quote: Originally posted by heemer77 I know some claim to have 120-130 IBU, but I have been told that anything above a certain point is not detectable by human tongues. I cna't remember what beers make these claims and I am not having much luck in a search.

Here's a really long-winded answer to your short question.... ;) Basically, IBU boil down to.... ...the Alpha Acid percentage in any given hop (that the bittering good stuff we all know and love in the hop's oils), ....multipled by the amount of hops, ... muliplied by the utilization percentage (i.e. a sliding scale reflecting that the bigger the gravity, the more you need to get same results) ...all devided by 1.34 times the volume of the batch (Now you know why software tools like ProMash are used...! http://www.promash.com/TipsNTricks/SystemSet/Hops.html) And keep in mind that method (Rager, as opposed to the Garets or Tinsenth methods) only provide an estimated IBU rating. Fancy-schmancy scientific stuff is needed to get anything exact...! Now, basically it bolls down to the rule-of-thumb that the human palate can only taste the bitterness in beers with <100 IBUs. That is to say, theortically an 100 IBU beer, a 150 IBU beer, and 200 IBU beer would taste the same (all other factors being identical, that is). But in practice, while the human palate may not be able to exactly distinguish the various bitteness levels past the 100-IBU mark, some folks (e.g. Stone) would have you beleive that just the sheer volume of hop oils in the beer (above and beyond the ones contributing to the perceived bitterness level) still contrubute to the mouthfeel and body of the beer. Bollocks? No idea. But that's the theory behind the uber-mega-monster-hopped beers... //TB

Upon further research, Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA boasts it is the Holy Grail of Hopheads out there. IBU's for this monster brew top out at 120 IBU's which may not be an issue since anything more than 100 IBU's fosters no change in bitterness on the pallet. I also have not been able to get my hands on this brew but it may be one of the hoppiest brews out there, thoughts?

dammit ECB, you stole my response. I agree with the exponential hoppiness. There was also some triple IPA i had at obriens but i dont remember what it was. Russian river's double ipa was pretty damn hoppy and frank is as well.

ALIMONY ALE by Buffalo Bills.

quote: Originally posted by JaIce There was also some triple IPA i had at obriens but i dont remember what it was.

Ugh, don't go there, please: http://www.beerpal.com/Coronado-Triple-I.P.A.-Beer/15479/ //TB

quote: Originally posted by REDDOG ALIMONY ALE by Buffalo Bills.

NO. Despite what the label says, the beer was first brewed for a friend going through a divorce in the late `80s (Ref: http://www.buffalobillsbrewery.com/beersset.htm)..., and has very little to do with the mega-uber-super hoppy Double IPAs of the 21st century. //TB

quote: Originally posted by staleyiv Upon further research, Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA boasts it is the Holy Grail of Hopheads out there. IBU's for this monster brew top out at 120 IBU's which may not be an issue since anything more than 100 IBU's fosters no change in bitterness on the pallet. I also have not been able to get my hands on this brew but it may be one of the hoppiest brews out there, thoughts?

In the First Annual Lupulin Slam, Sammy Calagione of DFH and his east coast teammates beat out the stacked-deck West Coast Squad (Tomme Arthur, Tom Nickels, Adam Avery, and more) by forcing the 120 Min IPA through Randall, the (Hop-Packed) Enamel Animal. The resulting "beverage" tasted like the essential oils from 100 bushels of hops, boiled for three days until it barely filled a 4 oz sampler. And in fact, the 120 Min IPA is the hoppiest "straight out of the bottle" brew I've ever tried: more hops than Hop Wallop, and much more than Tuppers, sir, please, I beg of you, I am rolling about the floor in fits of hysteria at the thought.

quote: Originally posted by staleyiv Okay, I am wondering what the hoppiest beer out there is. I would like to try whatever it is so what are everyones' thoughts on this. I like big hoppy beers very much and I am on a journey to find the biggest hopped beer around. I am sure the consensus will settle on one of those big West Coast hoppy beers but I would still like everyones' thoughts on this matter. I recently had Tupper's hop pocket ale and they boast their beer is big on hops and it was but I am almost positive it isn't the biggest. Thoughts please? [8)]

Hoppiest beer has to be DFH 120 minute. If you add enough hops to a beer, eventually you get saturation. 120 IBUs? In theory maybe. Have they sent it to a lab? 120 minute is the perfect example, tons of hop flavor, and tons of sweetness. I think a lot of people blame the sweetness of that beer on the malt, but there is a ton of sweetness from over-hopping it (Over-hopping? is that possible?). That said, I don't like it one bit. The mixture of malt sweetness and hop sweetness is cloying. IIPA? My ass, they need to dry out that beer a bit before they can call it an IIPA. *cough* IMO and all..... If you're looking for a tongue splitting, mouth puckering experience, Willimantic Brewing Co. brews the best IPAs I've ever had. Most of them are wonderfully dry, and a full on hop assault. On the 19th, he's releasing a IIPA with Sterling, Warrior, and Magnum hops. It should be a real beast. On tap right now is the EurIPAen IPA, Centennials, Challengers, and Goldings. Damn nice beer.

quote: Originally posted by Cottrell Hoppiest beer has to be DFH 120 minute. If you add enough hops to a beer, eventually you get saturation. 120 IBUs? In theory maybe. Have they sent it to a lab? 120 minute is the perfect example, tons of hop flavor, and tons of sweetness. I think a lot of people blame the sweetness of that beer on the malt, but there is a ton of sweetness from over-hopping it (Over-hopping? is that possible?). That said, I don't like it one bit. The mixture of malt sweetness and hop sweetness is cloying. IIPA? My ass, they need to dry out that beer a bit before they can call it an IIPA. *cough* IMO and all.....

I'm with ya there, dude. In fact, the only time I've enjoyed the 120 was when I aged it for ~6 months. Normally, the hops are the first to fade away in cellared beers. But in the case of the 120, it actually calmed down the IBUs to sane levels, and actually came across hoppier. Weird, and not something I'll pay big money for (even if DFH ever returns to SoCal)... (My review expands on the topic a bit: http://www.beerpal.com/Dogfish-Head-120-Minute-IPA-Beer/9323/) //TB

quote: Originally posted by Cottrell <blockquote id="quote"><table width=90% cellpadding=10><tr><td bgcolor=FFFFCC><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote: Originally posted by EyeChartBrew (My review expands on the topic a bit: http://www.beerpal.com/Dogfish-Head-120-Minute-IPA-Beer/9323/) //TB </font></td></tr></table></blockquote> You were too nice. [;)]

"Mike's Hard Pixy Stick" -- LMAO...! //TB