So this may be a newb question, but why do I as a consumer of beer, care what the original, specific and final gravity is. I'm from Maine and no-one lists these on their chalkboards or beer bottles. But when I'm roaming the country I see it a lot. I understand why they would list IBU's and ABV's. These things give you an idea of how the beer will taste. What does O.G. delivered in degrees Plato tell me about how one beer will taste compared to another? I get that its important for brewing, but how is it important for drinking? Sorry in advance if this in the wrong thread.
you probably don't want/need to know the gravity, original or otherwise. myself, i always want to know the gravity because i'm interested in how attenuated the beer is and thus how dry it will probably be. this is not important, and you find out more by simply drinking it, but it's as interesting to me as IBU and even ABV. notably, when i calculate final gravity from the listed O.G. and ABV, there's always a good chance the number is meaningless, because i'm moderately skeptical of the accuracy of listed ABVs. anyway though, i can't see it being of any use outside of homebrewing and "how dry is it?" ironically, the latter isn't helped all that much by OG; would be nice if they listed FG.
