What is a good IBU range for my beer?

It depends on style. Light lagers: 8-15 IBU. Pale ales: 30-50 IBU. IPAs: 40-70 IBU. Double IPAs: 60-100+ IBU. Stouts: 25-50 IBU. The perceived bitterness also depends on malt sweetness — use the BU:GU ratio for balance.

Which formula should I use - Tinseth or Rager?

Tinseth is the most widely used and is the default in most brewing software. It accounts for both boil gravity and time. Rager tends to give slightly higher estimates. Most homebrewers standardise on Tinseth for consistency.

Do IBU calculations account for hop stand additions?

This calculator is for boil additions. Hop stand/whirlpool additions contribute fewer IBUs because utilisation drops rapidly below boiling. Use our Hop Stand Calculator for those additions.

Why are my actual IBUs different from calculated?

Many factors affect actual bitterness: kettle geometry, vigour of boil, wort clarity, hop freshness, and whether pellets or whole hops are used. Treat IBU calculations as estimates and adjust based on tasting experience.

Should I use pellets or whole hops?

Pellet hops generally have about 10% better utilisation than whole hops due to greater surface area and broken lupulin glands. This calculator assumes pellet hops — reduce the result by about 10% for whole/leaf hops.

BrewCalcs

IBU Calculator — International Bitterness Units

Calculate IBUs for your homebrew using Tinseth or Rager formulas.

Hop Weight

Alpha Acid

Boil Time

Batch Size

Boil Gravity

Gravity of the wort during the boil

Formula

How We Calculate This

The Tinseth Formula

IBU = (W x AA/100 x U x 1000) / V, where W = hop weight (g), AA = alpha acid %, U = utilisation, V = volume (L). Utilisation = bigness factor x boil time factor. The bigness factor accounts for higher gravity worts reducing hop utilisation.

The Rager Formula

Rager uses a different utilisation curve based on a tanh function and applies a gravity adjustment for worts above 1.050. Both formulas give reasonable estimates — pick one and stick with it for consistency.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Calculators

Hop Utilisation Calculator

Estimate hop utilisation based on boil time, gravity and method.

Hop Substitution Calculator

Find equivalent hop amounts when substituting varieties.

Dry Hop Calculator

Calculate dry hop amounts based on desired intensity and batch size.

First Wort Hop Calculator

Calculate IBU contribution from first wort hopping additions.

Hop Stand Calculator

Estimate IBU contribution from whirlpool and hop stand additions.

Last updated: 2025-02-20

All calculations are estimates. Always verify values and adjust based on your equipment and ingredients.