Did you know that the hop plant can measure more than 6 meters? And that it is a cousin of the marijuana plant? We tell you all this in this article, within our beer education series.
But we still have a lot to tell you about hops. From what an IBU is to the different varieties of hops, going through some curiosities that will surely surprise you. Let's get to it:
The IBU: that touch of bitterness
Surely you have seen the initials IBU on the label of your favorite beer on more than one occasion. They are the initials of International Bitterness Units (International Bitterness Units) and would be something like the “measure” of the bitter taste that alpha acids contribute to the beer.
One IBU is equivalent to one milligram of alpha isoacid in one liter of beer. In principle, by logic, more IBU would mean a more bitter beer, but keep in mind that the overall flavor we perceive is due to the balance of hops with malts and other elements of the beer, so the actual bitterness sensation may be very different from what a number of experts suggest. IBU on the label.
But wait, wait, did you say alpha acids?
What are Alpha Acids (AA)?
They are mainly responsible for bitterness. When they are heated (above 80ºC) they change the arrangement of their molecules and become iso-alpha acids, acquiring their full bittering potential.
For this reason, when the brewmaster wants to add this flavor to the beer, he will incorporate it hot, preferably during the wort boil. This low solubility also contributes to the formation and retention of the foam.
An IBU for each style
Now that we know where the IBU calculation comes from, this is the simplified list of the IBUs in which each style of beer moves:
- 100 IBU's: Imperial IPA, double IPA.
- 90 IBU's: American Barleywine.
- 80 IBU's: Imperial Stout, American IPA.
- 70 IBU's: Foreign Stout, Barleywine.
- 60 IBU's: American Amber Ale, Old Ale.
- 50 IBU's: American Pale Ale.
- 40 IBU's: Pale Ale, German Pilsner.
- 30 IBU's: Brown Ale, Tripel.
- 20 IBU's: Dubbel, Munich Dunkel.
- 10 IBU's: Weizenbier, Witbier.
- 0-5 IBU's: Lambic, Gueuze.
If you like extremes, we invite you to try our two beers at the extremes of this classification: Althaia Heliodora Berliner Weisse, with a low bitterness of only 18 IBUS and the Dougall's Double IPA, only for the most daring, with its 100 units of bitterness.
In any case, as we have already explained to you the bitterness that we perceive on the palate does not depend only on alpha-acids, and the measurements of the IBU will not always give us an exact idea of how bitter that beer will be. For example, low IBUs (20-30) can be perceived as more bitter than higher IBU beers (60-70) due to the balance between hops and malt in their wort recipe. And after learning what hops are and how IBU is calculated, you're probably wondering how brewmasters calculate bitterness in their recipes. This has a lot to do with the commercial presentations of hops today.A few decades ago the traditional method was still used: after collecting the flowers, they were dried and added to the brewing of the beer It is the most natural use of the plant, but it has the Disadvantage that it can only be kept for a few months after harvest. Today, pellets are the most common way of hopping today. They are the dried, homogenized, crushed and pressed flowers in the shape of small cones that are best preserved. Another presentation of hops on the market are the extracts and concentrates that are sometimes used for their greater reliability when determining the IBU. To produce them, the hops are introduced into a high pressure vessel with carbon dioxide that dissolves the alpha and beta acids, essential oils, waxes and resins. This concentrated extract is packaged with a normalized amount of grams of alpha acids (GMA) per package, or in other words: concentrated and measured bitterness. As you can see, hops are a whole universe. This flower will mark the sensory profile of the beer. Higher IBU does not always mean higher bitterness. And the way to achieve it is multiple and quite complex. For this reason, we recommend that, to find out if a beer seems bitter enough (or not) to you, do not rely only on the label and use the best trick that exists: try it out! :)Hops today.
