IBU Calculator

Hops add bitterness to balance the sweetness of the sugars in from the malt. This calculator with help you approximate bitterness in International Bittering Units (IBU) provided by your combination of hops.

Hop Usage

Amount*

Hop*

Time (in mins)*

Alpha*

Delete

Batch Information

Batch size*

Boil size

Original gravity

How does this work?

This calculation is based on Glenn Tinseth's research on hop utilization. The long and short of it is:

More alpha acid = more IBUs
More hop weight = more IBUs
More time = more IBUs
Higher gravity boil = less IBUs

This means extract brewers which use smaller boils will need more hops to get the same IBUs. There are some smaller adjustments we make in the utilization when the hops are addded to the mash or the first wort. Dry hopping does not add any bitterness to the beer but it does add aroma.

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