IBU ratings

The average consumer doesn't know what IBU means.

 

Because it doesn’t really matter. Everyone has a different tolerance to bitterness.

 

Tree House's "Green" and "Haze" both hit at the same IBU count as Dogfish Head's "90 Minute", and yet one tastes much more 'bitter' than the others (all three are 90 IBUs).

In other words, they're a tangible figure to look at, but don't provide an accurate description of how bitter a beer is going to drink.

 

In addition to everything that's already been said, most small brewers can't afford the equipment to measure their IBUs. They could guess, and some do, but it's not a requirement.

 

We don't produce the beers, so why would we include them on our beers? Oh, did you mean on our review of beers? Well I don't think it matters much to most so not important.
Would you enjoy seeing them on your beers and would it help your purchase decisions?
Cheers

 

Exactly, rather than just toss out this question maybe a little more depth into why, etc. LOL

 

Geez ... guy joins Ba asks one question and everyone jumps on him. Way to make him feel welcomed.

 

Hello Lorie, welcome to BA. The short answer is IBU ratings on labels are not as much a selling point as they were a few years ago and Craft Brewers tend to emphasize what they believe the consumer will find most appealing. That and IBUs don't really tell us that much about the beer. I've had 45 IBU brews that tasted more bitter to me than others rated at 60 or higher. It also depends on how the brewer uses the hops (how much and at what stage added) as well as the type malt(s) used and the beer style generally.

Most brewers list this information on their web sites but I only look that up for a beer I'm reviewing and don't really rely on it for a purchasing decision.

 

To note, I will often add a guess at IBUs in a review when I'm pretty sure of what it is. However, as @Harrison8 has noted, IBUs aren't necessarily as recognizable as one might think.

 

Another point is hops are an agricultural produce that will have year to year crop variances. Small brewers that may buy a few thousand pounds of a particular hop variety are much more susceptible to be affected by this than large brewers that contract hops by train boxcars load. A small brewer using the same recipe and same hop supplier may produce a beer that measures 55 IBU rather than 60 so it doesn't pay to have labels printed that may be non conforming with the next batch.

 

Welcome to the fam LorieRay. IBU's are really not an objective measurement of a beer's perceived bitterness. It used to be used as a marketing criterion back in the day with IPA's when more bitter was better, but not so much any more. Cheers !

 

If the AA% is low add more hops, if it is high add less, that way you hit the target value (as best that can be done), and make repeatable beer. Brewing 101.

 

Not a necessity but Ratebeer has the option to list the IBU of beers. /not trying to redirect you...

 

Unless cost considerations require stretching out that hop supply as far as possible. Frankly, I don't think a competently made brew will suffer any sales loss if the IBU is 55 rather than 60 but non conforming labels even if printed in house are a dead loss.

 

Welcome aboard!

Whenever I add a beer to the database, I always check the brewer's web site for information on the beer (e.g. malts, hops, IBU, flavorings, adjuncts) and include this in the Notes section. As others have pointed out, though, it's not an exact science when it comes to how bitter the beer actually tastes.

Good luck!