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Brewhouse Efficiency Calculator

Measure your total grain-to-fermenter yield.

How it is calculated

The tool compares the sugar you actually collected with the most the grain could give. Collected gravity points are (OG − 1) × 1000 × volume, where OG is the gravity going into the fermenter (for example 1.050) and volume is in US gallons. The maximum is grain weight × PPG, with the grain weight in pounds and PPG the potential of the grain in points per pound per gallon. Efficiency is points ÷ maximum × 100. All four fields are required, OG must be above 1.000, and units are US gallons and pounds, not litres and kilograms. For a mixed grain bill, enter the weighted average PPG. The result is overall efficiency from mash to fermenter, which includes every loss. If the maths gives more than 100 %, which real grain cannot do, the tool shows no result.

Worked example

You collect 5.5 gallons at OG 1.050 from 11 lb of grain with an average potential of 36 PPG. Collected points are (1.050 − 1) × 1000 × 5.5 = 50 × 5.5 = 275. The grain could give at most 11 × 36 = 396 points. Efficiency is 275 ÷ 396 × 100 = 69.44%. If the same brew had reached 1.055, the efficiency would rise to 76.39 %.

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Common mistakes

  • Entering metric units. The volume is US gallons and the grain is pounds, so 21 litres is about 5.5 and 5 kg is about 11.
  • Typing the gravity in points (50) or in Plato. The field wants specific gravity with the decimal, such as 1.050; 50 would imply an impossible efficiency, so the tool shows no result.
  • Using the volume at the end of the boil instead of the volume into the fermenter. The tool measures yield into the fermenter, so entering the larger pre-transfer volume overstates it.
  • Entering PPG for a single malt when the bill is mixed. Use the weighted average, and remember that adjuncts such as sugar have their own potential.
  • Getting no result and assuming the tool is broken. An efficiency above 100 % is impossible, so a blank output means a unit, volume or weight was entered wrongly (5 lb of grain giving 5.5 gal at 1.080, for instance).

About this calculator

Brewhouse efficiency measures what percentage of a grain bill's theoretical maximum sugar (its "potential") actually ends up as fermentable extract in the fermenter, comparing the gravity and volume you actually collected against the gravity you'd get if every last point of sugar had been extracted from the grain and none were lost to the mash tun, boil kettle or trub. It is calculated from fermenter gravity and volume divided by the total potential extract implied by the grain weight and each malt's specific gravity potential.

Homebrewers and professional brewers alike track brewhouse efficiency to dial in recipe formulation — a lower efficiency means you need more grain to hit a target gravity, and a higher one means less — and to diagnose process problems like a stuck sparge, poor crush, or excessive kettle losses when a batch consistently comes in lower than expected.

Compare the sugar you actually got into the fermenter, from its gravity and volume, with what the grain bill could have given, and you have your overall brewhouse efficiency.

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