Hydrometer Conversion Calculator

This calculator converts Brix to Specific Gravity and vice versa. And we've thrown in Potential Alcohol as a freebie, because that's just the kind of folks we are. Most beer and wine hydrometers today have a triple scale featuring the specific gravity, brix, and potential alcohol scales, but let's face it: we're lazy. Thus, in the spirit of laziness, you will find this calculator to be quite handy.

Potential alcohol by volume is always an interesting measurement, but keep in mind that the potential alcohol as specified by an initial pre-fermentation measurement only applies to a wine, cider or mead that ferments to complete dryness. Beer does not ferment to dryness, so the potential alcohol initial pre-fermentation measurement does not apply to beer.

The Plato and Balling scales are nearly identical to the Brix scale, so you can use them here without any issue or waking up at three AM in a cold sweat.

Professional wine makers generally use the Brix scale, and professional beer brewers prefer the Plato scale. Home brewers typically use Specific Gravity scale, but let's face it: we're home brewers and we'll do whatever we want, because we're cool.

Fun Fact: Why do professional brewers primarily use the Plato scale? Because, as it turns out, most professional brewers have philosopher envy, when in reality they couldn't philosophize their way out of a beer-soaked paper bag because, after all, they're brewers (oh, you'll hear them philosophize, especially when you're sitting next to them at the bar after they've downed about six beers, and the philosophy is derivative and particularly unoriginal and typically devolves into discussions like "If a beer explodes in the forest and there is no one there to hear it, would it make a sound?). Thus, professional brewers use the Plato scale instead of the inherently cool home brewers' specific gravity scale because it reminds them of their favorite philosopher. True story.

Legal Gobbledygook: The Boomchugalug Hydrometer Conversion Calculator is for the home hobbyist set, including but not limited to beer makers, cider makers, wine makers, and mead makers. Makes sense? We provide this calculator for numerous self-centered reasons, but let's face it, isn't it cool to enter a number into a box, press a mystery button and then have magical number appear? Don't use for professional purposes, because come on - you're a pro and you've spent the big money for (not free) expensive tools for which you've earned that glorious tax write off. So put your tax write off to good work with the expressed purpose of legally shorting Uncle Sam of revenue by using your professional tools. And don't forget, we're home brewers, and we're a tad bit more cavalier in our methodology, and we're not unknown for bottling our beer while it's still fermenting and then enjoying the sounds of exploding bottles at three AM. And if you're a professional, then why would you want to take the advice from a bunch of amateurs? And how do you know we're not a bunch of sociopaths , happy to have your cans of fizzy seltzer explode the in refrigerator next to your customers' eggs? (btw, we're not a bunch of sociopaths, as far as you know.)