Bitterness Units in beer: retrospective trends and current concept of commerce

Abstract

The Bitterness Units (BU) of a large collective of 2,076 beer samples analyzed between 1983 and 2005 is systematically investigated in this study. No change in BU could be detected during the examination period. Pilsner beer that is characterized by its predominant taste of hops, showed a constant BU of approximately 30, which appears to be the generally accepted concept of commerce of German Pilsner beer. Beer labelled as Pilsner with no distinct bitter taste (e.g. with BU lower than 20) must be reported to the official food control as deceptive to the consumer.