Brewing unit converter
Convert gravity between SG, °Plato and Brix, color between SRM, EBC and Lovibond, plus volume, weight, temperature and pressure. Pick what to convert, type a value in any unit and read it in all the others at once.
Gravity
Brix is a refractometer reading of unfermented wort, converted with a wort correction factor of 1.03. For fermenting beer, use the refractometer calculator.
Converted values
1.050 SG
- Specific gravity
- 1.050 SG
- Plato
- 12.4 °P
- Brix (refractometer)
- 12.8 Brix
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SG to Plato and back
Specific gravity (SG) compares the density of your wort with water: 1.050 means 5% heavier than water. Degrees Plato (°P) is the share of dissolved extract by weight: 12 °P wort holds 12 g of extract per 100 g. US recipes mostly use SG, German and professional recipes °Plato.
The converter uses the formula °P = 260.4 − 260.4 / SG. In the beer range up to about 1.100 it stays within roughly 0.1 °P of the ASBC lab polynomial. As a rule of thumb, 1 °P is about 4 gravity points, a little more in strong worts.
Brix is also percent sugar by weight, but it is defined for pure sucrose. Refractometers read in Brix, and wort reads slightly high on them. That is why the converter treats Brix as an unfermented refractometer reading and divides by a wort correction factor of 1.03 to get °Plato, the same default as the refractometer calculator. SG then follows from °Plato, so all three always describe the same wort.
°P = 260.4 − 260.4 / SG
SG = 260.4 / (260.4 − °P)
°P = Brix / 1.03
For fermented beer, refractometer readings need an alcohol correction. Use the refractometer calculator for that.
| SG | °Plato |
|---|---|
| 1.010 | 2.6 |
| 1.020 | 5.1 |
| 1.030 | 7.6 |
| 1.040 | 10.0 |
| 1.045 | 11.2 |
| 1.050 | 12.4 |
| 1.055 | 13.6 |
| 1.060 | 14.7 |
| 1.070 | 17.0 |
| 1.080 | 19.3 |
| 1.090 | 21.5 |
| 1.100 | 23.7 |
EBC to SRM and Lovibond
SRM (US) and EBC (Europe) both measure how much light beer absorbs at 430 nm. The EBC method uses a different factor, so the numbers are about twice as high: EBC = SRM × 1.97. A 20 EBC amber beer is about 10 SRM.
Degrees Lovibond (°L) is the older scale that US maltsters still use for malt. For pale malts it is close to SRM (2 °L is 1.9 SRM or 3.8 EBC). For darker malts the gap grows: a Crystal 40 at 40 °L is about 53 SRM or 105 EBC. German maltsters list malt color in EBC.
Malt color is not beer color. To get the color of a finished beer from its malt bill, use the beer color calculator.
EBC = SRM × 1.97
SRM = 1.3546 × °L − 0.76
- SRM
- Beer color, Standard Reference Method
- EBC
- Beer and malt color, European Brewery Convention
- °L
- Malt color in degrees Lovibond
| Color | SRM | EBC |
|---|---|---|
| Pale straw | 2 | 3.9 |
| Straw | 3 | 5.9 |
| Pale gold | 4 | 7.9 |
| Deep gold | 6 | 11.8 |
| Pale amber | 9 | 17.7 |
| Medium amber | 12 | 23.6 |
| Deep amber | 15 | 29.6 |
| Amber brown | 18 | 35.5 |
| Brown | 20 | 39.4 |
| Ruby brown | 24 | 47.3 |
| Deep brown | 30 | 59.1 |
| Black | 40 | 78.8 |
Temperature, volume, weight and pressure
These conversions are simple, but small slips cost a batch: a mash rest a few degrees off, or a recipe scaled with the wrong gallon. The converter shows each value in all related units at once, so you can check a recipe from another country in a few seconds.
- Temperature: °F = °C × 9/5 + 32. A step of 1 °C is 1.8 °F.
- Volume: 1 US gallon is 3.785 L, 1 imperial gallon 4.546 L, 1 US quart 0.946 L.
- Weight: 1 kg is 2.205 lb and 1 oz is 28.35 g. US recipes usually list hops in ounces.
- Pressure: 1 bar is 14.5 psi or 100 kPa. Keg and spunding gauges show overpressure in either unit.
| Value | Metric | US |
|---|---|---|
| Mash rest | 67.0 °C | 152.6 °F |
| Mash out | 78.0 °C | 172.4 °F |
| Ale fermentation | 18.0 °C | 64.4 °F |
| Lager fermentation | 10.0 °C | 50.0 °F |
| 20 L batch | 20.0 L | 5.28 gal |
| 5 gallon batch | 18.93 L | 5.0 gal |
| Malt | 1.0 kg | 2.205 lb |
| Hops | 28.35 g | 1 oz |
| Keg pressure | 1.0 bar | 14.50 psi |
| Serving pressure | 0.83 bar | 12 psi |
CO₂ volumes to g/l
US brewers state carbonation in volumes: liters of CO₂ gas, measured at 0 °C and normal pressure, dissolved per liter of beer. German brewers often use grams per liter. BrewForge converts one volume to 1.96 g/l, so 2.5 vol is 4.9 g/l.
The priming sugar and spunding calculators accept either unit. The table shows the default targets they use for a few styles.
g/l = vol × 1.96
1 volume of CO₂ ≈ 1.96 g/l
| Style | vol | g/l |
|---|---|---|
| English bitter | 1.5 | 2.9 |
| Stout | 2.1 | 4.1 |
| American IPA | 2.4 | 4.7 |
| German lager | 2.5 | 4.9 |
| Saison | 3.0 | 5.9 |
| Hefeweizen | 3.2 | 6.3 |
Built into every BrewForge recipe
In BrewForge you set each unit once in your settings: liters or gallons, kilograms or pounds, °C or °F, SG or °Plato, SRM or EBC, bar or psi, CO₂ in volumes or g/l. Recipes, brew day and the calculators then show every value in your units, so a US recipe reads like a German one.
- Every unit set on its own, no all-or-nothing metric switch
- Recipes are stored in metric, so switching units never changes them
- The same conversions in every recipe and calculator
Use this calculator via API
The same calculation is also a free JSON API: no account, no key, one GET request. Handy for scripts, spreadsheets and AI assistants that should use exact brewing math instead of estimating it.
Add units=imperial (or one unit parameter per value) for °F, gallons and pounds. Every answer lists the inputs, the units and the formula it used.
GET https://brewforge.sh/api/public/calc/unit-converter?value=1.050&from=sg
FAQ
Questions & answers
How do I convert Plato to SG?
Use SG = 260.4 / (260.4 − °P). 12 °P is 1.048 SG, 16 °P is 1.066. As a quick estimate, multiply °Plato by 4 to get gravity points: 12 °P is about 48 points, or 1.048.
Is Brix the same as Plato?
Almost. Both are percent sugar by weight, but Brix is defined for pure sucrose. On a refractometer wort reads a little higher than its true Plato value, so divide by a wort correction factor of about 1.03 (typically 1.02–1.06; the refractometer calculator lets you set your own). Once fermentation has started, alcohol distorts the reading and you need the refractometer calculator.
How do I convert EBC to SRM?
Divide EBC by 1.97. 20 EBC is about 10 SRM, 80 EBC about 41 SRM. To go from SRM to EBC, multiply by 1.97.
What is the difference between Lovibond and SRM?
Lovibond is an older color scale that US maltsters still use for malt. SRM is used for beer. The converter uses SRM = 1.3546 × °L − 0.76: for pale malts the two are almost the same, for crystal and roasted malts SRM is clearly higher.
How many g/l is one volume of CO₂?
About 1.96 g/l, the factor BrewForge uses. Most beers sit between 2.2 and 2.8 volumes, which is about 4.3 to 5.5 g/l.
US or imperial gallons?
US recipes use US gallons of 3.785 L, so a 5 gallon batch is 18.9 L. Older UK recipes may use imperial gallons of 4.546 L, which makes 5 gallons 22.7 L. The converter shows both.
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