What are you Drinking?

[Barrister]

International Beer Units?

It's a measure of bitterness, though I'm not sure what it stands for.

[Pedrito]

G&T!

The choice of the connaisseur 

L.

[derspiess]

International Beer Units?

International Bittering Units.  It's a measurement that takes into account the amount and types of hops used in a beer.  As a rule of thumb, the more IBU, the more bitter/hoppy the beer.  But apparent bitterness/hoppiness can vary depending on other factors.

Here's a chart that lists general IBU ranges by beer type: http://www.brewersfriend.com/2009/01/24/beer-styles-ibu-chart-graph-bitterness-range/

[Admiral Yi]

Which ingredient gives beer its sweetness?

[derspiess]

Which ingredient gives beer its sweetness?

The grains.  Usually malted barley but sometimes wheat, rye, oats, corn and rice area also included (the latter two are considered adjuncts and are used due to their lower cost).  I won't go through the malting process as fascinating as it is, but basically the malted grains are mashed/boiled to extract the sugar (maltose) which is then eaten by the wonderful little yeasties, which pee out alcohol and fart CO2.  In nearly all cases, the yeast does not ferment all the sugar (notable exception being the "dry" beers that were a fad a couple decades ago), so that residual sugar is the sweetness element. 

[The Brain]

But at 85 IBU I expected something a bit hoppier.

International Bunny Units?

[Admiral Yi]

The grains.  Usually malted barley but sometimes wheat, rye, oats, corn and rice area also included (the latter two are considered adjuncts and are used due to their lower cost).  I won't go through the malting process as fascinating as it is, but basically the malted grains are mashed/boiled to extract the sugar (maltose) which is then eaten by the wonderful little yeasties, which pee out alcohol and fart CO2.  In nearly all cases, the yeast does not ferment all the sugar (notable exception being the "dry" beers that were a fad a couple decades ago), so that residual sugar is the sweetness element.

So is the sweetness a function of the grain used, the type of yeast used, the length of time you let them piss and fart, or all three?

[derspiess]

So is the sweetness a function of the grain used, the type of yeast used, the length of time you let them piss and fart, or all three?

Yeah.  If I didn't know any better, I'd think you already knew a bit of that

[Admiral Yi]

Well, if it's a tradeoff between alcohol and sugar, then it just naturally the follows. 

The power of logic!

[MadImmortalMan]

So is the sweetness a function of the grain used, the type of yeast used, the length of time you let them piss and fart, or all three?

Yeah.  If I didn't know any better, I'd think you already knew a bit of that

There is a limit. You can dump all the sugar in there you want and keep the fermentation going as long as you want, but eventually the alcohol content gets too high for the yeast to continue any more. They, ugh...piss themselves to death.   

[derspiess]

There is a limit. You can dump all the sugar in there you want and keep the fermentation going as long as you want, but eventually the alcohol content gets too high for the yeast to continue any more. They, ugh...piss themselves to death.   

Yeah, I'm going to do an oak aged imperial stout at some point and I'll probably use a Neutral Grain yeast, which has a high attenuation rating.

[Caliga]

I had a pisco sour with dinner.  Ok, three.     It's got some sort of an odd, mysterious flavor to it but delicious nonetheless.

[Capetan Mihali]

I had a pisco sour with dinner.  Ok, three.     It's got some sort of an odd, mysterious flavor to it but delicious nonetheless.

Maybe the egg whites?

[Caliga]

  It could be... it's not like their presence wasn't obvious because the drink was so foamy though.  It tasted like the base was lemonade with bitters added and then whatever the fuck pisco is (some sort of brandy I think?)

[Syt]

Somersby Pear Cider 

Made by Carlsberg Croatia :tracksuit: