What is the hoppiest beer around?

Sly Fox 113 IPA, says it's 113 IBUs.... quite bitter but in a balanced way.

 

Time to post this again. Anything over 120 or so is GIGO or hype.
http://appellationbeer.com/blog/how-many-ibu-about-one-hundred/

 

Couple things standing out to me...
first, these ibu levels are theoretical or estimated. Many of these beers are hard pressed to break 80 ibu on a good day when sent out for analysis.
second, ibu doesnt mean hoppy. Ten fidy clocks in around 80 ibus and its not hoppy. I have had hopbursted ipas that come in at 40 ibus but are hoppy as hell.
In summation these ibu wars are a marketing ploy to try to give the product a quantitative leg up over the competition.

 

My friend Steve at Function Brewing makes a beer called Arlynia that is, theoretically, 223 IBUs. One 10 ounce pour and I was done.

Other Half's All Green Everything is another palette destroyer and it's listed at 120.

 

IBU might as well be called "gross bitterness", as though the bitterness was something that could live on its own before dilution with other stuff... and given the way that it is calculated, alpha-acid concentration, that is essentially what it is. Of course, we actually drink these acids with OTHER STUFF (e.g., beer), so what you are really tasting is "net bitterness" -- what your tongue/brain come up with when balancing the bitter with the sweet, sour, salty, and umami that are the rest of the tastes in the overall beverage. This whole IBU craziness is like talking about how salty something _tastes_ on the basis of how many grams of salt you are consuming instead of whether it is in balance with the rest of the food: what is good for keeping an eye on your sodium intake is rotten when trying to figure out if the cook is worth a damn, it isn't enough information. Unless you are trying to gauge your alpha acid intake for some bizarre reason don't read too much into the IBU counts for almost any beer - any beer north of 50'ish (more for some palates, less for others) _could_ taste bitter, but it all depends on how the overall product was made.

 

Sorry to rain on the parade, but due to alpha acid solubility, no beer is actually higher 100~110 IBU.

Further, projected IBU beyond that come from a crude equation that, for no good reason, just doesn't cap even though actual IBUs do. Most "200 projected IBU!!!" beers are actually 80~90.

Perceived bitterness has a lot to do with balance. Imperial Stouts in America almost uniformly get hopped to the point of capping IBU, but they don't have names like "Enamel Destroyer" because the malt balances out the perceived bitterness.

 

It's like prison. Just because I sentence you to 1000 years in prison, or better "consecutive life terms", doesn't mean i expect you to live for 1000 years in prison, or to rise from the dead.

 

It's funny how people view things differently. I'm a big fan of Hop Stoopid and I can't believe it's not more bitter than it is for the IBU's. Now if we get to some Stone beers or Palate Wrecker, and maybe some Devil Dancer, those were up there for me.

 

Hop Stoopid is a got to on occasion. Wish they would six pack it

 

I'm sure there's worse, but Palate Wrecker does just that. It's incredible for the first few minutes, and then I'm done.

 

I love pallatte wrecker but the hoppy is at the beginning and then two more layers of malt and citrus follow.It has bite at first that is well liked

 

116 according to their web site. They are big enough to have a lab now, so that is a more credible number the a computer program estimate.

https://www.shortsbrewing.com/beers/liberator/

 

Theoretical IBUs (brewers calculated)≠ actual IBUs ( needs to be measured to read total isomerized alpha acids).

 

This is the most intensely hoppy beer I've ever had. IBUs be damned.

 

Ummm. Carbonated aspirin.

 

I'd go with Simtra.

 

That Too.

 

I think lbs of hops per barrel would be a better measure of hoppy beers. When I think hoppy, I take into account bitterness, flavor and aroma. Not just bitterness as IBU measures.

 

Resin is easy to find idk about the midwest its over 100 ibu

 

I didn't find Ruinten bitter at all. In fact, I found the malt really came through. I didn't like it much and really prefer Ruination.

 

This is just an expression- hop bitterness has no effect on teeth, right? I see enamel commonly invoked and assume, unless someone corrects me, it's a figurative attempt to convey blunt power of bitterness.

 

I would agree with almost anything from Knee Deep. I personally found Hoparillo to be more hoppy. For me, Amarillo hops pack a punch.

 

after reading that I now feel like ibu's are made up

 

Yes, exactly. Unless people know something i don't, high IBUs don't pose any special danger to your enamel / teeth health.

 

I definitely think we read to far into it, and I don't know if it's even possible for a beer could be 2500 ibu, but apparently it is.

 

The most bitter tasting IPA I've ever had is Olde Hickory's Death By Hops. That stuff will melt your tongue.

 

my taste buds can't tell the difference either way

 

On the label yes, in the lab no.

 

Hoppyest I've tasted? Hard to say.

But... If I'm not mistaken, the new cans of Pipeworks NvU weigh in at 150 IBUs. And it's DELICIOUS!!!

 

Knee Deep Simtra

 

Six point Resin.

Even though the IBU is (only) listed at 103, it basically felt like I was eating a hop rather than drinking an IPA.

 

Knee Deep Simtra has something crazy going on. I can, and recently did, drink a 10.5% beer, from a 32oz growler in about 2 hours with ease. One bottle of Simtra and I was giggly shits for about 5 hours and I highly doubt it was the alcohol.

 

Mylans Hopsickle is crazy hoppy as is Hoppin Frog Mean Manalishi. They are both really malty too, but damn the hops are crazy.

 

How about if I break 12 mirrors, does that mean I am gonna live long enough to get my 94 years of bad luck?

I agree with everything you say, it is fact that soluibility, and human taste capacity, etc., etc.

I liken the the effects of gross overhopping to the lowest notes Phil Lesh creates with his guitar. Human ears cannot hear them, and yet there is something that they add, whether it be feel, or influence upon other instrumental factors, or I don't know, but they add to the music even though they can't be heard. I do believe hops can only be put into solution to a certain point, and humans can only taste to a certain point, but I don't believe this means that grossly uber hopping does not add to the beer's profile.

 

Which, ironically, proves it was the alcohol.

 

Harpoon Leviathian DIPA claims 90 IBUs. My memory is that it was every bit of that.

 

Measuring "hoppiness" by IBU is certainly practical, but it has been my experience that some beers with extremely high IBUs don't taste nearly as bitter as their IBU would indicate. This is especially true for some of the better IPAs (like Heady Topper). Anyone else experience this?

 

Devil Dancer 112 BTU. However, as it ages it doesn't seem as bitter.

 

It really wasn't. One bomber at 11% is nothing for me.

 

SingleCut's Billy 200-Watt comes in at around 180 IBUs. That is a tasty beverage.