Highest IBU..

[Tony]

Hi all

apologies if this has been discussed before, but just wondering what's the highest IBUs anyone has gone for in their brews?

Inspired by the Punk IPA, my latest should come out at 61. Still in primary at the moment (until this evening), but I have a wonderful tangerine smell coming from it!

Used Northern Brewer and Progress hops (not inspired by Punk :) ).

 

[Aleman]

A theoretical 450IBU . . . . I had a cold and the label had fallen off a bag of hops in the freezer . . . from smell I identified them as Goldings (at ~5% AA). A mistake I discovered later when QC'ing said beer . . . . They turned out to be Pacific Gem . . . . . at 18.3% Alpha . . . I was aiming for a semi traditional IPA at 1.050 and about 60 IBU . . . with the 350g of PG hops in 40L of wort it turned out just a bit more bitter than that.

Note that I say theoretical - the problem is that Alpha acids are only partially soluble in wort and as the concentration of alpha acid rises less will dissolve so there is a maximum limit to what can be achieved . . . unless you use a resin product for your bittering, and even that has limits. Also there is a ceiling to perceived bitterness . . . once you hit about 80IBU the human palate is unable to perceive any increase in bitterness.

The only way to be sure about your bitterness is to send a sample of to Brewlab at the University of Sunderland, for 18 quid (IIRC - IMBWIOA) they will do a bitterness analysis of the beer and tell you what it really is . . . . but then you have the issue that percieved bitterness is not always the same as true bitterness.

 

[BarnsleyBrewer]

Years ago when I was starting out on AG I did 23ltr and put 4oz of 11% Target in, undrinkable, made my eyes water :sick:
Not got my BeerSmith at work Just out of curiosity what would the IBU's have been??
3.5 kg MO
250g Crystal
4oz Target 11%

John

I always thought hops were the same, just different taste and smell......Know better now!! :ugeek:

 

[jamesb]

About 131 IBUs assuming a 90 minute boil (and Tinseth method).

 

[Tony]

The only way to be sure about your bitterness is to send a sample of to Brewlab at the University of Sunderland, for 18 quid (IIRC - IMBWIOA) they will do a bitterness analysis of the beer and tell you what it really is . . . .

Will they do the same for homegrown hops? 18 quid seems a bit steep just to confirm the bitterness in a finished beer, but not bad if they'll do the same for your own hops!

 

[markp]

TBH, £18 is very reasonable for an analysis fee.
I pay a lot more than that for some pretty basic testing of the commodities I sell for work life.

 

[jamesb]

To be fair, the Brewlab service is aimed at commercial breweries where consistancy of product is important.

Although I think their price for ABV testing is a little steep. Robert at Hamstead Homebrew will do it for a tenner.

 

[BarnsleyBrewer]

About 131 IBUs assuming a 90 minute boil (and Tinseth method).

Thanks' James, :thumb:
That should be a warning to anyone wanting to go over 100 IBU's :nono: you'll find it hard to drink.
I'll never go over 50 IBU's now, that's my taste preference between 40 - 50.

John

 

[Aleman]

About 131 IBUs assuming a 90 minute boil (and Tinseth method).

That should be a warning to anyone wanting to go over 100 IBU's :nono: you'll find it hard to drink

. . . I quite enjoyed mine . . . .

 

[BarnsleyBrewer]

About 131 IBUs assuming a 90 minute boil (and Tinseth method).

That should be a warning to anyone wanting to go over 100 IBU's :nono: you'll find it hard to drink

. . . I quite enjoyed mine . . . .

Your Jesting!! :nono: :nono:

 

[Springer]

About 131 IBUs assuming a 90 minute boil (and Tinseth method).

I used the forum calculator and needed to enter a utilisation of 24% to get 131 IBUs with the quantities mentioned.
I know there are variables and its down to individual taste, but as a base figure for 1050ish brews is this 24% a reasonable "constant" for me to always use to give a base value to my own "bitterness value", if you see what I mean :?