Hi, random curiosity here. Does anyone know if the chemical which IBU’s is supposed to measure is unique to hops? I guess my curiosity more specifically is whether a bitter but non-beer food or drink (for example, a really bitter coffee), if sent to a lab/company that measures IBU’s for beer, would come back with an IBU count. Or whether IBU’s specifically measure a bittering chemical found only in hops. Like all my questions, I could prob find the answer by googling. But posting here on BA is both faster & more fun And I also think more likely to yield the correct answer. Cheers!
The problem is, the folks on BA are going to google it and post a link like this one from draftmag.com. IBUs have to do with hops in beer. You won't be able to use them to measure the bitterness of your coffee or food. I'd personally like to see how Jeppson's Malört stacks up against the highest IBU beers available in terms of bitterness. But there's a lot of subjectivity in the perception of bitterness, and despite all of the "scientific" analysis it really isn't quantifiable. Besides, Malört's bitterness comes from wormwood, not high-alpha hops.
Its more an in-house slang term for us beer geeks, with the brewers playing along. Also a fun thing to rag about. Order a Bastard and bar keeper gives you a promo code for betterhelp.
IBU is based on the level of Alpha acid chemical compounds from the hop cones that are present in the beer. "Chemically, alpha acids reside in the soft-resin fraction of the lupulin, which is soluble in hexane. They are expressed as a percentage of the total weight of the hop and exist as complex hexagonal molecules. Alpha acid analogues include humulone, cohumulone, and adhumulone, which, when isomerized to isohumulones (iso-alpha acids) through the boiling process, bring bitterness to beer."
No, it's an quantifiable measurement that can be either calculated or measured. Estimates can be made based on the Alpha % of the hops used into the brewing process and when they are added.
I was originally not going to post here but since it has taken on more of a technical bent: What is an IBU? “The IBU is defined in terms of the amount of iso-alpha acid actually present in the beer, regardless of how it got there. The definition is: IBU = 1 ppm of iso-α-acid, = 1 mg of iso-α-acid/liter of beer.” How are IBUs measured/determined? “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.” When IBUs are listed on the beer label or on the brewery’s website it is not uncommon they were determined using an estimation tool vs. a measurement. One ‘popular’ estimator is the Tinseth method: https://www.brewersfriend.com/ibu-calculator/ Cheers!
While it's not specific to your actual question, it is worth pointing out that there is a clear difference in the way bitterness from hops portrays itself on the palate when compared to something like grains, coffee, or even caramelized sugar. Although the style isn't very popular anymore, the American Black Ale/Cascadian Dark Ale/Black IPA is a good example of a cross-section where both malt bitterness and hop bitterness can be seen together yet each contributes to bitterness in their own way. Sometimes there is an accompanying flavor component but there is also a difference in how each type of bitterness impacts the tongue.
I realized my original post did not actually address this question. I don't think Humulones are found in other plants other than hops, and googling comes up empty as well. Not to be confused with HumulEne, which is one of the aroma compounds from hops that is also present in other plant families such as pine, sage, tobacco, ginger, mint, cannabis, etc https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humulene
Was gonna say that I wouldn’t be surprised if sage had similar bittering properties as hops. I once made a gruit with sage and it was as almost as bitter as SNPA.
A way I'd compare it would be to a light roast versus a dark roast coffee. You're taking a lot of volatile bits and putting them through the ringer, and converting their properties. Depending on how long you decide to beat the absolute crap out them, whether by fire or by boiling them. They'll continue along this process which has a lot of neat scientific words until you stop. It's basically the difference between steeping a tea, and boiling it. Which, with tea. You do not do because that ruins it, and makes it bitter. Which, is what the beloved West Coast IPA, which has been a common thread lately, looks for with the lifting portion of its hop additions being done at the front of the boil.
Bell’s has a new one that’s excellent: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/287/683955 (Apologies for the tangent.)
Wowwwww.... bravo, you're spot on! What prompted this question/thread was me trying a Black IPA the weekend before last and wondering how much of the bitterness came from the hops versus how much came from the dark malts used to brew it. It didn't have a very high IBU count, maybe 40 (according to what the bar had put on their menu, didn't cross-check this online), but it had the bitterness of a West Coast IPA. And as I still love bitter hoppy beers, so for me 'twas a delight.
