Beer Color Calculator
Enter each grain with its weight and its Lovibond rating, plus the batch size, to get the expected color in SRM and EBC with a plain-language description.
Results
- EBC
- 12.6 EBC
- Malt color units
- 8.35
- Color name
- Deep gold
How to use the beer color calculator
- List every grain with its weight as it appears in the recipe.
- Copy each malt's Lovibond rating from the maltster's sheet.
- Enter the batch size going into the fermenter.
- Read the SRM value and compare it with the color name.
The calculator sums weight times Lovibond across the grain bill to get malt color units, converts kilograms and liters to pounds and gallons, then applies the Morey formula SRM = 1.4922 × MCU^0.6859, the modern standard. Dark grains dominate: a few hundred grams of roasted barley swamps kilograms of pale malt, which is why stouts need so little of them.
Color is one axis of recipe design: the extract the same grain bill delivers is sized by the mash efficiency calculator, and the strength it ferments to by the ABV calculator.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the final beer look lighter than the SRM number?
SRM is measured through a small laboratory sample cell. A pint glass shows a shorter light path and looks paler than the number suggests, and foam, carbonation and haze scatter light too. Use SRM to compare recipes, not to predict the exact shade in the glass.
Does steeping time or boil length change the color?
Slightly. Long boils deepen color through maillard reactions, and steeping specialty grains extracts more color than a quick mash. The calculator assumes normal mash and boil practice; extract-based batches brewed with partial boils often land a shade darker than all-grain versions of the same recipe.
What Lovibond should I use for extract?
Liquid and dried malt extract carry a Lovibond rating on the supplier's sheet, usually 3-6 L for light extract and up to about 20 L for dark. Treat extract like any other grain row with its weight; the calculator only needs weight, color and batch size.