I generally make beers between 4.5 and 5% and my IBUs are generally low by homebrewing standards but not that low. I am concluding that IBUs is a very tough measuring stick. We have all of these calculators, we have FWH, WP and DH additions adding zero IBUs and when hops are older or have been mishandled they lose their punch so you may think you made a beer with 25 IBUs but it might really be 18. I have been using some Hop Heaven pellets lately and my beers seem 'punchier'. That tells me that the hops I was getting from the LHBS or maybe MoreBeer, etc. were weaker or not as fresh. Also, it seems like "gold" beer is still very much a player in the US beer-drinking world. Many craft places I know still make a helles, blonde ale, kolsch, pilsner, low-IBU wheat beer, etc.