Bu:gu And Balance Value

[NickB]

But on that note too Nick, I'd say most calculations done through brewing software would be approximations at best as I don't think many take mash temp into consideration.

Happy to be corrected though.

I use BU:GU as a guide, then brew the beer, then adjust next time as necessary.

Cheers

 

[DKS]

Funny, I'm the opposite. Numbers can't tell you what your palate and experience can, any more than they can in cooking. They can give you an indication of preferred levels, a reference point etc but there's no substitute, in my mind for learning about your ingredients and how to balance them or make them work together.

That said, I still believe in grasping the concept, applying the principles and knowing the background. Use of formulae themselves is up to the brewer.

Quite right there manticle, agreed. Once you get to know your brewery and what it produces then the balance equation can help. Even before then the BU:GU can at least give a target until you sort your own taste preferences. Sort of same adjustments on a HB scale as with nc ibu if thats some sort of a parallel argument. However if the target is never given what do you aim at before pulling the trigger?
I just see it as an under utilised factor.
Daz

 

[Nick JD]

But on that note too Nick, I'd say most calculations done through brewing software would be approximations at best...

I make approximately delicious beer. Numbers, be damned!

 

[NickB]

As long as you're happy

 

[Dazza88]

IMO, BU:GU is a rough guide at best, and a complete waste of time at worst. As an example (2 SMaSH brews):

Batch 1: Mashed at 70C and bittered to 25 IBUs

Batch 2: Mashed at 62C and bittered to 25 IBUs

Both have the same BU:GU figures but one will be malty and thick and sweet, and one will be dry and bitter and thin.

BU:GU is crap unless it compensates for FG (mash temp and attenuation).

Huh, isn't that the point of BV, to factor in attentuation?

 

[Nick JD]

Huh, isn't that the point of BV, to factor in attentuation?

Fark knows. I make beer not software. Does BV use mash temp in its algorithm?

 

[Dazza88]

BV uses Fg so pretty much yeah.

http://www.tc.umn.edu/~rohw0009/homebrewin...ator/bvcalc.htm

 

[Nick JD]

BV uses Fg so pretty much yeah.

http://www.tc.umn.edu/~rohw0009/homebrewin...ator/bvcalc.htm

Mash temp derived FG, or attenuation derived FG?

So I could just treat my yeast like a bitch and get a nice sweet beer mashing low?

See - it's all a craps shoot - and numbers that have a standard deviation bigger than their useful range are next to useless. Without encapsulating the mash temp all this stuff is just pissing in the wind that software engineers love to do. "If we make it more complicated, we'll beat the competition", no, you'll make it a ******* trainwreck and no one will understand it and there'll be threads about it by people who don't understand it either.

 

[Bogan333]

I guess they might b inverses so if bu.gu is0.66 then balance would be 1.51. Just a guess as i dont have the program in front me.


Edit. Not quite, bv also account for fg, see link below.
balance value calc

Thank you so much for the link DazDog How I know and I will use the calc as a tool.
Now I got to find out what AA% means and why?

 

[Parks]

Now I got to find out what AA% means and why?

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...;showarticle=15

First acronym with linked resources

Sorry, the BYO link is dead and the wikipedia link has a lot of other reading.

Try here http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter5-4.html