The New Beer Frontier

[fisherman]

A really great beer edition on radio 4 podcasts 23/4/12 on American brewing, If you have not heard it take a 30 min break it's a modern and refreshing article. I hope you enjoy it and make lots of comments regarding the prog. In the prog they mention commercial hop rates in america are between 5 and 10 IBU. What do you think?.
I have always found homebrewed beer rathe bitter so I have lowered my IBU hop rates to between 12 and 20 IBU and find the beer so much better. I use a low IBU hop for the 60 min boil under 5 IBU and a hop of say IBU 12 for 15mins and F/O. What do you think?.

[Befuddler]

In the prog they mention commercial hop rates in america are between 5 and 10 IBU.

Maybe in Budweiser...

[Wolfy]

I doubt there are many home-brewers on this forum that often try to emulate the commercial American lagers that have between 5 and 10 IBUs (and also virtually no hop flavour or aroma).
A DunkelWeizen (that came in at 16.5IBU) is the only beer I've made in a few years that was calculated to have less than 20IBUs, most beer I make comes in around 30-40.

If you are adding most of your calculated hop bitterness late, I'd be curious about the procedure and equipment you use to cool the wort after the boil - if you don't chill the wort almost immediately it might be that more bitterness is extracted and hence why it was too bitter when you used higher calculated IBU rates.

[fisherman]

Sorry lads,
The podcast is as titled radio 4 pocasts " The Food Program". Commercial hop rates in America were low but are changing with the new breweries . of course beers like Bud could attract young drinkers who are changing from coke to beer , and who spends the available money easiest and does not like sour tastes.I never enjoyed my first pint or my first cigarette, I had to aquire the taste for it but I liked my first bit of the other. If anyone has not heard this podcast it is very good.
thanks for all comments

[oneilldave]

I heard a BBC iPlayer thing a while ago on beer brewing so I wondwer if this is the same?

I think, IMHO, that we tend to over bitter a beer in England, but that's only me, and it's only my own personal taste. I would site the St. Peter's brews in my defence, m'lud. If they toned down the bitternes the beer would sing like an angelic choir. But again, that's just me.

I think that anything that promotes real beer, regardless of the IBUs is worth it, so well done to the BBC for this and, of couse, to Fisherman for bringing it to our attention.

Dave (replying whilst brewing!)

[Brewmeister]

ibu that low = better drinking water

[gnutz2]

A really great beer edition on radio 4 podcasts 23/4/12 on American brewing, If you have not heard it take a 30 min break it's a modern and refreshing article. I hope you enjoy it and make lots of comments regarding the prog. In the prog they mention commercial hop rates in america are between 5 and 10 IBU. What do you think?.
I have always found homebrewed beer rathe bitter so I have lowered my IBU hop rates to between 12 and 20 IBU and find the beer so much better. I use a low IBU hop for the 60 min boil under 5 IBU and a hop of say IBU 12 for 15mins and F/O. What do you think?.

The podcast was about pioneering American craft breweries and Britains influence in the post prohibition era, theres a bit about 5-10 IBU lagers (pre prohibition) mentioning how bland they were before the craft revolution, also at the start of the revolution a beer of 20 IBU was considerd a big beer.

Personally i struggle to taste bitterness, i need a good, 45-50 IBU to perceive much bitterness

[BozBru]

Each to his own. I like the freshness of a newly brewed pint, so I bitter to 30 - 35 EBU's. But if I've got space and storage room, I'll quite happily brew 45 - 50 EBU's and let it mellow. The well conditioned drinks are superior, the lower EBU's are more short term. The seriously low EBU's are for drinks to be quaffed early, they'll do, but not a patch on a good conditioning period.

Just my thoughts, but each to his own.

[Bribie]

I think there's a bit of rosy spectacles going on with many American craft brewers who pine for those robust and full flavoured pre-prohibition American beers. However if you read the free online Encyclopedia Britannica of 1911 the British Authors, describing American beers of the time, note the high rate of adjuncts required with the inferior malts of the era and state that "To the English palate it is somewhat flavourless, but it is always retailed in exceedingly brilliant condition and at a proper temperature". And that was well pre-prohibition, and in an era when British Beers had mostly converted over to running beers, nearly all milds.

[fisherman]

Other podcasts from radio four involving beer are,
Beer trouble brewing 30/10/11
yeast 3/10/11
Best drinks producer 2/11/10
Pubs 25/11/10
Malt 2/11
Enjoy .
And happy brewing