Estimate the initial gravity, final gravity and expected alcohol of a beer recipe

Type your figures in the White fields. 

The most common approach is to use regular beer kits & add combinations of malt, glucose, corn syrup & perhaps some crystal grains.

Others will make their own recipes using malt extract & hops instead of the beer kit as a base.

Apart from colour & flavour, there are 2 factors affecting beers made this way that most brewers are interested in.

One is the alcohol content & the other is referred to as “body”. This is mouth-feel or texture of the beer.

Stouts & heavy ales are nicer if they have plenty of body. A lot of quality European beers have a medium amount of body & beers that are popular in tropical countries are typically light bodied.

The specific gravity of a finished beer is a fairly good indication of the body of the beer. Beers with plenty of body have a high final specific gravity & beers with little body have a low final specific gravity. The table below can be used as a rough guide.

This calculator gives you an estimate the alcohol %age, the original and the final gravity of your beer. The dial at the top, and the readout text beside it is based on the above "body table". 

All you have to do is enter the weights of your recipe ingredients (in the white fields above) and click "submit".

Hint: Your "Tab" key will move to the next field for you (rather than reach for the mouse for each entry) and "Shift" + "Tab" will move backwards a field.

If you are wanting to make a beer of a specific strength or final SG, you can also alter the ingredient weights in the calculator to work out the combination that will produce the beer you want. Just alter the amount(s) and click on submit again.

Note that the figures are only a guide. Final gravity can vary with the use of different yeast strains. Also the use of enzymes in your beer will change your final gravity. DO NOT USE THESE FIGURES TO ESTABLISH END OF FERMENTATION… They are estimates only and may vary.