Beer hopping rates: 1911-2011

Stan Hieronymus at Appellation Beer: Beer From a Good Home shares some interesting data from the Barth Haas Group on the use of hops in beer brewed around the world during the past 100 years. His article is short and to the point, so go read it.

The very very short version: the bitterness* of the average beer has declined from 38 IBU in 1911 to 12 IBU in 2011. This is no surprise, but it does call into question claims by some breweries that their beer is still brewed to the same recipe as in days gone by.

*Assuming a 30% extraction efficiency.