Liquid Volume Conversion Cheat Sheet for Homebrewers

The Ultimate Liquid Volume Conversion Cheat Sheet for Homebrewers

All homebrewers agree on at least one thing, and one thing is that precision matters. Whether you're measuring hops, water additions, or priming sugar, having a reliable set of liquid volume conversions at your fingertips saves time and prevents errors. This guide goes beyond the basics to give you a fully detailed conversion chart, real-world brewing applications, and even an interactive tool to make your brewing life easier, which makes it quicker to our end goal of trying our magical creations! And let's face it - when we're brewing, we're known to have a sip or twelve, and who wants do math in your head when you're looking for the bottle opener?

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Basic Volume Conversions

Measurement	Teaspoons (tsp)	Tablespoons (tbsp)	Fluid Ounces (fl oz)	Milliliters (mL)	Cups	Pints	Quarts	Gallons
1 tsp	1	1/3	1/6	4.93	-	-	-	-
1 tbsp	3	1	1/2	14.79	-	-	-	-
1 fl oz	6	2	1	29.57	1/8	-	-	-
1 cup	48	16	8	237	1	1/2	1/4	1/16
1 pint	96	32	16	473	2	1	1/2	1/8
1 quart	192	64	32	946	4	2	1	1/4
1 gallon	768	256	128	3,785	16	8	4	1

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Conversions for Brewing, Mead, Cider & Wine Making

Below are specialized conversions tailored to brewing, mead-making, cider-making, and wine-making to help you scale recipes, adjust sugar content, and manage fermentation efficiency.

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Gravity & Sugar Content

Conversion	Formula / Approximate Value
1 Plato (°P) to Specific Gravity (SG)	SG = (°P / (258.6 - (°P / 258.2) * 227.1)) + 1
1 SG Point Increase	~0.25 oz DME per gallon
Brix to SG	SG = (Brix / (258.6 - ((Brix / 258.2) * 227.1))) + 1
SG to Brix	Brix = ((SG - 1) * 1000) / 4
Alcohol by Volume (ABV)	(OG - FG) × 131.25

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Sugar & Honey Additions

Conversion	Formula / Approximate Value
1 lb Cane Sugar in 1 Gallon	~1.046 SG boost
1 lb DME in 1 Gallon	~1.044 SG boost
1 lb LME in 1 Gallon	~1.036 SG boost
1 lb Honey in 1 Gallon	~1.035 SG boost
1 lb Corn Sugar in 1 Gallon	~1.046 SG boost

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Yeast & Fermentation

Conversion	Formula / Approximate Value
Recommended Ale Yeast Pitching Rate	0.75 million cells / mL / °P
Recommended Lager Yeast Pitching Rate	1.5 million cells / mL / °P
Dry Yeast Cells Per Gram	~20 billion
Liquid Yeast Cells Per Pouch	~100 billion (varies by age)
Yeast Starter Growth Factor	1 vial + 1L starter = ~200B cells

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Mead-Specific Conversions

Conversion	Formula / Approximate Value
1 lb Honey in 1 Gallon Water	~1.035 SG
1 lb Honey = ? Cups	~1.33 cups
1 Gallon Must (Fermenting Mead)	~12 lbs (honey + water + yeast, etc.)
1 Gallon Mead Bottles	10 x 12 oz bottles
Target ABV for Mead	SG Drop of 0.010 = ~1.3% ABV

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Cider-Specific Conversions

Conversion	Formula / Approximate Value
1 Gallon Apple Juice	~8.5 lbs
Average Starting Gravity of Fresh Apple Juice	~1.045 – 1.055 SG
Sugar Needed to Boost Gravity	1 lb Sugar = +0.046 SG per gallon
1 Gallon Fermented Cider Produces	~10-11 x 12 oz bottles

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Wine-Specific Conversions

Conversion	Formula / Approximate Value
1 Gallon of Grape Must	~8.3-9.5 lbs (depends on grape variety)
1 Gallon of Wine Bottles	~5 x 750 mL bottles
Sugar Addition to Raise Brix	1 lb Sugar = +1.8 Brix per gallon
Target Wine ABV	(Starting Brix - Ending Brix) × 0.55

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Bottling Guide: How Many Bottles for Your Batch?

Batch Size (Gallons)	12 oz Bottles	16 oz Bottles	22 oz Bottles	500 mL Bottles	750 mL Bottles	1L Bottles
1 Gallon	10	8	6	8	5	4
3 Gallons	32	24	18	24	15	12
5 Gallons	54	40	30	40	25	20
10 Gallons	108	80	60	80	50	40
15 Gallons	162	120	90	120	75	60

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Downloadable PDF Cheat Sheet

Click here to download a handy printable version of this guide!

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Why Precision Matters in Brewing

Even a small error in measurements can impact efficiency, hop utilization, and fermentation quality. This applies in real life, too. That one beer you thought you drank turns out to be twelve. Now you can't drive. Keeping a reliable conversion chart ensures that your brewing stays on track, whether you're scaling up a batch or making micro-adjustments.