Bugu Brewing opens this Saturday in Monroe, Washington. It is a family-owned nano-brewery and taproom focused on “crafting balanced, drinkable beer for any time and any place.” So what’s with the name and who are these guys? (Pictures from Bugu Brewing’s Facebook page.)
The Name – What’s a Bugu?
Stick with me here because it really isn’t complicated. Bu:Gu is a brewing term, an abbreviation standing for bitterness units divided by gravity units. In simplest terms, the beer’s IBUs divided by the beer’s gravity units. (Gravity, basically, describes how malty, or sweet, the beer is.)
Bu:Gu or bugu, represents the amount of bitterness in proportion to the sweetness. Higher values mean more bitterness. A super-hopped, super-bitter IPA might have a bugu rating of 1.1, whereas a lightly hopped American wheat beer might have a bugu rating of 0.28. Just about all beers will fall within that range. For example, if an IPA has a gravity of 1.070 (70 GU) and 70 IBU, it would calculate out to 1.00 BuGu. Before you know bugu, you’d call it a 7 percent IPA with 70 IBU. Gravity units, very generally speaking, translate to ABV.
So yeah, it’s a pretty cool name for a brewery. Geeky but also pretty memorable. Interesting word, but pretty hard to mispronounce. And yes, Bugu Brewing says that it will include the bugu number in the beer descriptions.
The Bugu Brewing Story
Bugu Brewing is owned and operated by the father-son brewing duo of Kipp and Bradly Strong. Kipp is wrapping up a 28-year career as a police officer and has been homebrewing for 15 years. His son, Bradly, trained at Skagit Valley College’s Craft Brewing Academy. Bradly has also worked for other breweries, including Farmstrong Brewing and Bickersons Brewhouse, among others.
Bugu Brewing celebrates its grand opening Saturday, October 23rd.
Hours and Location
You find the brewery and its taproom in the North Kelsey shopping center across from Galaxy Theatres. Outside food is welcome and they encourage you to support other local businesses. They’re still waiting for the final word from the authorities, but it sounds like kids yes, dogs no.
These hours may change in time, but for now:
- Monday 2:00pm – 9:00pm
- Tuesday Closed
- Wednesday 2:00pm – 9:00pm
- Thursday 2:00pm – 9:00pm
- Friday 1:00pm – 9:00pm
- Saturday 12:00pm – 9:00pm
- Sunday 12:00pm – 6:00pm
Bugu Brewing
14751 N Kelsey St. #107
Monroe, WA 98272