A beer recipe scaler lets you resize any homebrew recipe between batch sizes while keeping all ingredient ratios intact. Whether you are scaling a 5-gallon pale ale down to a 1-gallon test batch or doubling an award-winning stout for a party, this tool recalculates grains, hops, water volumes, yeast pitch, and extras so your beer turns out the same regardless of batch size.
Batch Size
Paste your recipe as plain text. Put each ingredient on its own line. The parser recognizes grains (lbs/kg), hops (oz/g with time and AA%), and extras.
Grain Bill
Hops
Extras (Irish Moss, Spices, Fruit, etc.)
Original Gravity & Yeast
OG stays the same when grain scales with volume
Scales proportionally to target batch
Scaled Recipe
Water Volumes
| Original | Scaled |
|---|
Water volumes assume standard 1.33 qt/lb strike ratio, 1 gal/hr boil-off rate (60 min boil), and 0.125 gal/lb grain absorption. Adjust for your specific system.
How to Use the Beer Recipe Scaler
Scaling a homebrew recipe by hand is tedious and error-prone. Simple multiplication handles grain and extras, but hop bitterness depends on volume through the Tinseth utilization formula, and water calculations involve strike ratios and boil-off rates. Our free beer recipe scaler does all of this automatically so you can focus on brewing instead of arithmetic.
Step 1: Set your batch sizes
Enter the original recipe's batch size and your target batch size using the fields at the top. Choose between US units (gallons, pounds, ounces) and metric (liters, kilograms, grams) using the unit toggle. The scaling factor updates instantly as you type, showing exactly how much larger or smaller your target batch is relative to the original.
Step 2: Enter your recipe
Add grains, hops, and extras using the respective sections. For each grain, enter the name and weight. For hops, enter the variety name, weight, boil time in minutes, and alpha acid percentage. Extras cover anything else in the recipe — Irish moss, fruit, spices, or other adjuncts. If you already have a recipe in text form, use the Import Recipe tab to paste it and let the parser fill in the fields automatically.
Step 3: Review scaled results
Click Scale Recipe to see a complete comparison of original and scaled quantities for every ingredient. The summary cards show the scaling factor, estimated original gravity, estimated IBUs recalculated at the new volume using the Tinseth formula, and the recommended number of yeast packs. The water volumes section displays strike water, sparge water, and total water for both the original and scaled batches.
Step 4: Copy or print
Use the Copy button to copy the full scaled recipe to your clipboard as plain text, ready to paste into your brewing notes or a recipe app. The Print button generates a clean printable version you can take to the brew shed. All calculations run entirely in your browser — no account, no data sent anywhere, and the tool works offline once loaded.
For best results, always double-check your original gravity reading and hop alpha acid percentages against your supplier's data. Small differences in AA% can shift IBU estimates noticeably, especially for heavily hopped recipes. The water calculations use standard assumptions that work well as starting points but should be adjusted for your specific brewing system.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this beer recipe scaler really free?
Yes, the beer recipe scaler is completely free with no limits and no account required. All calculations run locally in your browser. Nothing is sent to any server or stored anywhere.
Is my brewing data safe and private?
Absolutely. Every calculation happens entirely in your browser using JavaScript. No recipes, grain bills, or hop schedules are transmitted to any server, stored in any database, or shared with anyone.
Does scaling a recipe change the OG or IBU?
When you scale grains and hops proportionally with batch volume, the original gravity (OG) stays the same because the grain-to-water ratio is preserved. IBUs are recalculated using the Tinseth formula at the new batch volume to ensure accuracy, and they should remain very close to the original values.
How do I scale yeast for a different batch size?
The scaler adjusts the yeast pitch rate proportionally. For liquid yeast, a standard pitch for ales is roughly 0.75 million cells per milliliter per degree Plato. When you scale up, you may need a yeast starter or multiple packs to hit the recommended cell count.
What happens to hop timing when I scale a recipe?
Hop boil times and alpha acid percentages stay exactly the same when scaling. Only the hop weight changes proportionally with batch size. This keeps the bitterness contribution from each addition consistent relative to the new volume.
Can I import a recipe from text?
Yes. Click the Import Recipe tab, paste your recipe as plain text (one ingredient per line), and the tool parses grain, hop, and extras lines automatically. It recognizes common formats like weight followed by ingredient name. Review the parsed results and adjust any entries the parser could not identify.
How do I scale water volumes for all-grain brewing?
Strike water and sparge water scale proportionally with batch size. The scaler uses standard ratios — 1.33 quarts per pound for strike water and a calculated sparge volume to hit your target pre-boil volume. Both volumes are shown in the results for original and scaled batches.
What units does the beer recipe scaler support?
The tool supports both US and metric units. Batch volume can be entered in gallons or liters, grain weights in pounds or kilograms, and hop weights in ounces or grams. All calculations adjust automatically when you switch units.