guide. Hop utilization increases with boil time, so the longer you boil your hops the more bitterness and IBUs you will add. Late addition hops (boiled for 5-10 minutes) add very little bitterness, and are used primarily for aroma.

• Bittering hops are usually added for the full boil time (60-90 minutes).
• Hop utilization also increases as you lower the gravity of your boil.
• If you are brewing a high gravity beer, or an extract brewer using a partial batch boil (small pot) you will get much lower utilization.
• This is why extract brewing requires more hops (in general) than all-grain brewing.

Since different brewers use different equipment, it is important to take into account your own boil size and boil gravity when estimating the bitterness of your beer. IBU Estimation Three equations to estimate utilization and IBUs are most often used: Rager, Tinseth and Garetz.

1. The equations differ in the way that they estimate the utilization percentage described earlier.
2. Rager is most often associated with extract and partial mash brewers.
3. The Rager equation takes original gravity of the boil into account, and tends to produce IBU estimates that are on the high side of the three equations.

Tinseth is often associated with all-grain brewers, or brewers that do full batch boils. It generally produces lower IBU estimates than Rager, but is considered very accurate. BeerSmith uses Tinseth by default, though you can change this from the Options dialog.

The Garetz equation is less popular than the other two methods, but generally provides estimates somewhere between Rager and Tinseth. I won’t go into the details of calculating each equation, though you can visit this site if you want to build your own spreadsheet or calculator. A quick google search on any method will yield a number of online calculators and spreadsheets.

In addition, all major brewing software programs including our own offer the ability to estimate IBUs directly from the recipe. I recommend using a program or spreadsheet, as the complexity of multiple hop additions and late extract additions make it tedious to calculate by hand.

• It’s important to understand that the three estimation methods will provide widely varying results in some cases.
• Each provides only an estimate of bitterness, and none are perfect or all encompassing.
• I would not spend too much time worrying the differences.
• Choose a single estimation method and stick with it.

How Much Hops is Enough? Now that we understand the basics of calculating IBUs, we come back to the original question of how much is enough? The answer varies by the style of beer we are targeting. The bitterness needed for an Imperial Stout is dramatically higher than a simple Pilsner.

• In general, beers with higher gravity need more bitterness to offset the maltiness of the beer.
• Similarly styles such as India Pale Ale where bitterness is a significant flavor component require more hops.
• Fortunately, a number of beer style guides offer IBU ranges needed to achieve a particular beer style.

The most widely used US style guide is maintained by the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP). The 2008 BJCP Style Guide provides detailed IBU ranges for dozens of popular beer styles from around the world. Other countries also have beer style guides that provide similar information.

1. Programs like BeerSmith have the style guide built in for easy reference when designing a recipe.
2. Lets look at a BJCP example: From the standard, an American Amber Ale should have between 20 and 40 IBUs.
3. If we target the middle of the range, 30 IBUs is about right.
4. Using a spreadsheet or brewing software, its easy to adjust your hops quantity and boil times to reach the target.

In these hop starved times, I recommend using a single bittering hops addition for the full length of your boil, followed by a single aroma hops addition near the end of the boil (if appropriate) to reach your target bitterness level. Hopefully this article helped to clear up how much hops you really need in your next batch of beer.