Bitterness


The Bitterness Problem

It used to seem so simple—know your hops and when you add them to the boil, and you’ll know how bitter your beer will be. Now, thanks to IPA’s evolution and lots of new research, bitterness is getting … complicated. Here are key takeaways to help you dial it in.

Podcast Episode 230: The Bitter Truth About Belgian Beer, with Nino Bacelle of De Ranke

For De Ranke, looking back was looking forward. When the Belgian beer industry was minimizing bitterness, De Ranke embraced it instead, carving out a hop-forward niche that’s been influencing fellow brewers for nearly three decades.

Video Tip: Dialing in the Bitterness of “West Coast Hazy” Pale Ales

Tim Sciascia, cofounder and head brewer at Cellarmaker, walks us through their typical boil and whirlpool hop additions for pale ales, as they aim for the desired level of bitterness while avoiding any vegetal off-flavors.

Embrace Hoppy Lager (By Whatever Name)

An American beer scene still dominated by IPA is enjoying a renaissance of small-scale lager brewing—the ground is fertile for combining the best of both. We don’t care what you call it—IPL, cold IPA, hoppy pilsner, whatever—as long as we get to drink it.

Brew It Dark & Hoppy: The Balancing Act

Dark malts and ample hops intersect at a risky but rewarding flavor zone where few brewers dare to tread with regularity. Here we dig into recipe choices for distinctive, hop-forward black beers that avoid the pitfalls.

The Accelerating Dialectic of IPA

More juice, but with more bite—East Coast and West Coast are synthesizing, again, right before our eyes. How did we get here? And what’s next? Drew Beechum walks us through IPA’s battles and evolutions.

Podcast Episode 135: For Noah Bissell of Bissell Brothers, Less is Definitely More

Today’s brewing world is baroque in its embrace of excess, but for Bissell Brothers of Portland, Maine, the not-so-secret strategy is a deep desire to perfect their existing beers rather than create a stream of new ones.

Pick Six: Bitter(ness) Memories, with Cantillon's Jean Van Roy

From the legendary Cantillon lambic brewery in Brussels, fourth-generation brewer Jean Van Roy chooses a six-pack of beers that have influenced him over the years. They feature the bitter, the dry, and a lifelong appreciation for good old-fashioned pils.

Learning Lab: More Ways to Get Hoppy

Go beyond the standard three-addition hopping schedule to test other techniques for injecting hop character into your beer.

Learning Lab: Standard Hops Additions

Hops for bitterness, flavor, and aroma... and, often, three corresponding additions to the boil. Using one-gallon test batches hopped differently, let's test our assumptions.