Happy Monday! Greg Nagel of OCBeerBlog.com helps us ring in another Monday with need-to-know brew tips.
Q: What’s an IBU?
A: Bitterness in beer is measured International Bitterness Units (IBU) which goes from 1-100; One being not bitter at all to 100 being intensely bitter. The average human palate can only detect 100 IBU’s and each person has their own level of what they perceive as “too bitter.” The average IPA has 60-80 IBU whereas an average Bavarian Hefeweizen will hover around 20 IBU’s. Bitterness is meant to balance out sweetness, thus bigger Imperial Stouts have a high level of IBU’s but the bitterness is hard to detect over the large amount of sweetness. Balance is key!
