Beer Guild websites for now. More info about the guilds to come.
The International Bitterness Units or IBU is one way to measure how a beer tastes in terms of bitterness. While the bitterness of beer plays a significant role in a flavor profile, it is only one of many factors. Alcohol content, malt and water quality, yeast fermentation byproducts, bacteria, and aeration also affect a particular beer's taste profile.
Commercial brewers and homebrewers alike employ experimental and traditional brewing techniques to get their craft beer just right. One of those techniques is Krausening, a traditional German approach that eschews adding any sugars or extras to the fermented beer, with the goal of producing a "cleaner" beer. In summary, and ultimate effect, to kräusen a beer is to add carbonation to it.
