BU/GU ratio is high, should I add sugar to dry it out?

[smp501]

Hi! I brewed my 1st IPA yesterday, and I think I might have too high of a BU/GU ratio. Here's what I have:

Batch Size: 5.5 Gal

1.0# 2-row
.75# Munich
.75# carapils
1.0# Crystal 20L
.25# Torrified Wheat
6.0# Extra Light DME

1.0 oz Chinook 35 min
2.0 oz Cascade 35 min
3.0 oz Cascade 15 min
1.0 oz Williamette 5 min
2.0 oz Cascade 0 min

Target OG: 1.065

I mashed all the grains at 154 for an hour and hit my target OG perfectly and pitched a 2L (decanted) starter of Wyeast 1272.

My est. IBU is 84 (Qbrew), which sets my BU/GU ratio at 1.3, which seems really high. According to Qbrew, adding 1# of sugar will change the numbers to:
OG: 1.073
IBU: 81

Which makes the ratio 1.11.

If I add 1.5# sugar the numbers will be:
OG: 1.077
IBU: 79

Giving a ratio of 1.03, which seems more in line with what an IIPA should be. So, what do you more experienced brewers recommend, that I add sugar to even out the ratio and make it an IIPA, or leave it as is and have a supercharged IPA?

Thanks!

 

[Tiber_Brew]

I'm not familiar with that brewing software, but if I understand correctly what you're talking about doing here, I'd say that your "rescue" won't help that beer now. Mostly likely, that figure is calculated based on hop utilization formulas for the boil. The higher the sugar concentration in the boil, the lesser the hop utilization. It does not work the same way to add sugar post-boil, since you already achieved your utilization in the kettle. You might be able to get away with adding a small amount of lactose or some other unfermentable sugar to combat the hop bite, but I wouldn't.

If it were me, I'd leave that beer as is, and see if it is in fact "too high of a BU/GU ratio." You never know; you might really love this beer. If not, then, start with a higher pre-boil gravity or back off the bittering hops in the future.

Here's to that beer turning out awesome

TB

 

[smp501]

Thanks! Personally I don't mind a good super-hoppy beer (e.g. Ruination), but my main concern is that I won't have enough body. I did a bit more searching and found this thread here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/late-sugar-addition-fermentation-bu-gu-120433/
which pretty much says that I have to stick with the IBU's I have now (84), but that adding suger can compensate by drying it out a bit. Most IIPA recipes I've seen have a similar malt bill to mine and around 1# or sugar, so I think I'm going to try that out.

 

[Tiber_Brew]

My advice would be to stick with what you have now and apply lessons learned for the next time you brew. It's an iterative process, but one you can drink.

Cheers

 

[stpug]

Thanks! Personally I don't mind a good super-hoppy beer (e.g. Ruination), but my main concern is that I won't have enough body. I did a bit more searching and found this thread here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/late-sugar-addition-fermentation-bu-gu-120433/
which pretty much says that I have to stick with the IBU's I have now (84), but that adding suger can compensate by drying it out a bit. Most IIPA recipes I've seen have a similar malt bill to mine and around 1# or sugar, so I think I'm going to try that out.

It would be counter-productive to add table sugar right now in hopes of achieving more body. You will get the opposite - less body.

Additionally, adding sugar now will dry the beer out more which will make the hop bitterness stand out even more.

 

[Tiber_Brew]

It would be counter-productive to add table sugar right now in hopes of achieving more body. You will get the opposite - less body.

Additionally, adding sugar now will dry the beer out more which will make the hop bitterness stand out even more.

Exactly right. You could add a little bit of lactose to the secondary to combat the hop bite like I mentioned previously, but I strongly urge OP to leave the beer as is.

 

[DSorenson]

It would be counter-productive to add table sugar right now in hopes of achieving more body. You will get the opposite - less body.

Additionally, adding sugar now will dry the beer out more which will make the hop bitterness stand out even more.

Plus one. Leave it be, it's going to be a great beer!

 

[brew_ny]

american IPA is .84 and an english is .80 so you are right there

here is a chart by style

http://www.madalchemist.com/chart_bitterness_ratio.html


all the best

S_M

 

[stpug]

Exactly right. You could add a little bit of lactose to the secondary to combat the hop bite like I mentioned previously, but I strongly urge OP to leave the beer as is.

I agree. You will have plenty of body in your beer. DME will provide some body; 1 lb of light crystal will provide significant body; and 0.75 lb of carapils will provide a fair amount of body. Your beer will NOT be lacking body.

Additionally, there is potential for your grainbill/extract recipe to leave a decent amount of residual sweetness to the beer which will do wonders at balancing higher_than_expected bitterness (on paper).

 

[smp501]

Alright, I'm convinced -- I'll let it be and see how it turns out. Thanks everyone!

 

[Conestoga]

If it makes you feel better, Green Flash West Coast IPA is 7.3% ABV and 95 IBU. Not sure if Tinseth, Rager or Garetz, but there ya go. That's over 1.3.

Stone IPA is around 1.2 BU:GU I believe.