Thoughts on hops and IBUs
Doing the home brew thing and being into West Coast IPAs puts me in a weird spot when home brewing. I spend a LOT of time looking at hops and IBUs. It is super hard to just pay attention to a recipe.
I've read now, in a number of places that software can usually give a good idea of actual IBUs. But then, they can also be way off. Also, the numbers can be meaningless. And all of that made sense to me. But I'm just coming to the realization as to just how much the latter two are true.
Hops and IBUs are a complex thing. Firstly, in terms of bitterness, most software is probably WAY off on things like steeping. But, they may even be terribly off in general. The software generally makes some assumptions about things like water content and your ability to cool. How hard or soft your water is (amongst other things) can affect how easily the hops impart their bitterness, flavors and aromas. If you take too long cooling your wort after flameout, then any hops still in the pot are effectively steeping for some period of time you didn't account for. All things which lead to actual IBUs that may not match your calculated IBUs.
But, in general, I don't think the swings there are wild enough, and will generally be consistent as long as your equipment and process remain the same. So, while the effects are real, if you brew two batches using the same technique and the first has 10% higher IBUs than calculated, then the second batch will probably be roughly the same. And, at the end of day, who actually has the equipment to measure the actual IBUs in their finished product?
Effective bitterness is a much bigger problem. I've had 90+ IBU IIPA's that go down so smoothly you would never guess they were that heavily hopped and light beers with half that which kick you in the face. There are 2 reasons for this; IBUs relative to sweetness and perception. The more ABV in a beer, the more likely it is that there were more malts. More malts means more residual sugars. Some of that sweetness ends up offsetting the bitterness. And, our tongues aren't really purpose built to detect small changes in hop bitterness, especially as we get in the ballpark of IIPA IBUs.
The above is why many sweeter beers will have IBUs in the 10-20 range, but a stout might go as high as 40-60 and still taste less bitter than those 10-20 IBU beers.
And that isn't all. We also all perceive bitterness and the different flavors from hops differently. Again, this is a very complex addition to your beer. Some people may perceive more bitterness in the beer is the aroma is bitter. Some might perceive bitterness different based on the flavors extracted from the hops. It doesn't make it any easier then that there are also a wide array of hop varieties out there.
So, the point of this mega post is to chronicle what I've stated above and point out my current working assumptions. My refractometer hasn't come in yet, and I've only just started measuring gravity with my old hydrometer, but I figure most of my beers came within a few tenths of a percent away from their targeted ABV. Also, since I used extracts in my early batches, I'm reasonably sure my estimated OG values are reasonably close as well.
Based on this, for my tastes, I've found that 40-50 IBUs for a 6-ish % ABV IPA makes a nice crisp, easy to drink IPA. It is a little lacking on flavor, but after aging it goes down just right. I also really like the effect of dry hopping, even if I hate dealing with it while racking. A half ounce of Cascade into my 1G test batches gives them have a nice subtle citrusy hint and that definitely helps perception. Now, it should be noted that residual sweetness is more about FG than ABV. Batch #6 which is my favorite thus far is well attenuated. I don't really taste residual malts at all. BeerSmith however estimated FG at around a whopping 1.017.
As I try more styles I'll hopefully figure out what works (for me) in terms of style and hops. I've also stuck primarily with Cascade and Citra at the moment.
I've read now, in a number of places that software can usually give a good idea of actual IBUs. But then, they can also be way off. Also, the numbers can be meaningless. And all of that made sense to me. But I'm just coming to the realization as to just how much the latter two are true.
Hops and IBUs are a complex thing. Firstly, in terms of bitterness, most software is probably WAY off on things like steeping. But, they may even be terribly off in general. The software generally makes some assumptions about things like water content and your ability to cool. How hard or soft your water is (amongst other things) can affect how easily the hops impart their bitterness, flavors and aromas. If you take too long cooling your wort after flameout, then any hops still in the pot are effectively steeping for some period of time you didn't account for. All things which lead to actual IBUs that may not match your calculated IBUs.
But, in general, I don't think the swings there are wild enough, and will generally be consistent as long as your equipment and process remain the same. So, while the effects are real, if you brew two batches using the same technique and the first has 10% higher IBUs than calculated, then the second batch will probably be roughly the same. And, at the end of day, who actually has the equipment to measure the actual IBUs in their finished product?
Effective bitterness is a much bigger problem. I've had 90+ IBU IIPA's that go down so smoothly you would never guess they were that heavily hopped and light beers with half that which kick you in the face. There are 2 reasons for this; IBUs relative to sweetness and perception. The more ABV in a beer, the more likely it is that there were more malts. More malts means more residual sugars. Some of that sweetness ends up offsetting the bitterness. And, our tongues aren't really purpose built to detect small changes in hop bitterness, especially as we get in the ballpark of IIPA IBUs.
The above is why many sweeter beers will have IBUs in the 10-20 range, but a stout might go as high as 40-60 and still taste less bitter than those 10-20 IBU beers.
And that isn't all. We also all perceive bitterness and the different flavors from hops differently. Again, this is a very complex addition to your beer. Some people may perceive more bitterness in the beer is the aroma is bitter. Some might perceive bitterness different based on the flavors extracted from the hops. It doesn't make it any easier then that there are also a wide array of hop varieties out there.
So, the point of this mega post is to chronicle what I've stated above and point out my current working assumptions. My refractometer hasn't come in yet, and I've only just started measuring gravity with my old hydrometer, but I figure most of my beers came within a few tenths of a percent away from their targeted ABV. Also, since I used extracts in my early batches, I'm reasonably sure my estimated OG values are reasonably close as well.
Based on this, for my tastes, I've found that 40-50 IBUs for a 6-ish % ABV IPA makes a nice crisp, easy to drink IPA. It is a little lacking on flavor, but after aging it goes down just right. I also really like the effect of dry hopping, even if I hate dealing with it while racking. A half ounce of Cascade into my 1G test batches gives them have a nice subtle citrusy hint and that definitely helps perception. Now, it should be noted that residual sweetness is more about FG than ABV. Batch #6 which is my favorite thus far is well attenuated. I don't really taste residual malts at all. BeerSmith however estimated FG at around a whopping 1.017.
As I try more styles I'll hopefully figure out what works (for me) in terms of style and hops. I've also stuck primarily with Cascade and Citra at the moment.
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