Beer Recipe Builder
Start by naming your recipe and picking a BJCP style if you want guardrails, then choose your units, gravity display, and the IBU and color models that match how you like to think about beer.
Set your batch size, boil time, and efficiency, then let Auto-calc pre-boil use your loss profile so your volumes stop being guesswork.
Build your grist in Fermentables and watch OG, color, and pre-boil gravity update instantly, then add mash steps only if you need them, the mash section expands and shows a strike plan.
Add hop additions with the right usage types so the utilization logic behaves, then set yeast attenuation and pitch rate to get a realistic FG and ABV.
When the numbers look right, print the brew day sheet for a clean checklist, or export JSON to save and share the recipe.
Batch and system
Equipment profile and losses
Fermentables
Enter grains, extracts, and sugars. The tool computes OG, pre-boil gravity, color, and mash water needs.
| Type | Name | Amount | Yield mode | Potential | Color |
|---|
Totals
Mash water
Mash steps and strike temperature
| Step | Type | Temp | Time |
|---|
Strike plan
Hops
Each hop addition calculates its own IBUs and utilization. Usage types behave differently.
| Use | Hop | AA% | Amount | Time | Whirl temp | IBU | Util |
|---|
Bitterness notes
Yeast and pitch rate
Pitch guidance
Water chemistry (ions in ppm)
Source profile
Salt additions
Add brewing salts to see the final profile. This prototype uses simplified ppm conversions and is designed to be expanded.
| Salt | Amount (g) | Target |
|---|
Final ion totals (ppm)
Style guardrails and summary
Warnings and sanity checks
Export and brew day
Export your recipe JSON for backup and sharing, or print a clean brew-day sheet.
JSON files are plain text files. You can open them in any text editor, like Notepad (Windows), TextEdit (Mac), or code editors like Visual Studio Code and Notepad++. If you print this page, you can also save a PDF by choosing Print, then selecting “Save to PDF” in the printer options.
Brew day sheet
Recipe
- Sanitize and prep gear. ☐
- Mash: ☐
- Boil: ☐
- Chill and transfer: target into fermenter. ☐
- Pitch: ☐
How to use this recipe builder tool
Build a full recipe in a narrow blog column by working top to bottom. Set your batch size, boil time, and losses first so the pre-boil volume and gravity behave like your actual kettle.
Then add fermentables and watch OG and color update instantly as you tweak weights, potentials, and the color model. Add hops with the right use type (boil, first wort, whirlpool, dry hop) so the IBU model has the right inputs, then dial yeast attenuation and pitch rate to land on a realistic FG and ABV before you print your brew-day checklist.
Best practice is to lock in your system math early. Click Auto-calc pre-boil once your loss numbers are close, then avoid chasing OG by changing volume later.
Use the style guardrails as warning lights, not handcuffs. If you are out of range, decide whether you want to change the recipe, or intentionally bend the style.
When the recipe looks right, export JSON as your backup, and print the brew sheet for brew day.
Saving your recipe as JSON makes it easy to share, version, or paste into a note for later, and printing reduces missed additions when the day gets busy.
Why recipe building tools make better beer
A recipe builder helps you stop brewing by vibes alone. It turns your intent into numbers you can test, repeat, and improve. When your batch size, losses, and efficiency are written down, you stop guessing why one brew day hit the target and the next one missed.
You are building a system, not just a beer.
The real power is feedback.
You change a malt weight and you see OG move instantly.
You swap Tinseth to Rager and you learn how your bitterness assumptions shift. You adjust a whirlpool addition and you see the difference between bitterness you can measure and bitterness you can taste.
That loop teaches you faster than reading ten forum threads, because the math is tied to your recipe, right now.
It also protects you from silent errors. Pre-boil volume and pre-boil gravity matter for utilization, so the tool forces you to respect kettle reality.
Color models make you sanity-check inputs, especially when a small amount of roasted malt can push SRM hard.
Pitch rate and attenuation keep Final Gravity and ABV in the real world, and that is where mouthfeel, dryness, and balance either land or fall apart.
Good beer is consistency plus small, intentional changes. A builder lets you freeze the baseline and then change one thing at a time: a different hop at the same alpha, a different yeast at similar attenuation, a slightly different chloride to sulfate direction, a touch more specialty malt without pushing OG out of control.
That is how you learn your process, your palate, and your equipment, all at the same time.
Finally, it makes brew day calmer.
The print sheet turns your plan into a checklist you can follow when you are busy, wet, and distracted. It reduces missed additions, wrong times, and last-minute math. That sounds boring, but it is the boring part that makes the great part possible, the beer that tastes exactly like you meant it to.