Beer measurement

of avours present in the beverage, along with their intensity, alcohol content, and colour. Standards for those
characteristics allow a more objective and uniform determination to be made on the overall qualities of any beer.

1 Colour
Degrees Lovibond or "L scale is a measure of the
colour of a substance, usually beer, whiskey, or sugar
solutions. The determination of the degrees lovibond
takes place by comparing the colour of the substance
to a series of amber to brown glass slides, usually by a
colorimeter. The scale was devised by Joseph Williams
Lovibond.[1] The Standard Reference Method (SRM)
and European Brewery Convention (EBC) methods have
largely replaced it, with the SRM giving results approximately equal to the L.
The Standard Reference Method or SRM[2] is a system modern brewers use to measure colour intensity,
roughly darkness (but see Tristimulus Colour below),
of a beer or wort. The method involves the use of a
spectrophotometer or photometer to measure the attenuation of light of a particular wavelength, 430 nanometres,
as it passes through a sample contained in a cuvette located in the light path of the instrument.
The EBC convention also measures beer and wort colour,
as well as quantifying turbidity (also known as haze) in
beer.
Colour based on Standard Reference Method (SRM)

2 Strength
Beer strength is the alcohol content measured by volume
expressed as a percentage, that is to say, the number of
millilitres of absolute alcohol in 100 ml of beer.
The most accurate method of determining the strength of
a beer would be to take a quantity of beer and distill o a
spirit that contains all of the alcohol that was in the beer.
A hydrometer oating in a test jar of wort. The specic gravity The alcohol content of the spirit can then be measured
reading is approximately 1.050.
using a hydrometer and tables of density of alcohol and
water mixtures. A simple calculation would then yield the
When drinking beer, there are many factors to be con- strength of the beer. This method is accurate, but is time,
sidered. Principal among them are bitterness, the variety energy and beer consuming.
1

2 STRENGTH

A second method is the ebulliometer method, which uses 2.2 Other density scales
the dierence between the boiling temperature of pure
water and the boiling temperature of the liquor (beer) Three common scales used in fermentation are:
being tested. This method is also accurate and timeconsuming, but uses less energy and beer.
balling
The most common method of estimating the strength of a
Brix
beer is to measure the density of the wort before fermentation and then to measure the density once the fermenta plato
tion is completed, and to use these two data points in an
empirical formula which estimates the alcohol content or The oldest scale, Balling, was developed in 1843 by Bostrength of the beer.
hemian scientist Karl Joseph Napoleon Balling (1805-

2.1

Density

1868) as well as Simon Ack. In the 1850s German engineer-mathematician Adolf Ferdinand Wenceslaus Brix (1798-1870) corrected some of the calculation
errors in the Balling scale and introduced the Brix scale.
In the early 1900s German chemist Fritz Plato (18581938) and his collaborators made further improvements,
introducing the Plato scale. Essentially they are the same;
the tables dier in their conversion from weight percentage to specic gravity in the fth and sixth decimal places.

The most common method measuring the density of a liquid is with a hydrometer; hydrometers can be calibrated
with a number of scales. A common scale is that of
specic gravity (SG); that is to say the density of a liquid relative to the density of pure water (at a standard
temperature). Specic gravity can also be measured by a
A rough conversion between Brix, degrees Plato or depycnometer or oscillating U-tube electronic meter. Wagrees Balling and specic gravity can be made by dividing
ter has a SG of 1.000, absolute alcohol has a SG of 0.789.
the number behind the decimal point in the SG (which
Other density scales are discussed below.
is often referred to as gravity points) by 4. So a speThe density of the wort depends on the sugar content cic gravity of 1.048 has 48 gravity points. 48 divided
in the wort, the more sugar the higher the density. The by 4 is 12 degrees Plato, Balling or Brix. This conversion
fermented beer will have some residual sugar which will method is pretty accurate up to a specic gravity of 1.070
raise the SG, the alcohol content will lower the SG. The at which point the approximation begins to deviate from
dierence between the SG of the wort before fermenta- the actual conversion.
tion and the SG of the beer after fermentation gives an
Winemakers as well as the sugar and juice industry typiindication of how much sugar was converted to alcohol
cally use degrees Brix. British brewers generally use deby the yeast. A basic formula[3] to calculate beer strength
grees Plato. American brewers use a mixture of degrees
based on the dierence between the original and nal SG
Balling, degrees Plato and specic gravity. Home wine,
is:
mead, cider, and beer makers typically use specic gravABV = 131.25(OG F G)
ity.
The formula below[4] is an alternate equation which pro- In some countries, alcohol by volume is referred to as
vides more accurate estimates at higher alcohol percent- degrees Gay-Lussac (after the French chemist Joseph
ages (it is typically used for beers above 6 or 7%).
Louis Gay-Lussac).
ABV = 133(OG F G)/F G
where OG is the original gravity, or the specic gravity 2.3 XXX marks
before fermentation and FG is the nal gravity of SG after
fermentation.
See also: Food grading
Original Extract (OE) is a synonym for original gravity.
The OE is often referred to as the size of the beer and is,
in Germany, often printed on the label as Stammwrze or
sometimes just as a percent. In the Czech Republic, for
example, people speak of 10 degree beers, 12 degree
beers and so on.

The letter X is used on some beers, and was traditionally a mark of beer strength, with more exes indicating
a higher alcoholic content. Some sources suggest that
the origin of the mark was in the breweries of medieval
monasteries, where the X served as a guarantee of quality
for
beers of increasing strength.[5]
Gravity measurements are used to determine the size
of the beer, its alcoholic strength, and how much of the Another explanation for the X marks may be rooted in the
available sugar the yeast were able to consume (a given duty taxes of alcoholic beverages beginning in 1643. The
strain can be expected, under proper conditions, to fer- X mark on a cask of beer was originally used to indiment a wort of a particular composition to within a range cate that the contents were stronger than legal small beer
of attenuation; that is, they should be able to consume a limits, and were subject to a ten shillings per barrel tax.
Later, brewers added additional (superuous) X marks to
known percentage of the extract).

3
signify progressively stronger beers: the present quacklike denominations of XX (double X) and XXX (treble
X), which appear, unnecessarily, on the casks and in the
accounts of the strong-ale brewers.[6]
In mid-19th century England, the use of X and other
letters had evolved into a standardized grading system for
the strength of beer.[7] Today, it is used as a trade mark by
a number of brewers in the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and the United States.

Bitterness

See also: Hops Brewing

Bitterness scales attempt to rate the perceived relative
bitterness of beer. The bitterness of beer is provided by
compounds such as humulones, or alpha acids from hops
used during brewing. During the brewing process, humulone undergoes isomerization to form both cis- and
trans- isohumulone which are responsible for the bitter
taste of the beer.[8] Likewise, hops contain lupulones, or
beta acids.[8] These beta acids are not considered in the
initial bittering of the wort as much as their alpha acid
counterparts since they do not isomerize through boiling,
and therefore do not dissolve in the wort.[9] However, beta
acids can undergo oxidation and slowly contribute to the
bitterness of the beer. This bitterness is harsher than the
bitterness of the alpha acids and this avor can be undesirable. The oxidation occurs over time through fermentation, storage, and aging. At the same time, isomerized
alpha acids undergo degradation and reduce the bitterness
of the beer.[10]
Since the quantities of alpha and beta acids range among
hops, the variety of hop should be considered when targeting a specic amount of bitterness in the beer. To
maximize bitterness, hops with large alpha acid concentrations should be used.[8] Such varieties include Chinook, Galena, Horizon, Tomahawk, and Warrior hops,
and these contain alpha acid concentrations up to 16% by
mass. Since the bitterness is not inuenced by beta acids,
beta acids are not considered when selecting the variety
of hop. Also, the amount of time that the hops are boiled
impacts the bitterness of the beer. Since heat is needed to
isomerize alpha acids, applying heat for longer amounts
of time increases the conversion to the isomerized form.
The International Bittering Units scale, or simply IBU
scale, is the quantitative value designated to the measurement of bitterness of the beer. This scale is not measured
on the perceived bitterness of the beer, but rather the
amount of iso-alpha acids.[11] There are several methods
to measure IBU. The most common and widely used way
is through spectrophotometry.[12] In this process, hops are
boiled in wort to promote isomerization. Since the isoalpha acids are slightly hydrophobic, a reduction of the
pH by adding acid increases the hydrophobicity of the

iso-alpha acids. At this point, an organic solution is added

and the iso-alpha acids shift to the organic layer out of
the aqueous wort. This new solution is then placed in a
spectrophotometer and the absorbance is read at 275 nm.
At this wavelength, the iso-alpha acids have their highest
absorbance which allows for the calculation of the concentration of these bittering molecules. This technique
was adopted at the same time as another method based on
measuring the concentration (in milligrams per litre; parts
per million w/v) of IAA isomerized acids in a beer,
causing some confusion among small-scale brewers.[13]
The American Society of Brewing Chemists, in the introduction to its methods on measuring bitterness, points
out some dierences between the results of the two methods:

While the results of the IAA methods are

practically identical to those obtained by the
[I]BU method for beer brewed with fresh hops,
the IAAs of beer brewed with old or poorly
stored hops, and with certain special hop extracts, can be signicantly lower than the [I]BU
gure.[14]

Additionally,
HPLC, mass spectrometry,
and
uorescence spectroscopy can be employed to measure the amount of iso-alpha acids in a beer.[15][16][17]
The European Bitterness Units scale, often abbreviated
as EBU, is a bitterness scale[18] in which lower values
are generally less bitter and higher values more bitter.
The scale and method are dened by the European Brewery Convention, and the numerical value should be the
same as of the International Bittering Units scale (IBU),
dened in co-operation with the American Society of
Brewing Chemists.[19] However, the exact process of determining EBU and IBU values diers slightly, which
may in theory result with slightly smaller values for EBU
than IBU.[20]
IBU isn't determined by the perceived bitterness of the
taste of the beer. For example, the bittering eect of hops
is less noticeable in beers with roasted malts or strong
avours, so a higher proportion of hops would be required
in strong avoured beers to achieve the same perceived
bitterness in moderately avoured beers. For example,
an imperial stout may have an IBU of 50, but will taste
less bitter than a pale lager with an IBU of 30, because the
pale lager has a lower avour intensity. After around 100
IBU, hop utilization is so poor that the number ceases to
be meaningful in regard to taste, although continued hop
additions will increase bitterness. Light lagers without
much bitterness will generally have 8-20 IBU, while an
India pale ale may have 60-100 IBU or more.[21]

Automated combined systems

NOTES AND REFERENCES

[8] De Keukeleire, Denis (2000). Fundamentals of Beer

and Chemistry.
Quimica Nova.
23 (1): 108.
doi:10.1590/S0100-40422000000100019.

For high-through-put applications (as in quality control

labs of big breweries for example), automated systems [9] Daniels, Ray. Alpha & Beta Acids. The Hopyard.
are available. Simple systems work with adjustment
data blocks for each kind of beer, high-end systems are [10] Hops: Anatomy and Chemistry 101.
matrix-independent and give correct results for e.g. alco[11] Peacock, Val. International Bitterness Unit. Sizes.
hol strength, extract content, pH, colour, turbidity, CO2
and O2 without any product-specic calibration.
[12] Blankemeier, Rick. The Spectrophotometer and Beer: A

Love Story. Hatch.

Latest innovations are packaged beverage analyzers, that
measure directly out of the package (glass bottle, PET [13] What Is an IBUReally?". Basic Brewing Radio. Seabottle or can) and give several parameters in one measurson 4. Episode 12. 2008-03-20.
ing cycle without any sample preparation (no degassing,
[14] Beer Bitterness (Beer-23)". Methods of Analysis. Amerno ltering, no temperature conditioning).[22]
ican Society of Brewing Chemists: Beer 23:14. 1996.

4.1

Oxidative degradation measurement

[15] Jaskula, Barbara; Goiris, Koen; De Rouck, Gert; Aerts,

Guido; De Cooman, Luc (2007). Enhanced Quantitative Extraction and HPLC Determination of Hop and Beer
Bitter Acids. Journal of the Institute of Brewing. 113 (4):
381. doi:10.1002/j.2050-0416.2007.tb00765.x.

Oxidative deterioration of beer can be measured by the

way of chemiluminescence[23] or by electron spin resonance.[24] Automated systems exist to determine the lag
time of beer related to the antioxidant capacity to resist [16] HPLC/MS/MS Analysis of Bitter Acids in Hops and
Beer (PDF). Applied Biosystems.
oxidative spoilage of avours.[25]

Software

[17] Christensen, Jakob; Ladefoged, Anne; Norgaad, Lars

(2005). Rapid Detection of Bitterness in Beer Using Fluoescence Spectroscopy and Chemometrics. Journal of
the Institute of Brewing. 111 (1): 3. doi:10.1002/j.20500416.2005.tb00642.x/e.

Software tools are available to brewers to formulate and

adapt recipes with a view to accurately measure the var[18] Lehigh Valley Homebrewers (2007). Beer and Brewing
ious values in brewing. Data can be exchanged in forGlossary. Retrieved 2009-08-05. IBUs (International
mats such as BeerXML to allow for accurate replication
Bittering Units) - The accepted worldwide standard for
of recipes at remote sites or the adaptation of recipes to
measuring bitterness in beer, also known as EBU, based
account for variations in locally available water, mash inon the estimated alpha acid percentage of the hops used
gredients, hops etc.
and the length of time they are boiled.

See also
Beer style, information on the styles of beer

Notes and references

[1] Article at BrewWiki.com

[2] Beer 10-A Spectrophotometric Color Method, ASBC
Methods of Analysis
[3] Calculate Percent Alcohol in Beer. brewmorebeer.com.
Retrieved 2015-08-23.
[4] Alcohol By Volume Calculator Updated. brewersfriend.com. 2011-06-16. Retrieved 2016-04-03.
[5] Bamforth 2008, p. 34-.

[19] European Brewery Convention. The Analysis Committee. Retrieved 2009-08-05. The EBC Analysis Committee also works closely together with the 'American Society
of Brewing Chemists (ASBC) to establish so-called 'International methods with world-wide recognition of applicability. A partnership declaration between EBC and
ASBC has been signed. The integration of the IOB methods of analysis and EBC methods is nearing completion.
[20] ajdelange (2009-06-11). Dierence between IBU and
EBU. Retrieved 2009-08-05. Because the absorption
decreases pretty quickly with time at the completion of
extraction the EBC reported value will, in general, be a
little smaller than ASBC reported value unless the beer requires centrifugation. For all practical considerations the
two systems should give the same results.
[21] Crouch 2006, p. 263.
[22] Anton Paar. www.anton-paar.com.
[23] Kaneda et al. 1990.

[6] Booth 1829, p. 2.

[7] http://www.europeanbeerguide.net/beer_strengths_
1860_1900.pdf

[24] Kaneda et al. 1988.

[25] e-scan-beer-method

5
Rabin, Dan; Forget, Carl (1998). The Dictionary of
Beer and Brewing. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-157958-078-0.
Crouch, Andy (2006). The Good Beer Guide to New
England. UPNE. ISBN 978-1-58465-469-8.
Booth, David (1829). The Art of Brewing. Baldwin
and Cradock.
Bamforth, Charles W. (2008). Beer: Health and
Nutrition. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-40514797-2.
Kaneda, Hirotaka; Kano, Yukinobu; Kamimura,
Minoru; Osawa, Toshihiko; Kawakishi, Shunro
(1990). Detection of Chemiluminescence Produced during Beer Oxidation. Journal of Food
Science. 55 (3): 881882. doi:10.1111/j.13652621.1990.tb05260.x. ISSN 0022-1147.
Kaneda, Hirotaka; Kano, Yukinobu; Osawa,
Toshihiko; Ramarathnam, Narasimhan; Kawakishi,
Shunro; Kamada, Kozo (1988). Detection of
Free Radicals in Beer Oxidation. Journal of Food
Science. 53 (3): 885888. doi:10.1111/j.13652621.1988.tb08978.x. ISSN 0022-1147.

External links
Explanation from Brew Your Own
How To Brew: Hop Bittering Calculations
Colour Measurement

9 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

9.1

Text

Beer measurement Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer_measurement?oldid=733070660 Contributors: Phil Boswell, Goethean,

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9.3

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