IBUs on Beers

I would love this, I understand its not always available but when it is it really helps me decide whether a beer will be a favorite or not. It would be particularly good for saison and biere de garde styles.

 

I don't think I have ever looked at, or for, the term IBUs. I mean, I've seen it, but it never affected my decision to buy or not buy a specific beer. I like the OPs idea though. A way to standardize the specifics of a beer that some people look at. Great idea, IMO.

 

Most IBU numbers are calculated and not accurate. Unless the beer is tested, then the actual IBU will be unknown.

 

Interesting!

Still for it 100%.

 

IBU counts are essentially irrelevant, as theoretical IBU != perceivable bitterness anyway.

 

If it happens, the TTB should run spot checks like they do for the ABV. There should be a +/- tolerance allowed just as for ABV. That would keep the breweries "honest" in their claims, and more beers would be lab tested to establish the claimed amount.

 

Unless you have different numbers than I am seeing, Boddingtons is 26ish, SN is 37...certainly not a huge difference in the grand scheme of things, or one that the average person would detect. As stated, these are usually calculated numbers and often dont give a true representation of how bitter a beer is.

 

Sierra Nevada does have a lab, so you can trust that number to be an average measurement.

 

Most breweries that are past the small stage have their own lab and do very accurate analysis that includes everything from IBUs, ABV, OG, etc. It's a very important part of making consistent and high quality beers. It's extremely important with both keg and packaged beers.

Many smaller breweries will ship samples regularly to an outside lab if they want to get the same information and feedback. Good in-house labs are fairly expensive but it's an important part of the brewing process. IBUs are not a perfect indicator of bitterness because it's only one aspect of the overall experience of consuming the beer but it is a good directional indicator. This is one reason beer style guides have rather broad ranges.

 

I see that option on other sites but I have to admit, I don't pay much attention to them. If I had not tried some of the +100 IBU brews before, I would have assumed and been disappointed by quite a few that turned out anything but bitter..

 

Ibus tell the end consumer almost nothing about how bitter the beer is. The actual bitterness of a beer is severely affected by how much of the sugar Is left unfermented. A 70 IBU porter and a 70 IBU pale ale, likely, will not be the same level of bitterness.

 

Cross-style IBUs might not tell you much about overall bitterness, but it certainly does within styles. For instance, when comparing two IPAs in the isle a consumer can tell a whole hell of a lot about how bitter their beer is going to be. Are IBUs the only indicator of differences in bitterness within style, of course not. But, I have yet to try an 85+ IBU IPA that isn't considerably more bitter than an IPA with less than 65 IBUs. I think the same holds true within most styles. I think the OP's idea is a great one.

 

Ibu' s to me are kinda useless, too many factors here come into play. IMO session IPAs are horribly unbalanced and bitter because the malt is reduced to lower the abv. What the IBU's are not a clue , but they are unpleasant.

 

lets take ipas out the picture, in some styles ibu measurements let you know about their interpretation. consider the monstrosity of a hefeweizen that Baxter created. I can fairly safely say that I prefer beers with an ibu less than 40 to 50. Take a saison which is in the 55 ibu range I avoid it. Sonetimes ibus can help a consumer decide about buying a beer. My husband does do well when such information isnt available and after one sip I pass a newly purchased beer over to him.

 

I'm not saying its never useful or that its a bad idea but even within a specific style (which can be a pretty arbitrary label too) without knowing other variables about the beer such as unfermentable grains used like special b or even better the original and final gravity it only gets you in the ballpark. They might as well just give you a one to five scale for bitterness it would be just as accurate in my mind.

 

This. It's like checking your food for sodium content and expecting the numbers to tell you how salty it is going to taste.

 

I wouldn't be against it. (Nor against a lovibond number) But....

IBUs are pretty much relative to palates, speculative and affected by other factors. They don't tell me anything much. I'd rather see the hop bill (and I can perceive color with mine own eyes)

Plus I wouldn't look at IBUs if BA incorporated it

and just to ask a prodding question: Are we looking to labels to tell us what to expect or experience? An IPA is going to be hoppy. How hoppy? Well, try it and find out