How to enter "Equivalent Hops in Extract"

[big78badger]

My can of Muntons Hopped Dark LME says it has "Bitterness (EBU) 45-55".  But Beersmith 1.4 only allows me to enter bitterness by "Hop Alpha  __%" or "Hop Weight  __oz".  Is there some kind of conversion formula I can use?  Is EBU the same as IBU?

[UselessBrewing]

It is my understanding that European Bittering Units (EBU Generally expressed in metric) and International Bittering Units (IBU Generally expressed in Gallons and ounces) are the same. Use them interchangeably. Basically 45-55 EBU/IBU would be about 3oz of 4% AA Hops.

Cheers
Preston

[big78badger]

Gee, that seems like a lot.  But it must somehow depend on how much extract I use and how big the batch is.  For instance if I use one can (3.3 lbs) in a 5 gal. batch, is that like adding 3 oz of 4.0 AA hops?  That alone would result in 42 IBU which seems kind of high.

[UselessBrewing]

Gee, that seems like a lot.  But it must somehow depend on how much extract I use and how big the batch is.  For instance if I use one can (3.3 lbs) in a 5 gal. batch, is that like adding 3 oz of 4.0 AA hops?  That alone would result in 42 IBU which seems kind of high.

Correct 42 IBU. Don't let that number scare you. Hops and malt balance each other out. I have an IPA that is 69.2 IBU but only a .351 bitterness ratio. I also have a Belgian Dubbel with and IBU of 18.4 and a bitterness ratio of .290. The IPA is not overly bitter, and the Belgian is not overly malty. IBU will only tell you how much (Estimated) AA is going into the pot. This is not a prediction of how bitter it will be.

Hope this helps
Cheers
Preston

[big78badger]

Preston

Thank you, I'll give it a go.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained.