Is 140 IBUs Too Much?
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ScrewyBrewer
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Re: Is 140 IBUs Too Much?
My current IPA is estimated to be 140 IBUs and it started at 1.062 OGbpgreen wrote:So the BU:GU chart is a helpful starting point, but we know that if we're brewing a high ABV beer and we're adding table sugar to up the abv and thin it out, the sugar will ferment almost completely, so the gravity it adds won't cause it to move lower on the perceived bitterness chart. On the flip side, if we add a bunch of steeping grains, they'll increase the OG, but will also increase the FG, so they'll make the final result seem less bitter.
I brushed up on my BU:GU numbers and came up with 140 ibu divided by 62 og equals a BU:GU ratio of 2.25.
Almost immediately I asked myself why isn't the FG used instead of the OG measurement? Depending on conditions too numerous to mention here a 1.062 beer that finishes at 1.012 will be dryer than one that finishes at 1.018.
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Re: Is 140 IBUs Too Much?
If you think about it, neither OG nor FG or right in isolation. A beer that starts at 1.062 and finishes at 1.012 will have considerably less residual sweetness than one that starts at 1.042 and ends at 1.012.ScrewyBrewer wrote:My current IPA is estimated to be 140 IBUs and it started at 1.062 OGbpgreen wrote:So the BU:GU chart is a helpful starting point, but we know that if we're brewing a high ABV beer and we're adding table sugar to up the abv and thin it out, the sugar will ferment almost completely, so the gravity it adds won't cause it to move lower on the perceived bitterness chart. On the flip side, if we add a bunch of steeping grains, they'll increase the OG, but will also increase the FG, so they'll make the final result seem less bitter.
I brushed up on my BU:GU numbers and came up with 140 ibu divided by 62 og equals a BU:GU ratio of 2.25.
Almost immediately I asked myself why isn't the FG used instead of the OG measurement? Depending on conditions too numerous to mention here a 1.062 beer that finishes at 1.012 will be dryer than one that finishes at 1.018.
The chart that was posted earlier is a handy starting point, but we need to assist based on our own knowledge and experience.