BU GU Ratio
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RabMaxwell
BU GU Ratio
Hello all i am trying to understand using BU GU ratios for recipe formation with different beer styles.Anyone have any links or info on the matter as i can't seem to find very much with Google search. cheers
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stevezx7r
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mysterio
I think Ray Daniels came up with it (or at least refers to it a lot), it's in the book Designing Great Beers.
Basically it's the ratio of bittering points IBUs to Gravity units. So a BU:GU of "1" would mean 30 IBUs in a 1.030 beer, or 40 IBUs in a 1.040 beer. If all other things are equal (a pretty big if), the perceived bitterness between those two beers should be similar. It doesn't really take into account finishing gravity which will influence perceived bitterness, so it's use is limited IMO. Also take into account the myriad of factors that goes into calculating real IBUs - in other words, none of us really can without specialised lab equipment.
A BU:GU of 0.5 would be, for example, 25 IBUs in a 1.050 beer... you get the idea.
Different styles will have a different recommended BU:GU ratio. A ratio of 0.25 will mean the beer is fairly sweet - say a German lager or Sweet stout. 0.5 - 0.75 will be more bitter but still balanced, like an english bitter or something. 1 is pretty bitter, IPAs, dry stout, etc.
Basically it's the ratio of bittering points IBUs to Gravity units. So a BU:GU of "1" would mean 30 IBUs in a 1.030 beer, or 40 IBUs in a 1.040 beer. If all other things are equal (a pretty big if), the perceived bitterness between those two beers should be similar. It doesn't really take into account finishing gravity which will influence perceived bitterness, so it's use is limited IMO. Also take into account the myriad of factors that goes into calculating real IBUs - in other words, none of us really can without specialised lab equipment.
A BU:GU of 0.5 would be, for example, 25 IBUs in a 1.050 beer... you get the idea.
Different styles will have a different recommended BU:GU ratio. A ratio of 0.25 will mean the beer is fairly sweet - say a German lager or Sweet stout. 0.5 - 0.75 will be more bitter but still balanced, like an english bitter or something. 1 is pretty bitter, IPAs, dry stout, etc.
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alefric
Aleman is right......its also good on English brews and their histories and will explain what you want to know.Aleman wrote:Bohemian Pilsners have a BU:GU of pretty close to 1,
I would actually recommend Rays Book it's a pretty good analysis of some prize winning recipes from several years of the US Nationals
