Strike Temperature Calculator — All-Grain Home Brewing

BrewCo Brew Tools

Use this free strike temperature calculator to work out what temperature your mash water needs to be before adding your grain. Enter your grain weight, current grain temperature, mash water volume, and target mash temperature — and the calculator gives you the exact temperature to heat your strike water to.

How to use it

  1. Weigh your crushed grain and note its temperature (room temperature is fine to estimate).
  2. Work out your mash water volume — typically 2.5–3L per kg of grain.
  3. Decide your target mash temperature (65–68°C for most standard recipes).
  4. Enter all four figures below — your strike water temperature updates instantly.
— °C
Fill in all four fields above

What temperature should I mash at?

For most British ales and standard home brew recipes, mash at 65–68°C. Lower temperatures (63–65°C) produce a more fermentable wort and a drier, more attenuated beer. Higher temperatures (68–70°C) leave more unfermentable dextrins, giving a fuller body — good for stouts and milds. Most standard BIAB and all-grain recipes target 65–66°C as a good middle ground.

Why do I need a strike temperature calculator?

When you add cold grain to hot water, the grain absorbs heat and drops the temperature of the mash. The strike temperature calculator tells you how much hotter than your target mash temperature your water needs to be to compensate for this heat loss. The exact difference depends on your grain-to-water ratio and the temperature of the grain — typically 5–10°C above your target mash temperature.

What water-to-grain ratio should I use?

A standard ratio is 2.5–3 litres of water per kg of grain for single-infusion mashing. BIAB setups typically use a higher ratio (3–4 L/kg) as all the water goes in at once. More water means a slightly lower strike temperature differential needed; less water means a larger differential.

More free home brew calculators

Browse our crushed malts, hop pellets, and home brew yeasts for all-grain brewing at BrewCo UK, Sowerby Bridge.