Enter batch volume, the temperature the beer fermented at (not current room temp), and target style. Dissolve result in 200ml boiled cooled water and add to bottling bucket before racking beer on top.

→ Full Priming Sugar Calculator — adds dextrose to your basket.

Cold grain cools your strike water. Enter target mash temp (65–67°C for most ales), grain temperature, grain weight, and mash water volume. Pre-heat your mash tun first or add 2–3°C extra.

After mashing, rinse the grain with hot water (76°C) to collect your full pre-boil volume. Grain retains ~1L per kg. Enter your target pre-boil volume, mash water used, grain weight, and absorption rate.

Under-pitching causes stress and off-flavours. Over-pitching gives clean but thin beer. Standard ales need ~1M cells/mL/°P. A standard 11g dry sachet has ~200B cells. Pitch at fermentation temperature.

Measure your pre-boil volume and gravity immediately after collecting all wort. Average grain PPG: base malt 37, crystal 34, roasted 28. Target 72–80% for most home systems.

Measure gravity and volume together. If gravity is too high, add water. If too low, boil off more. Always correct hydrometer readings for temperature first.

Common for extract brewing or concentrated boils. Adding water dilutes proportionally. Use cooled pre-boiled water to avoid contamination.

Add each malt with weight (kg) and EBC colour value. Approximate EBC values: Pale malt 5–8, Vienna 10, Munich 15, Crystal 120, Dark Crystal 240, Chocolate 900, Black/Roasted 1300.

IBUs measure iso-alpha acid concentration. Alpha % is on the hop packet. 60 min = max bitterness, 10 min = some bitterness + aroma, 0 min = aroma only. Common alpha ranges: EKG 4–6%, Challenger 7–9%, Citra 11–13%.

Enter target carbonation (2.2–2.5 vol for most ales, 2.5–2.8 for lagers) and keg storage temperature. Allow 24–48 hours at pressure for full equilibrium.

Hot wort reads lower than actual. Cool your sample to room temp before measuring when possible. At 60°C the error can be 16+ gravity points.

Refractometers are designed for wort not beer. Alcohol causes false high readings. Uses the Novotny formula. Enter OG from before fermentation and current Brix reading.

Measure pre- and post-boil volumes consistently. Typical home systems evaporate 10–20% per hour. Aim for 10–15% for lagers (DMS reduction). Use this rate for future recipe planning.

Grain retains ~1L per kg. Wheat absorbs more (~1.1–1.2 L/kg), flaked adjuncts less (~0.8 L/kg). Add this to your boil-off and other losses when planning total water.

All fermentables and hops scale linearly with volume. Calculate each ingredient separately. Yeast does not always scale — use the Yeast Pitch tab instead.

Formula: Units = ABV% × ml ÷ 1000. One unit = 10ml pure alcohol. 14 units/week = ~6 pints of 4% beer.

Trub (dead yeast + hop debris) is left behind when transferring. Typical loss: 1–1.5L without dry hopping, 2–3L with heavy dry hopping.

Dry hopping adds aroma without bitterness. Add after primary fermentation is complete. Leave 3–5 days at fermentation temperature then cold crash. Rates: Subtle 2g/L, IPA 6g/L, NEIPA 12g/L.

BU:GU = IBU ÷ (OG − 1) × 1000. Below 0.4: very malt-forward (milds, bocks). 0.5–0.7: balanced (bitters, pale ales). 0.8–1.0: hop-forward (IPAs). Above 1.0: very bitter (DIPAs).

Why sugars differ: Each sugar type has a different fermentability and PPG (points per pound per gallon). Dextrose is 100% fermentable. Table sugar (sucrose) is 100% fermentable but denser. DME contributes ~70% fermentable extract. LME is ~80% water, so you need more by weight.

1. Amount — How many grams of your source sugar you have or want to replace.
2. From / To — Select what you have and what you want to convert to.

Key equivalents per 100g: Dextrose → 46 gravity points/L; Sucrose → 46 pts/L; DME → 42 pts/L; LME → 34 pts/L (all per 1L of water).

When to use this: When designing a recipe from scratch or adjusting an existing one, use this to predict what OG your grain bill will produce before brew day. Adjust grain weight up or down to hit your target.

1. Total grain (kg) — Total weight of all malts combined.
2. Batch volume (L) — Your target post-boil volume.
3. System efficiency (%) — Your known brewhouse efficiency. Check the Efficiency tab to find yours. Use 70% if unknown.
4. Average PPG — Base malts ~37, crystal ~34, mixed bill ~36.

Adjust grain weight until you hit your target OG. Every 100g of base malt adds approximately 0.001–0.002 to OG in a 19L batch at average efficiency.

Why this is needed: DME and base malt contribute the same fermentable sugars but at different efficiencies. DME is pure dry extract — ~43 PPG. Base pale malt (Maris Otter) at 75% efficiency is ~28 PPG effective. So you need more malt by weight to match DME.

1. Enter the amount you want to convert.
2. Choose the direction: DME to Maris Otter, or Maris Otter to DME.
3. Optionally set your system efficiency (affects the malt side only).

Note: Speciality malts (crystal, chocolate, black) cannot be converted to extract — they must still be steeped or mashed. This conversion applies to base fermentable malts only.

Why this matters: Every yeast strain has a maximum alcohol tolerance. Above this level, the yeast cells begin to die and fermentation stalls, leaving residual sugars and a stuck fermentation. For high gravity beers, you must choose a yeast with sufficient tolerance.

1. OG — Your recipe’s original gravity.
2. Expected FG — Estimated final gravity (OG × ~0.25 for most ale yeasts, lower for high-attenuating strains).
3. Yeast tolerance — Select your yeast type or enter the tolerance from the packet. Common strains: S-04 ~10%, US-05 ~11%, W-34/70 ~9%, Belgian strains 10–15%.

Tip: For beers above 8% ABV, use a yeast specifically rated for high gravity. Pitch rate also increases significantly for high gravity — check the Yeast Pitch tab.

Why water chemistry matters: The mineral content of your brewing water affects hop bitterness perception, mash pH, yeast health, and the overall flavour profile of your beer. Burton-on-Trent water (high sulphate) suits hoppy ales. Dublin water (high bicarbonate) suits stouts. Soft water suits lagers and wheat beers.

1. Water volume — How many litres of water you are treating (usually your total brew water).
2. Target ions (ppm) — Enter your target ppm for each ion. Common profiles:
   • Pale ale / IPA: Ca 75–150, SO4 150–300, Cl 50–100
   • Stout / Porter: Ca 100, SO4 50, Cl 100–150
   • Lager / Pilsner: Ca 50–75, SO4 30–50, Cl 50
3. The calculator shows grams of each salt to add. Start with gypsum for sulphate and calcium chloride for chloride.

Note: These are simplified calculations for homebrewing. Your source water already contains minerals — for precise water chemistry, test your tap water and use software like Bru’n Water or BrewUnited.

What acidulated malt does: Acidulated malt (also called sauermalz or acid malt) is pale malt that has been treated with lactic acid. Adding a small percentage to your grain bill lowers the mash pH without affecting flavour significantly. The ideal mash pH is 5.2–5.4 for most styles.

1. Total grain bill (kg) — Total weight of all your malts.
2. Current estimated mash pH — Estimate based on your water. Soft water with pale malt is typically 5.6–5.8. Hard water higher still.
3. Target mash pH — Aim for 5.2–5.4 for most ales and lagers. Slightly higher (5.4–5.6) for dark beers.

Important: This is a guideline calculation. Actual pH depends on your water chemistry, grain bill composition, and mash temperature. Measure pH with a calibrated meter for precise results. Do not exceed 5% acid malt — beyond this it contributes a sour flavour.

What a yeast starter is: A small batch of low-gravity wort (1.030–1.040) used to activate and multiply yeast cells before pitching into your main batch. Essential when using liquid yeast, old dry yeast, or when brewing high gravity beers that require more cells than a single packet provides.

1. Starting cells (billions) — How many cells you are starting with. A fresh liquid vial = ~100B. An older vial may have fewer. A dry packet = ~200B (starters are less often needed for dry yeast).
2. Target cells (billions) — How many you need. Use the Yeast Pitch tab to calculate this.
3. Starter volume (L) — A 1–2L starter is standard. Larger starters grow more cells but dilute your beer more if not decanted.

Rule of thumb: 100g DME per 1L of starter gives approx 1.036 OG, which is ideal. A 1L starter on a stir plate roughly doubles cell count. A 2L starter roughly triples it.

What this does: On brew day you lose water in multiple places — grain absorption, boil evaporation, equipment dead space, trub in the fermenter. This calculator adds them all together so you know exactly how much water to start with.

1. Target batch volume — The finished beer volume you want.
2. Grain weight — Needed to calculate absorption.
3. Boil-off rate — From your Boil-Off Rate tab, or estimate 6L/hr for a typical home setup.
4. Boil time — Usually 60 minutes.
5. Trub loss — How much you leave behind in the fermenter (typically 1–2L).
6. Equipment dead space — Wort left in pipework, hop basket, kettle bottom etc. Typically 0.5–2L.

When to use this: If your pre-boil or post-boil gravity came in lower than planned, or if you want to add simple sugars to boost ABV without adding more malt character (as many Belgian styles do), this tells you how much to add.

1. Current gravity — Your measured gravity right now.
2. Target gravity — What you want it to be after adding sugar.
3. Volume — How many litres of wort you have right now.
4. Sugar type — Dextrose, table sugar, or DME. Each contributes different gravity points per gram.

Note: Adding sugar to the fermenter (not the kettle) avoids any caramelisation. Belgian brewers often add inverted sugar directly to fermenting beer. Dissolve in minimal hot water first to sanitise.

What Brix is: Brix (°Bx) is a scale used on refractometers to measure sugar concentration. 1°Bx = 1g of sugar per 100g of solution. It can be converted to specific gravity and degrees Plato for use in brewing calculations.

Important limitation: This conversion is only accurate for unfermented wort. Once alcohol is present, use the Refractometer Correction tab instead.

1. Choose the conversion direction (Brix to SG, or SG to Brix).
2. Enter your reading and click Convert.

Formulas used: SG = 1 + (Brix ÷ (258.6 − 0.8793 × Brix)). Brix = (SG − 1) × 258.6 ÷ (1 + 0.8793 × (SG − 1)).