Balance in beer and how bitterness meets malt sweetness

What balance actually means

Balance describes how the main flavours of a beer sit against each other. In most beers the key pairing is bitterness, mostly from hops, against sweetness and body, mostly from malt. A balanced beer does not mean equal amounts of each. It means neither one feels out of place for the style.

A West Coast IPA is meant to lean bitter. A Scotch ale is meant to lean malty. Both can be perfectly balanced in their own terms. Our guide on how bitterness is perceived covers the bitter side in more depth.

The BU:GU ratio brewers use

Brewers have a handy shortcut for balance: the BU:GU ratio. Take the beer's bitterness in IBU and divide it by its gravity units, the last two digits of the original gravity. A beer at 1.050 has 50 gravity units. With 25 IBU, its ratio is 0.5.

• Around 0.3 or below: clearly malt led. Many wheat beers and sweet stouts sit here.
• Around 0.5: roughly even. Many amber ales and lagers.
• Around 0.8 to 1.0 or above: clearly bitter. Pale ales, IPAs and some Pilsners.

It is a rough guide that ignores how much sugar was actually fermented, but it is useful for comparing recipes. A 1.060 IPA with 60 IBU has a ratio of 1.0. A 1.060 Scotch ale with 20 IBU has a ratio of about 0.33. You can taste the difference before you see the numbers.

Attenuation tips the scales

Original gravity tells you what the beer started with. Final gravity tells you how much sweetness remains. Two beers with the same BU:GU ratio can taste very differently balanced if one finishes at 1.008 and the other at 1.018. The drier beer will taste more bitter because less sweetness is left to oppose the hops.

This is where rice and maize adjuncts, common in Indian lagers, play a part. They ferment almost completely, which leaves a dry, light body. A small amount of bitterness then reads more clearly than it would in an all malt beer of the same strength. Our guide on describing sweetness and dryness helps put words to the finish.

The other forces on balance

Bitterness and sweetness are not alone. Several other elements push a beer one way or the other:

• Roast. Dark malts add a dry, coffee-like bitterness that adds to hop bitterness.
• Alcohol. Its slight sweetness softens bitterness, which is why strong beers can carry more hops.
• Carbonation. The prickle of CO2 sharpens bitterness and cuts sweetness.
• Acidity. A sour beer feels drier and less sweet than its gravity suggests.
• Water. More sulphate makes bitterness crisper. More chloride makes malt fuller.

A good tasting note on balance mentions the most important of these, not only hops and malt.

Serving temperature moves the balance

The same beer can taste balanced or not depending on how it is served. Cold suppresses sweetness more than bitterness, so a very cold beer can taste thinner and more bitter than intended. As it warms, sweetness and malt come forward and the bitterness seems softer.

In Indian heat, a beer can move several degrees in the time it takes to drink. A strong ale that seems sharp at 6 °C may be lovely at 12 °C. Our guide on why beer tastes sweeter as it warms explains the effect.

Describing balance without jargon

You do not need numbers to describe balance well. Ask three plain questions as you taste. Which comes first, malt or bitterness? Which lingers in the finish? Does anything feel out of place for this style?

Then write a short note: malt forward with gentle bitterness, or firmly bitter with a light malt backbone, or evenly balanced and dry. Those phrases are far more useful than calling a beer balanced and stopping there. Over time they let you compare beers you tasted months apart.

Your first step

Look up the original gravity and IBU for two beers you like, often printed on the brewery website or the can. Work out each BU:GU ratio. Then taste them side by side and see whether the more bitter-tasting beer has the higher ratio. When it does not, look at its finish and strength for the reason.

Common questions

What does balance mean in beer?

It describes how bitterness and malt sweetness sit against each other. A balanced beer is one where neither feels out of place for its style, not one with equal amounts of each.

What is the BU:GU ratio?

It is the bitterness in IBU divided by the gravity units, the last two digits of the original gravity. Around 0.5 is roughly even, lower is malt led and higher is bitter.

Why does a dry beer taste more bitter?

Less residual sweetness is left to oppose hop bitterness, so the same IBU reads more strongly in a beer that finished at a low gravity.