Brewing 100+ IBU Beers

The limit of beer bitterness is really a function of the solubility
of iso-alpha-acids in wort and their survival into finished beer. Most of the literature on this topic is of the practical sort where data showing the IBU level of various commercial beer is part of the
discussion. Hypothetical discussions that focus on everything but real beer makes me a little grumpy. Brewing beer with 100 IBUs is certainly within the realm of reality based on beer that is brewed and commercially sold.

It is true that there is not a singular “Max IBU” value that is applicable to all beer because wort pH and wort gravity directly affect hop isomerization during the boil. Furthermore, what happens during fermentation, aging and filtration (for brewers who filter) influences hop utilization. If you are attempting to get the maximum bitterness level and are limited by iso-alpha-acid solubility in wort, then it logically follows that downstream iso-alpha-acid loss will reduce beer bitterness. Loss occurs when trub sticks to fermenter walls, foam is skimmed from fermenters, bitter acids adhere to yeast cells and when beer is filtered.

I am not sure what special equipment is required to brew high IBU beers. Wort loss can become a real issue, so this may be what you have read. Commercial brewers brewing some of these monsters often launch an über-bitter beer as a special and are not overly concerned about efficiency. But then the special sticks and their consumers want more. And then efficiency becomes a real concern because excessive wort loss is an expensive proposition when operating a brewery with the intent of making money. Very broad whirlpools are one solution to deal with high hop loads in the brewhouse if pellet hops are used. If cone hops are used things are a bit easier since the hops are typically removed with a hop separator before the whirlpool. So there are some practical concerns related to hop removal when brewing beers with big hop additions.

The bottom line with this question is that you are correct to be asking about limits, because they do exist when it comes to bitterness. I am a very skeptical consumer when it comes to putting much faith in certain claims, especially the claims of small packaging breweries, pub brewers and homebrewers. The reason for my skepticism is simple; claims without lab analyses equal estimates. And most small brewers do not have the laboratory equipment required to perform IBU analyses. Couple this with the sometimes tremendous testosterone flow present when brewers brag about the big size of their latest imperial this or that and the result is often exaggeration.

I am a simple brewer and simple beer consumer with a unified philosophy about brewing. Rule number one; it’s all about perception. If what we do in the brewery cannot be perceived by the consumer or does not influence efficiency then why worry about it? Some brewers advertise that they lager for eight weeks, or whatever. That’s cool, but does the beer taste better than beer aged for six weeks, five weeks or four weeks? If it does, then there is a compelling reason to age for eight, but if the only reason is to talk about it in marketing I am not the type of brewer who would agree with the decision. Rule number one has a few caveats. For starters, I am not referring to ingredients in beer that can cause bodily harm without being detected when drinking; these are still perceived, just not immediately. I am also not referring to cleaning and maintaining the brewery environment. My rule number one is really about brewing process decisions.

Rule number two; limit brewery speak when communicating with consumers. People do not consume laboratory results, they consume beer (in the context of this discussion). Laboratory numbers taken out of context really give very little information about flavor. We may assume that beer with a meager 50 IBUs is less bitter than another with 80 IBUs, but perceived bitterness has much to do with the beer itself. Alcohol content, residual extract and malt selection all influence bitterness and IBU values alone do not define perceived bitterness. Some brewers and beer writers share the opinion that beer consumers are often turned off by this “geek speak” because it has the effect of alienating people who may really like beer, yet know little or nothing about the process.

Response by Ashton Lewis.