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Beersmith bitterness ratio. What does it really mean?

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olotti

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How do I utilize this feature to make sure my beers and the IBU's are balanced? Are there certain ranges I'm looking for when brewing different styles? It seems I've found my personal taste sweet spot at about 65 IBUs for Ipa's but I know when I step up a recipe say into dble IPA range the IBU's need to increase with it, so is there a bitterness ratio to shoot for so I get the IBU's to be in proportion and balance. I hope I'm thinking about this feature in the right way.
 
If you google ibu:sg ratio you will find the suggested ratios for the various styles of beers. From what I can tell most of the information comes from the book Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels.
 
I wouldn't think of the end resulting ratio as what you need to concern yourself with in terms of balance. You should be more concerned with how you get to that IBU number. I can make a 100 IBU hoppy IPA with only late additions that will be smooth with basically no bitterness. You can make a 50 IBU IPA with only a 60 addition that will bite back when you taste it.

Develop a consistent hop schedule that gets you the results you want in terms of bitterness and balance. Then use that along with the ratio to give you consistent balance in your brews.
 
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