BU:GU ratio

[dontman]

I have noticed this ratio of Bittering "Units to Gravity Units on some sites. I am wondering what information can be gleaned from this.

I am brewing a strong Belgian Abbey ale tomorrow. OG of 1.080 Right now my recipe IBUs are set at 30. This gives me a BU:GU ratio of .38. Do standard balance issues go out the door with such a big beer? Other Abbeys of similar ABV I have seen have IBUs in the range as low as 20-22. That just seems way out of whack to me.

 

[Grinder12000]

I use it just to compare balance with my other brews. It's just another thing to look at. There is no "correct" number.

 

[Coastarine]

I like to use it. I usually consider .5 to be balanced. It's helpful to decide how many IBU's a beer should have if it is low gravity, high gravity, etc. A barleywine with 70 IBU's is different than an IPA with 70.

 

[menschmaschine]

It can be useful information to know when creating your own recipes. You can research how your beer would compare to similar beers or styles. Ray Daniels uses it a lot in Designing Great Beers. It's probably a more "accurate" number to predict/measure perceived bitterness since it accounts for gravity and alcohol rather than just straight IBUs.