Brewing Brix Converter

Pick a direction — Brix to specific gravity, or specific gravity to Brix. Enter your reading and the converter returns the matching value plus °Plato, an approximate dissolved-sugar figure, and the potential ABV if that sugar ferments fully.

Use it before fermentation to translate a refractometer reading into the gravity your recipe or calculator expects, or to check a hydrometer reading against a target Brix. Everything updates live as you type.

Brix and °Plato are nearly identical scales — both express sugar as a percentage by weight. The difference comes from slightly different reference tables and is far smaller than normal measurement error, so for home brewing and winemaking you can treat them as the same number.

By convention, winemakers and fruit growers read in Brix, while brewers often work in °Plato. If a recipe is written in one and your instrument reads the other, no conversion maths is needed — just read the value straight across.

Once you know the original gravity, potential ABV is simply how much alcohol you would get if the yeast fermented the sugar all the way out. The estimate is (OG − 1.000) × 131.25, which the converter reports for you.

It is a ceiling, not a guarantee. If the yeast stops early, or you deliberately leave residual sweetness, the finished ABV will be lower. Use potential ABV to plan a recipe, then confirm the real number with original and final gravity after fermentation.

Take your original Brix reading, convert it to specific gravity, then estimate potential ABV as (SG − 1.000) × 131.25. If you also have a final gravity reading after fermentation, use (OG − FG) × 131.25 for the actual ABV instead of the potential.

The converter does this in one step: enter your Brix reading and read the potential ABV directly. For actual ABV from a finished batch, take your OG (from the pre-fermentation Brix) and FG (from a hydrometer after fermentation) into an ABV calculator.

Refractometer reads 22.0 Brix before pitching

SG = 1 + (22 / (258.6 − (22/258.2 × 227.1))) ≈ 1.092

Potential ABV = (1.092 − 1.000) × 131.25 ≈ 12.1%

FG measured at 0.998 → actual ABV = (1.092 − 0.998) × 131.25 ≈ 12.3%

Refractometers read Brix, but most brewing recipes and calculators work in specific gravity. Converting is straightforward arithmetic: SG = 1 + (Brix / (258.6 − ((Brix / 258.2) × 227.1))). The converter applies this formula automatically.

Going the other direction is just as useful. If a recipe calls for an OG of 1.065 and you only have a refractometer, enter 1.065 in the SG field and read off the Brix target (about 15.9 Brix). That saves you a trip to a conversion table.

Recipe target: OG 1.065

Matching Brix: ≈ 15.9 °Bx

Potential ABV at that gravity: ≈ 8.5%

This converter is built for readings taken before fermentation, when the only thing raising density is sugar. In that state Brix and specific gravity map cleanly onto each other.

After fermentation begins, alcohol distorts a refractometer reading, so a raw Brix value no longer converts straight to gravity. For a finished reading, use a hydrometer for final gravity, or an ABV calculator that applies a refractometer correction.

The reference table lists every whole Brix from 10 to 26, plus common low and high readings, with its specific gravity, °Plato, and the potential ABV if fermented dry. Use it to read off 15 Brix to SG or 22 Brix to alcohol without typing, or to pick a starting Brix for a target strength.

For a target ABV, find the potential-ABV column first, then read the Brix and SG on that row. A 10–11% cider or wine starts near 20 Brix; a 5–6% beer starts near 12 Brix.

Converted gravity looks wrong

If the converted gravity looks off, check that your refractometer is zeroed on distilled water and that the sample is at room temperature — heat skews both refractometers and hydrometers. A single drop that has not settled can read high.

Brix and hydrometer disagree

If Brix and hydrometer readings disagree by more than a point or two, recalibrate both. A hydrometer should read 1.000 in plain water at its reference temperature; if it does not, note the offset and apply it to every reading.